5th Grade Engineering: Recycled Simple-Machine Playgrounds

This week in STEM, 5th graders worked in small groups to review simple machines by engineering "Recycled Simple-Machine Playgrounds".  To begin our lesson students reviewed how each simple machine works and gave examples of each. The library was set up with an endless amount of recycled materials for students to use. Each student was responsible for creating one simple machine playground structure for their playground.

For our first lesson students were not given any examples or ideas. I wanted them to be as innovative and creative as possible. I find that when a model is given that students tend to limit themselves to recreating that specific design. Without seeing any examples students got to work in their teams! Here is a preview of our work this week:

Ask your 5th grader which simple machine they were responsible for!

Check back in to see what our 5th grader engineers do next with their simple machine playgrounds!

-Mrs. Henderson