Gymnastics

Our school was fortunate enough to have the local gymnastics club come to our school to help teach gymnastics.  Their expertise and equipment provided a lot of fun for our class.  Enjoy the pictures and videos below.

                                         Falling Backwards

The Screw Lab and Building Simple Machines with K'Nex

In our unit on screws, students looked at the pitch of a screw.  In the end, students learned that the closer the pitch, the easier it is to turn but it takes longer.  The farther the pitch, the harder it is to turn but the less turns it takes.  Students then wrapped an incline plane around a pencil to learn the connection between the two simple machines.

                                       Building Compound Machines with K'Nex.

                                        Students learned the importance of following directions!

The Lever: A Simple Machine

In part of our unit, students learned about three types of levers .  In each case, students examined how the placement of fulcrum affected the effort needed to move the load.

• Class 1 Lever example:  Teeter-todder
• Class 2 Lever Example:  Wheel Barrel
• Class 3 Lever Example:  Tweezers

In addition, I have included some pictures of our Inclined Plane and Wedge experiments.  Below are some pictures and videos.

                                          James, can you lift the books?

                                         The Wedge Lab

Part of our Inclined Plane Lab:  Does using an inclined plane make work easier?

Students did this lab using a 4ft, 5ft and 6ft board.  

Students first tested lifting their cups without the help of an inclined plane.

Class 3 Lever

                                         Students learned how force travels through a wedge.