This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 7th Grade Science. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 7th Grade Science.  

In this STEM challenge, students build a rubber-band powered rover that can scramble across the room. Students will follow the engineering design process to design and build a rover out of cardboard, figure out how to use rubber bands to spin the wheels, and improve their design based on testing results.

Students are divided into teams that will collaborate to decide a theme for a machine, determine a task for the machine to complete, create a machine, and are given three trials for the machine to run meeting the specifications outlined on the rubric.

In this slide show, students learn that simple machines decrease the force, or effort, needed to lift and move heavy objects. There are several different types of simple machines, including levers, wheels and axels, pulleys, inclined planes,wedges and screws.

Students will learn about the six simple machines and how they can be used to describe the human body in motion.

This resource is the online interactive for the Simple & Complex Machines activity "Inclined Plane and Pulley." In this activity, students will describe and investigate two of the simple machines, represent data in a table and calculate the mechanical advantage.

This resource is the printable student worksheet for the Simple & Complex Machines activity "Inclined Plane and Pulley." In this activity, students will describe and investigate two of the simple machines, represent data in a table and calculate the mechanical advantage.

This resource is the set of teacher notes for the Simple & Complex Machines activity "Inclined Plane and Pulley." In this activity, students will describe and investigate two of the simple machines, represent data in a table and calculate the mechanical advantage.

This resource is online interactive for the Simple & Complex Machines activity "Wedge and Lever." In this activity, students will describe and investigate two of the simple machines, represent data in a table and calculate the mechanical advantage.

This resource is the printable student worksheet for the Simple & Complex Machines activity "Wedge and Lever." In this activity, students will describe and investigate two of the simple machines, represent data in a table and calculate the mechanical advantage.

This resource is the set of teacher notes for the Simple & Complex Machines activity "Wedge and Lever." In this activity, students will describe and investigate two of the simple machines, represent data in a table and calculate the mechanical advantage.

This resource is the online interactive for the Simple & Complex Machines activity "Screw/Wheel and Axle." In this activity, students will describe and investigate two of the simple machines, represent data in a table and calculate the mechanical advantage.

This resource is the printable student worksheet for the Simple & Complex Machines activity "Wheel and Axle." In this activity, students will describe and investigate two of the simple machines, represent data in a table and calculate the mechanical advantage.

This resource is the set of teacher notes for the Simple & Complex Machines activity "Wheel and Axle." In this activity, students will describe and investigate two of the simple machines, represent data in a table and calculate the mechanical advantage.

Students are challenged to create simple machines out of everyday objects to complete specific tasks.

In this lesson, students learn about the six types of simple machins. They define each type of machine, experiment with each type, utilize the internet to explore each type and build their own simple machine.

In this set of activities, students will study the six basic simple machines and how they work. In the first activity, students will dissect a small broken toy or appliance, identifying each simple machine they discover. In the second activity, students will examine Rube Goldberg's drawings. Then, in the third culminating activity, students will create their own compound machine.

Students will be given a task to complete such as popping a balloon. They will be required to create a simple machine with 5-7 moving parts, made from common household materials, to complete the task. Leading up to this project, students will have learned about simple machines and Rube Goldberg. This project will help students be able to explain how simple machines such as inclined planes, pulleys, levers and wheel and axels are used to create mechanical advantage and increase efficiency. (7.P.2.4) The team of students that creates the machine that completes the task in the most whimsical way will be awarded a certificate.

Within the physical science strand of 7th grade science, students focus on forms of energy, energy transfer, and transformation and conservation in mechanical systems—in other words, potential and kinetic energy, work, and mechanical advantage and efficiency in simple machines. In this task, students working in groups design a simple machine or simple machine system that would be able to lift and relocate a 13 kg cinder block after reading an excerpt from Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien, a novel about genetically engineered rats who assist a mouse by moving her home out of danger in a farmer’s field. The interdisciplinary and inquiry based nature of this activity allows students to build meaningful connections while promoting creativity and 21st Century Skills. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.