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      • Lifting with Levers
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Lifting With Levers


Core Learning Experience + Supplies and Equipment

  • ​A fun activity to demonstrate the power of a lever: have a pencil, a tongue depressor or pop stick for each child, and a bowl of Cheerios. Show the children how to lay the pencil on table, place the tongue depressor across it at right angles so that one end is touching the table. Put a Cheerio on that end, and push the other end down sharply with a finger. The Cheerio will be launched into the air. Launch lots of Cheerios, and see where they land. Move the depressor across the pencil, and see if that makes any difference in where the Cheerios go. Try using a ruler as the lever, or a plastic spoon.
  • Try launching the Cheerios after removing the pencil. What happens? Why

Possible/Expected Discoveries

  • ​A lever is a simple machine that makes it easier for us to lift things. If we use a lever, or a tool that includes a lever in its construction, we can lift heavy things that we would not be able to lift without it. Levers also help us to magnify (make greater) the force made by our hands alone.
  • Some vocabulary: lever, force, load, pivot/fulcrum.
  •  Some examples of levers are: see-saw; wheelbarrow; stapler; scissors; shovel; screwdriver; spatula. Ask the children to try to use some of these tools to lift something heavy, or to press harder to do something that our hands alone would not able to do.
  • Try to open a paint can (or similar) with your fingers. Now let’s try it with a screwdriver. Which works better? Can you find the lever?

Extended Learning and Other Curriculum Areas

  • ​Explore wood unit blocks, and create levers by placing one on top of another crossways, and lifting books. Experiment with different lengths, and distance from fulcrum.
  • Outdoors, place a plank over a brick or similar
Preschool science activities - levers

Activity Packs and Printables

Websites

​http://www.enchantedlearning.com/physics/machines/Levers.shtml
http://mikids.com/SMachinesLevers.htm

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This site is sponsored and supported by the preschool themes site www.KidSparkz.com
Activities written by (c) Susan Portman
Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Homeschooler - TeachersPayTeachers.com
Copyright © 2005-2023 Teach Preschool Science - Permission granted to reproduce for personal educational use only. Commercial copying or selling is prohibited. No part of this resource may be uploaded to, or published on, any other site for any reason.
  • Home
  • Lesson Plans Index
    • Life Science Plants and Animals >
      • Comparing Leaves
      • Exploring Pumpkins
      • Shucking Corn
      • Earthworm Observation
      • Parent and Baby Animals
      • Collecting Ants
      • Spider Season
      • Visit to a Pet Store
      • Living and Non Living Things
      • Animals Come in Many Shapes, Sizes and Colors
      • Ways Animals Move
      • Animals Need to Eat
      • Difference Between Wild and Tame Animals
      • People Can Use Products Provided by Animals and Plants
      • Animal Coverings - Hair, Fur, Feathers, Scales and Skin
      • Animals Live in Different Places
      • Metamorphosis and Change in Biology
      • Nocturnal Animals
      • Egg Science
      • Exploring Fish
      • Tree Skin Bark
      • Roots Growing Potatoes in Water
      • Stems - Making Daisy and Clover Chains
      • Flowers
      • Digging in the Dirt
    • Life Science People Index >
      • Parts of Our Body and How We Use Them
      • Our Heart
      • Our Hands
      • Our Feet
      • Fun With Balance
      • Sound Search
      • Sense of Touch
      • Exploring the Sense of Sight
      • Follow That Scent
      • Stop That Germ!
      • Interesting Tools That Doctors Use
      • We Need Healthy Teeth
      • Keep Those Muscles Moving!
    • Physical Science Index >
      • Blowing Bubbles
      • Magnify!
      • Ways to Measure Time
      • Magnetic Attraction
      • Ramps in Motion
      • Ice Melting
      • Sink or Float a Boat
      • Sponges and water
      • Dropping Things Through the Air
      • Static Electricity
      • Battery Electricity
      • Properties of Soap and Water
      • Weights and Balances
      • How Can Heat Change Things?
      • Tools Can Help Us Do Things
      • Lifting with Levers
      • Earth and Sky Science Index >
        • Shadow Chasing
        • Sun Effects
        • The Night Sky
        • Kinds of Clouds
        • Dressing for the Season
        • Classifying Rocks
        • Colors of the Rainbow
        • Who Has Seen the Wind?
        • Rain
        • Snow
        • Litter Hunt
        • We Can Take Care of the Earth
      • Wheels
      • Predicting How Simple Machines Will Work
      • Computers and Other Devices
      • Discoveries With Straws
      • Different Ways of Making Light
  • Teaching Notes
  • Links
  • Contact