View largerSix simple machines poster for kids
Naming the six simple machines and what they do
1 page32 KB
Simple Machines Worksheets
The six simple machines with labeled diagrams, everyday examples, a lever's parts and classes, ramp and pulley data and compound machines.
Download the simple machines worksheets
2nd grade: meet the six simple machines
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View all 2 pagesSimple machines matching Worksheet: everyday examples
Matching each simple machine to an everyday example
Answer key on page 2
2 pages219 KB
View all 2 pagesWhich simple machine is It? worksheet
Identifying simple machines in everyday objects
Answer key on page 2
2 pages223 KB
View largerSimple machine scavenger hunt worksheet
Finding and drawing simple machines at home and school
1 page27 KB
3rd grade: name them and use a lever
View all 2 pagesLabel the six simple machines worksheet
Identifying the six simple machines from diagrams
Answer key on page 2
2 pages43 KB
View all 2 pagesSix simple machines cut and paste worksheet
Identifying the six simple machines from diagrams
Answer key on page 2
2 pages65 KB
View all 2 pagesParts of a lever Worksheet: Fulcrum, load and effort
Naming the parts of a lever and explaining how it works
Answer key on page 2
2 pages39 KB
View all 2 pagesSimple machines reading passage for 3rd grade
Explaining how simple machines make work easier from a nonfiction text
Answer key on page 2
2 pages41 KB
4th grade: ramps, wedges and screws
View all 2 pagesInclined Plane, wedge or Screw? cut and paste sort
Classifying everyday objects as inclined planes, wedges or screws
Answer key on page 2
2 pages315 KB
View all 2 pagesInclined Plane, wedge or Screw? sort worksheet
Classifying everyday objects as inclined planes, wedges or screws
Answer key on page 2
2 pages291 KB
View all 2 pagesInclined plane experiment Worksheet: ramp length and force
Using data to describe how the length of a ramp changes the force needed
Answer key on page 2
2 pages49 KB
View all 2 pagesSimple machines vocabulary worksheet
Using vocabulary for simple machines
Answer key on page 2
2 pages38 KB
5th grade: levers, pulleys and compound machines
View largerThree classes of levers chart for kids
Describing first, second and third class levers
1 page29 KB
View all 2 pagesClasses of levers Worksheet: First, second or Third?
Classifying levers by the positions of fulcrum, load and effort
Answer key on page 2
2 pages49 KB
View all 2 pagesPulley Worksheet: Ropes, force and distance
Using data to explain how pulleys trade force for distance
Answer key on page 2
2 pages48 KB
View all 2 pagesCompound machines Worksheet: which simple Machines?
Identifying the simple machines that make up compound machines
Answer key on page 2
2 pages28 KB
View all 2 pagesSimple machines and mechanical advantage reading passage
Explaining how simple machines trade force for distance
Answer key on page 2
2 pages41 KB
Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.
About these simple machines worksheets
A simple machine is a tool with few or no moving parts that makes a push or a pull easier. There are six: the lever, the pulley, the wheel and axle, the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw. A seesaw, a flagpole, a doorknob, a slide, an ax and a jar lid all use them.
These simple machines worksheets grow with your child. Second graders meet the six machines on a poster and find them in everyday things. Third graders label the six machines and the parts of a lever and read how machines make work easier. Fourth graders sort ramps, wedges and screws and use ramp data to see the trade-off between force and distance. Fifth graders classify levers, analyze pulley data and take apart compound machines.
Every diagram is drawn in black and white. Cut and paste pages come with a no-scissors twin, and pages with right answers have an answer key on page 2.
Standards
NGSS 3-PS2-1Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.7Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.7Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
How to use them
- Start with the poster. Hunt for each machine in the classroom or kitchen before doing the matching page.
- Build a lever with a ruler and a pencil, and a ramp with a board and a stack of books, before the 3rd and 4th grade pages.
- Use a spring scale or a rubber band to feel how a longer ramp needs less force.
- Finish with the reading passage or the vocabulary page.
Teaching tips
- Machines don't do the work for you. They trade force for distance: less force, but you push or pull farther.
- A wedge and a screw are both kinds of inclined plane. A screw is a ramp wrapped around a post.
- Lever class depends on what is in the middle: the fulcrum (first class), the load (second class) or the effort (third class).
- The ramp and pulley numbers are practice data. The pulley data leave out friction, which real pulleys always have.
Questions teachers and parents ask
What are the six simple machines?
The lever, the pulley, the wheel and axle, the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw.
What are some examples of simple machines at home?
A seesaw or bottle opener (lever), window blinds or a flagpole (pulley), a doorknob (wheel and axle), a ramp (inclined plane), a knife or ax (wedge) and a jar lid (screw).
What are the three classes of levers?
First class has the fulcrum in the middle (a seesaw). Second class has the load in the middle (a wheelbarrow). Third class has the effort in the middle (a broom).
Do simple machines make work less?
No. They let you use less force, change its direction or move something farther, but you trade force for distance. Friction means you always put in a little more than you get out.