It’s not just play time as our first and second graders explore how toys and simple machines work during their Toy Expedition.  Students will learn about the job of a scientist and the process their follow to conduct research.  Students will do fieldwork exploring, experimenting and documenting their learnings.  Each student will record their findings in a “simple machine science journal,” collecting data, drawing conclusions and making predictions for discussion in the classroom.

Students will then examine how forces and changes in motion make our lives easier by conducting scientific experiments with wheels, levers, pulleys, planes and wedges.  Students will tinker with various materials to create a NEW toy based on their knowledge.  Next, they will draw and label a scientific diagram of their toy which will be used as informational cards for other students.

But it doesn’t stop there! The first and second graders will look at the many simple machines around the community that we use every day and compile their data into a class book of simple machines as a reference for the school community.  Their will create design challenges teaching the properties of force and change in motion to the Polaris community during their “Tinkering Lab.”