Summary Freely experiment with a group of materials that can be used to make levers. Science content Physics: Motion and Forces, Newton’s Laws, Gravity (K, 2, 6) Physics: Simple and complex Machines (5) Science competencies (+ questioning + manipulation + others that are in every activity) Questioning/predicting: predicting (1 up), hypothesizing (7) Planning/conducting: planning investigations (3 up) Processing/analyzing: comparing observations with predictions (1 up) Processing/analyzing: considering alternative explanations (5 up) Evaluating: inferring (3 up) Materials a variety of lever bars e.g. paint sticks, extra jumbo popsicle/craft sticks a variety of fulcrums e.g. pen caps, stiff cardboard tubes (e.g. foil/cling wrap inside tubes) a variety of loads e.g. ping pong balls, paper to make into balls Procedure Run this activity after introducing levers to students: I show the lever bar, the fulcrum and the load. Show how they can change the position of the fulcrum. Then the students free play with the materials, centred around the lever concept. Encourage them to make chains of levers or see saws. This activity can be chaotic unless students are familiar with the basics of lever structure. For a more structured exploration on the effect of fulcrum position in levers see lever experimentation: projecting a ball or Balance point on a stick or ruler. Grades taught Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 3
