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Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 45 minutes

Levers, pulleys and gears: small force, big effect

Forces and motion

CCSS NGSS.3-PS2-1CCSS NGSS.MS-PS2-2England: KS2 Y5 Forces

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Levers, pulleys and gears: small force, big effect.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Gravity

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: Force meters, Toy cars and ramps, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Gravity). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Who is famous for describing gravity after watching things fall? (Marie Curie / Charles Darwin / Isaac Newton / Thomas Edison) → Isaac NewtonPrompt: A story says an apple fell near him.
  2. Gravity: which statement is true? (The Earth's gravity keeps the Moon in orbit. / Gravity only acts on things that are falling. / There is no gravity in space. / Heavy objects always fall faster than light ones.) → The Earth's gravity keeps the Moon in orbit.Prompt: What keeps the Moon going round the Earth?
  3. Gravity: which statement is NOT true? (Gravity is a force that attracts objects with mass towards each other. / Gravity is weaker on the Moon than on Earth. / There is no gravity in space. / The Earth's gravity keeps the Moon in orbit.) → There is no gravity in space.Prompt: Why does the space station stay in orbit?

Hook · 5 min

  • Drop a sheet of paper and a scrunched-up sheet together and ask why one falls faster.
  • Share the objective: Levers, pulleys and gears: small force, big effect. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which simple machine is used here: raising a flag up a flagpole?
  • Step 1: A pulley is a wheel with a rope that changes the direction of a pull and can share a load.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: pulley
  • Answer: pulley
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Which simple machine is used here: scissors? (lever / pulley / gears) → leverPrompt: A bar on a pivot, a wheel with a rope, or toothed wheels?
  2. What do levers, pulleys and gears have in common? (They only work in water. / They remove friction completely. / They make energy from nothing. / They let a smaller force have a bigger effect.) → They let a smaller force have a bigger effect.Prompt: They are called mechanisms.

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. A gear with 15 teeth drives a gear with 75 teeth. How many turns must the small gear make for the big gear to turn 2 times? → 10Prompt: For each turn of the big gear, all its teeth pass the small gear.
  2. Where should you push on a crowbar to lift a heavy rock most easily? (at the end furthest from the pivot / anywhere, it makes no difference / right next to the pivot / on the rock itself) → at the end furthest from the pivotPrompt: Think of opening a door by pushing near the hinge.

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Gravity.
  • Use concrete materials: force meters.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-5.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Levers, pulleys and gears: small force, big effect

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    A gear with 12 teeth drives a gear with 60 teeth. How many turns must the small gear make for the big gear to turn 1 time?

    Answer

  2. Question 2

    What do levers, pulleys and gears have in common?

    • A. They let a smaller force have a bigger effect.
    • B. They make energy from nothing.
    • C. They remove friction completely.
    • D. They only work in water.

  3. Question 3

    Which simple machine is used here: a well bucket on a rope?

    • A. lever
    • B. pulley
    • C. gears

  4. Question 4

    A gear with 12 teeth drives a gear with 60 teeth. How many turns must the small gear make for the big gear to turn 2 times?

    Answer

  5. Question 5

    A small gear with 10 teeth turns a big gear with 30 teeth. How many times must the small gear turn to make the big gear turn once?

    • A. 1
    • B. 10
    • C. 3
    • D. 30

  6. Question 6

    Which simple machine is used here: raising a flag up a flagpole?

    • A. lever
    • B. pulley
    • C. gears

  7. Question 7

    A gear with 12 teeth drives a gear with 24 teeth. How many turns must the small gear make for the big gear to turn 2 times?

    Answer

  8. Question 8

    Where should you push on a crowbar to lift a heavy rock most easily?

    • A. on the rock itself
    • B. right next to the pivot
    • C. at the end furthest from the pivot
    • D. anywhere, it makes no difference

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Answer key: Levers, pulleys and gears: small force, big effect

  1. 1. 5

  2. 2. A. They let a smaller force have a bigger effect.

  3. 3. B. pulley

  4. 4. 10

  5. 5. C. 3

  6. 6. B. pulley

  7. 7. 4

  8. 8. C. at the end furthest from the pivot