The Making Of Machines At HOM

By Tanjua Damon

Today’s world is full of machines – simple and compound – and Head O’ Meadow third graders enlightened their school and parents about the pushing and pulling of forces through a play last week about simple machines.

Learning about cycles is part of the third grade curriculum. The students gained new vocabulary and lessons on how machines work. Through projects they created their own machines and presented them to their classmates.

Pulleys, conveyer belts, inclined planes, levers, and wheels and axles are vocabulary words that third graders understand. And they  know how these things affect simple machines in everyday life.

Katie Fragoso made a pulley using wood, string, and a wheel. She designed her project so the pulley would move up and down.

“I liked when we made the projects,” she said. “Trying to tie the string to the pulley wheel was hard.”

Being able to use Legos was definitely a highlight to the simple machines unit at the school.

“We got to have Lego kits to make machines out of them. I made a dictionary about simple machines,” Kyle Ainley said. “They can really help us in our life. Without them we couldn’t drive all over in our cars.”

Nicole Vournazos created an elevator for her simple machine’s project. She used a pulley and a crank. The elevator was attached to the pulley and weights so it would move up and down. The crank was used to pull it up, while popsicle sticks kept it straight.

“The most exciting thing I learned is that we use simple machines every single day practically,” she said. “We don’t really think we see them but we use them all the time.”

All the snow this winter gave Nathan Crevier a simple machine project idea – something that can tow cars and plow snow at the same time.

“I made a big car out of Legos that carried a bunch of stuff. I had a pulley and 16 wheels and axles because there were four cars attached,” he said. “There was just a lot of cars having problems this winter. So I wanted to make a bigger machine that would plow and carry more cars.”

Many of the third graders also learned what group work was like and that sometimes things do not always go as planned.

“The group I was working in, we had trouble working together,” Nathan said about the group Lego project. “I liked making my machine and presenting it. I love building with Legos.”

Understanding the jargon that goes along with simple machines did not seem to be a problem for the third graders. Besides their projects, they also presented a play that dealt with the vocabulary and various styles of simple machines.

“I studied about pulleys, levers, inclined planes, screws, and wheel and axles,” Josh Leighton said. “I liked compound machines most because it is two simple machines put together. It’s easier to use it than one simple machine. The lever was hard because you need to know which way to push the lever to know which way you wanted the load to go.”

Throughout the unit the students learned about things that they use every day that are simple machines. Josh pointed out that he had used a pencil sharpener, which is a compound machine.

Becky Lipnick prefers compound machines to simple machines because they can do more.

“If you are just using one simple machine it’s hard because you can only do one thing. For instance a car can do more than one thing,” she said. “The pulley was hardest because I really couldn’t find many things that could pull it.”

Matt Iassogna built a conveyer belt for his machine project using Knex, nylon bands, and a crank.

“I knew conveyer belts moved things and I thought they were interesting,” Matt said. “I liked building it.”

Lindsey Lively built a flower cart with her father.

“I built a cart because I like to help my mom and dad outside in the yard,” she said. “I didn’t like the simple machines. They weren’t very complex and they wouldn’t do the same thing as compound machines. I enjoyed making the machine because my dad helped me, and I like to be with my dad.”

The third grade classes at Head O’ Meadow performed musical numbers that related to simple machines, sharing about their unit with their classmates and families on March 21. Some of the songs the third graders sang under the direction of music teacher Mrs Bastos include John Henry, Little Shoemaker, If I Had a Hammer, See-Saw Margery Dow, Scissor Grinder Song, Ezekiel Saw the Wheel, Wheels, and Bicycle Built for Two.

Third grade teacher Mrs Blasko said the unit adds to learning about cycles and gives students an opportunity to be creative and come up with their own machines.

“We study cycles and it’s another of our units on cycles using forces in motion,” Mrs Blasko said. “It helps them understand the world around them.”