“YOU ADDITIVE INVERSED ME!” 6-8

“YOU ADDITIVE INVERSED ME!”

“YOU ADDITIVE INVERSED ME!”

Learning Description

Bring a simple but sometimes baffling math concept to life through pantomime and improvisation!  In this lesson, students will explore the concepts of absolute value and additive inverses by developing, enacting, and then writing out scenes featuring everyday actions that convey the dynamic at the heart of the math.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 6-8
CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & MATH
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can identify the additive inverse of a number.

  • I can act in an improvised scene based on a math concept.

  • I can write out the scene I improvised.

Essential Questions

  • What is an additive inverse?

  • How can we use drama to bring math concepts to life?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

6.NR.3: Solve a variety of problems involving whole numbers and their opposites; model rational numbers on a number line to describe problems presented in relevant, mathematical situations.

6.NR.3.1 Identify and compare integers and explain the meaning of zero based on multiple authentic situations.

6.NR.3.5 Explain the absolute value of a rational number as its distance from zero on the number line; interpret absolute value as distance for a positive or negative quantity in a relevant situation.

Arts Standards

Grade 6:

TA6.CR.1 Organize, design, and refine theatrical work.

 

TA6.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

6.NS.5 Understand that the positive and negative representations of a number are opposites in direction and value. Use integers to represent quantities in real-world situations and explain the meaning of zero in each situation.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can create scenes and write scripts using story elements and structure.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Positive number – A number to the right of zero on a number line

 

  • Negative number – A number to the left of zero on a number line

 

  • Absolute value – The distance from a number to zero on a number line

  • Additive inverse – The opposite of a number; the number that, when added to a given number, results in the sum of zero

Arts Vocabulary

  • Improvisation – Acting without a script

 

  • Pantomime – Pretending to hold, touch, or do something one is not holding, touching or using

 

  • Dialogue – Conversation between characters

  • Scene – The dialogue and action between characters in one place for one continuous period of time

 

Materials

Paper and pencils, or devices, for writing

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

    • Model for students a basic mirror activity: Have a student volunteer come to the front; have the student become a mirror; slowly do simple movements (waving, shrugging, tilting head, smiling, frowning, tapping knees, etc.) facing the “mirror” for the student volunteer to copy.
      • Move slowly so that the volunteer can follow. 
      • Trade roles; have the student initiate the movement, and follow the student’s movement.  
  • Note: in mirroring, one partner’s right arm is mirrored by the other’s left arm.

 

Work Session

    • Discuss absolute value and additive Inverse.
      • Explain that a number and its additive inverse add up to 0, and that a number and its additive inverse have the same absolute value.  
      • Confirm comprehension by posing numbers and asking students to reply with each number’s additive inverse.
    • Introduce improvisation – ‘acting without a script’ or ‘making it up as you go’.
      • Explain that in improvisation, actors go along with other actors’ ideas, listen and respond as in a real conversation, and add details and build conflict between the characters to keep the scene interesting.
        • Define a scene as continuous action in a single place.
    • Model an improvised scene with a student, or have two students model an improvised scene, of two characters who know each other (parent/child, siblings, friends), with a specific conflict (child wants permission to go somewhere, parent says “No”; or parent wants child to clean their room, but child is resisting; or child wants sibling to stay out of their room; or child wants friend to play basketball; etc.).
      • Reflect on how the scene was improvised, and how the actors improvised effectively to create an interesting scene.
    • Brainstorm verbs that convey opposite/reversible, measurable actions (not simple binaries of on/off, in/out, etc.) such as push/pull, buy/sell, earn/spend, stretch/contract, wrap/unwrap, produce/consume, build/dismantle, inflate/deflate, etc.  
    • Discuss additive inverse and how it can be represented in opposite actions conveyed in the verb pairs.
      • If needed, provide examples of additive inverse relationships in real world situations from the Georgia standard: “temperature above/below zero, elevation above/below sea level, debits/credits, positive/negative electric charge”.
    • Explain that students will work with a partner to improvise scenes that convey additive inverse relationships in everyday situations.
      • Students should use dialogue and pantomime in their scenes.
        • Define pantomime, and explain that students will pantomime any actions in their scenes. 
    • Model an improvised scene with a student, or guide two students in modeling an improvised scene, in which an action and its opposite are the center of the conflict. Develop the conflict to the point where one character says. “You additive inversed me!”
      • Examples could include:
        • A child earns X minutes of screen time for doing chores, but the parent discovers a rule or object that was broken and takes away the time.
        • A friend is winning a one-on-one basketball game by 13 points, but the opponent has a 13-point run to tie the game.
        • A grandmother baked 17 cookies, but the child ate 17 cookies. 
  • Any actions in the scene should be pantomimed.
  • Have student pairs improvise their scenes simultaneously.
  • Have students write their improvised scenario as a scene, detailing what the characters said.
  • Each student should write their own. They should try to remember what they can from the improvised scene but also feel free to revise and reinvent what was said as they write it down.  
  • Have students draw a diagram or chart or number line that shows the additive inverse in a mathematical representation.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Ask students to define and give real-world examples of additive inverses.  
  • Discuss improvisation and pantomime and how they were used in the scenes.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students by observing students’ discussions around additive inverse relationships between two quantities, and observing their focus and collaboration in improvising their scene, specifically in terms of both engaging in dialogue with their partners and expressing actions through pantomime.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can identify the additive inverse of a number.
  • Students can act in an improvised scene that demonstrates understanding of additive inverse number relationships using dialogue and pantomime.
  • Students can express understanding of additive inverse through a written scene.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration:

  • Have students be more specific within their scenes, including specific measurements and equations to express the concept of additive inverses in their scenes.

Remediation:

  • Model several scenes before having students do them with partners.
  • Have student partners improvise the same scenario that was used in the modeling.
  • Develop an idea together and have all partners improvise that scenario simultaneously.

 

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Ideas contributed by:  Barry Stewart Mann

Revised and copyright:  May 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

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SOUND SENSATIONS K-1

SOUND SENSATIONS

SOUND SENSATIONS

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will listen to a story called The Listening Walk, and create a class soundscape based on the examples of onomatopoeia in the story. Students will then work in small groups to create and perform their own narratives based on the story exhibiting examples of onomatopoeia.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: K-1
CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & ELA
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can identify and create examples of onomatopoeia.

  • I can create a soundscape and produce examples of onomatopoeia using my voice and/or body.

Essential Questions

  • What is onomatopoeia?

  • How can I use my voice and/or body to create examples of onomatopoeia in a story?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Kindergarten

ELAGSEKW2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

 

Grade 1

ELAGSE1RL4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

 

ELAGSE1SL4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

Arts Standards

Kindergarten

TAK.CR.1 Organize, design, and refine theatrical works.

 

TAK.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.

 

Grade 1

TA1.CR.1 Organize, design, and refine theatrical works.

 

TA1.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Kindergarten

READING - LITERARY TEXT

Language, Craft, and Structure (LCS) Standard 9: Interpret and analyze the author’s use of words, phrases, and conventions, and how their relationships shape meaning and tone in print and multimedia texts. 

9.1 With guidance and support, identify the literary devices of repetitive language and the sound devices of rhyme, onomatopoeia, and alliteration; identify when the author uses each. 

 

COMMUNICATION 

Meaning and Context (MC) 

Standard 1: Interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, communicate meaning, and develop logical interpretations through collaborative conversations; build upon the ideas of others to clearly express one’s own views while respecting diverse perspectives.

1.1 Explore and create meaning through play, conversation, drama, and story-telling.

 

Language, Craft and Structure (LCS)

Standard 5: Incorporate craft techniques to engage and impact audience and convey messages.

5.2 Employ repetitive language, onomatopoeia, and/or alliteration to impact the audience.

 

Grade 1

READING - LITERARY TEXT

Language, Craft, and Structure (LCS) Standard 9: Interpret and analyze the author’s use of words, phrases, and conventions, and how their relationships shape meaning and tone in print and multimedia texts. 

9.1 Identify the literary devices of rhythm, repetitive language, and simile and sound devices of rhyme, onomatopoeia, and alliteration; explain how the author uses each. 

 

COMMUNICATION 

Meaning and Context (MC) 

Standard 1: Interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, communicate meaning, and develop logical interpretations through collaborative conversations; build upon the ideas of others to clearly express one’s own views while respecting diverse perspectives.

1.1 Explore and create meaning through conversation, drama, questioning, and story-telling.

 

Language, Craft and Structure (LCS)

Standard 5: Incorporate craft techniques to engage and impact audience and convey messages.

5.2 Employ a combination of words, phrases, rhythm, rhyme, repetitive language, similes, onomatopoeia, and alliteration for impact.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can create scenes and write scripts using story elements and structure.

 

Anchor Standard 3: I can act in improvised scenes and written scripts.

 

Anchor Standard 4: I can direct and organize work for a performance to reflect specific content, ideas, skills, and media. 

Anchor Standard 8: I can relate theatre to other content areas, arts disciplines, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Onomatopoeia - A word that actually looks like the sound it makes; some examples of onomatopoeia are slam, splash, bam, babble, warble, gurgle, mumble, and belch

Arts Vocabulary

  • Scene - A single situation or unit of dialogue in a play

 

  • Soundscape - A work of art or performance that combines sounds in order to create a particular effect

 

  • Character - An actor or actress in a specified role

  • Voice - The use of vocal expression by actors

 

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Listen to the onomatopoeia song to review with students.
  • Create sounds with a few classroom items. Ask students what sounds these could represent in nature or otherwise? (Ex. shaking pom poms in a cup could be wind, drumming on a desk could be thunder).

 

Work Session

  • Students will listen to a story that has lots of rich examples of onomatopoeia, The Listening Walk, by Paul Showers. 
  • Students will discuss some of the sounds they saw written out in the story; as students name them, write them down on an onomatopoeia anchor chart. 
  • Students will then create a brief soundscape of the story. 
    • Read the story again (either in full, or just parts of the story). 
    • Tell students that when a sound comes, the students will make the sound aloud.  For example, the text reads, “I hear my father’s shoes on the sidewalk.  My father walks slowly and his shoes go dop dup dop dup”.  As the written word is read aloud, students will tap on the floor with their feet.
  • Split students into small groups or partners. Tell the students they will be creating their own listening walks. 
    • Students will need a main character and at least three things that the character will hear as he/she walks along a path. One student will be the main character, and the other student(s) in the group will make the sounds as the character comes across them in the story.
    • Ask, “What are some things the main character could come across that would make noise?”. 
      • Hand out three index cards to each group. The students will write the onomatopoeia word of the sounds they will be hearing in their scene.  
        • For example, the main character might say, “I was walking along and a bee came buzzing by my ear.” The students will write “buzz” on the card and say buzz as they hold it up during their performance. 
        • The character might say, “Then, a car zoomed by me very fast”. The students will write “vroom” on the card, and say vroom as they hold it up during their performance.
    • Allow time for students to practice acting out the scenes with their group.
      • Circulate the room to assist students as needed. 
  • Tell students that they will be performing their soundscapes for the class. Review audience and performer expectations.
    • Students will act out scenes for the class.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Students will tape up their index cards to the onomatopoeia anchor chart.  
  • Review additions that were made to the chart.
  • Discuss how using onomatopoeia engaged and impacted the audience.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess student learning by observing students’ participation in the soundscape exercises, onomatopoeia review, and contributions to small group soundscape creation.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST:

  • Students can create a soundscape and produce examples of onomatopoeia using their voices and/or bodies.
  • Students can identify and create examples of onomatopoeia.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Accelerated: 

  • Students can write out a script with the onomatopoeia words included. 
  • Students can include more than three examples of onomatopoeia within the scene. 
  • Students can create various paths in separate settings - one group could be in a city (cars/trains), a farm (cows, pigs, horses), neighborhood (lawn mower, barking dogs), restaurant (silverware clinking), etc.

Remedial: 

  • Work with small groups to formulate the words the main character will say. 
  • Provide a story starter. 
  • Brainstorm ideas as a class of sounds that students could include in their story. 

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Ideas contributed by: Chelsea Moore

Revised and copyright:  May 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Modules

SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE 4-5

SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE

SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will read how Mazie engineers simple machines in her house when students read the book, Mazie’s Amazing Machines, by Sheryl Haft. Students will embody six simple machines in their groups by creating tableaux and playing the 3-Second Machine Game. They will then be challenged to create a hexathlon (six-event) competition using pantomime by designing six simple machines using their bodies.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 4-5
CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can bring simple machines to life using my body.

  • I can work as a team to design simple machines. 

  • I can work as a team to pantomime everyday tasks using simple machines. 

Essential Questions

  • How do simple machines help make tasks in our everyday lives easier?

  • How do the parts of something help make the whole?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4

S4P3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between

balanced and unbalanced forces.

  1. Ask questions to identify and explain the uses of simple machines (lever, pulley, wedge, inclined plane, wheel & axle, and screw) and how forces are changed when simple machines are used to complete tasks.

 

 

Arts Standards

Grades 4TA4.PR.1  Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments. c. Collaborate and perform with an ensemble to present theatre to an audience. d. Create and perform characters based on imagination. e. Identify and explore character choices and relationships in a variety of dramatic forms (e.g. narrated story, pantomime, puppetry, dramatic play).

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4

4-PS3-1. Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.

 

4-PS3-3. Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.

 

 

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 3: I can act in improvised scenes and written scripts.

Anchor Standard 8: I can relate theatre to other content areas, arts disciplines, and careers.

 

 

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Simple machines - Basic mechanical devices that are used to make work easier by altering the magnitude or direction of a force

  • Motion - The change in position or orientation of an object with respect to a reference point or frame of reference
  • Lever - A simple machine consisting of a rigid beam or bar that is free to pivot around a fixed point called a fulcrum
  • Pulley - A simple machine consisting of a grooved wheel (often called a sheave) that is mounted on a fixed or movable axle
  • Wedge - A simple machine consisting of a triangular-shaped object with a sharp edge or inclined plane on one or both of its sides
  • Inclined plane - A simple machine consisting of a sloping surface or ramp that reduces the amount of force required to lift or move objects vertically
  • Wheel and axle - A simple machine consisting of a wheel (a circular object with a central hole) mounted on an axle (a cylindrical shaft)
  • Screw - A simple machine and a type of fastener that consists of a cylindrical shaft with a helical (spiral) ridge or thread wrapped around it
  • Fulcrum - A fixed point or pivot around which a lever or other mechanical device rotates or moves
  • Load - The force or weight that is applied to a structure, device, or system
  • Force - A push or pull that can cause an object to change its state of motion, accelerate, deform, or experience other effects

Arts Vocabulary

  • Body - The physical presence, movements, and expressions of an actor

  • Gestures - The movements and actions of the body, particularly the hands, arms, and face, that are used by actors to convey emotions, thoughts, intentions, and messages to the audience
  • Tableau - A static and silent scene or picture created by actors who freeze in specific poses or positions to represent a moment or concept
  • Pantomime - A form of performance where actors use gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to convey a story or narrative without speaking

 

Materials

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

 

Work Session

SIMPLE MACHINE TABLEAU GAME

  • Explain to students that they will be making a tableau demonstrating a simple machine that they learned about in the book.
    • Explain to students that a tableau is a static and silent scene or picture created by actors who freeze in specific poses or positions to represent a moment or concept
  • Give each student a lanyard with the name of a simple machine. 
  • Have students get in groups of three with students who have the same simple machine. 
  • Have each group create a tableau of their machine using each group member. Then ask students to “bring it life” and demonstrate how the simple machine works with movement.

 

INTRODUCE PANTOMIME

  • Explain to students that pantomime is a form of performance where actors use exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to convey a story or narrative without speaking. Actors use acting and reacting in pantomime. 
  • Show students a video of pantomime such as Le Mime Marceau or Punch & Mimi- Brushing Teeth.

 

EVERYDAY SIMPLE MACHINE TASKS

  • Ask students if they can think of examples of simple machines being used in everyday activities. Some examples are:
    • Inclined plane: Wheelchair ramp, skateboard ramp, slide
    • Wedge: Knife, axle, plow, prop to keep a door open
    • Screw: Lid to a jar, bottle opener, corkscrew
    • Wheel and axle: Steering wheel of a car, bicycle pedal
    • Pulley: Flagpole with flag, raising and lowering blinds
    • Lever: Scissor handle, paperclip, clothespin

 

CLASS HEXATHLON PHYSICAL CHALLENGE

  • Introduce hexathlon events to students. These are Olympic-like events that have six different sports or competitions that athletes must perform.
  • Tell students that they will create a Pantomimed Hexathlon Class Competition, with each of the six competitions representing an everyday task for each of the six simple machines.
    • Examples:
      • Prop a door open (wedge)
      • Untwist ten jar lids (screw)
      • Push a box up a ramp (inclined plane)
      • Complete a lap by scooter (wheel and axle)
      • Lift the most weight with a pulley
      • Sweep a ball into a goal using a broom (lever) 
  • Have each group develop a team name. 

 

DEVELOP GAMES

  • Each group will identify one everyday task for each of the six simple machines. 
  • Hand out the SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE TASKS -  WORKSHEET for students to identify a task for each simple machine. 
  • Next, have students develop a pantomime for each task.
    • Tell students that it should have a beginning, middle, and end movement. This will help clarify and slow down the movements to avoid an overall general movement that does not show distinct parts. 

 

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

  • Set the stage by playing Olympic music.
  • Invite each group to perform their tasks and time them. 
  • Have students in the audience identify which simple machine each task used.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Facilitate a class discussion that reflects on the following questions:
    • How can you use simple machines in your life to make everyday tasks easier? 
    • Can you design a machine in your house or community to help someone in need? Which simple machines would it use? 
  • Have students draw a diagram of the beginning, middle, and end of each task pantomime with labels of simple machine names as well as any related vocabulary.
  • Students should reflect and write about their machines and their process in designing them in their STEAM journal.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teacher will assess students by:

  • Circulating the room assessing students’ understanding of the simple machine movements. *Adjust and correct students as you encounter movements that do not reflect the simple machine. 
  • Asking questions to determine if students’ bodies match the simple machine movements. 
  • Asking specific questions about the fulcrum, load, and force.

 

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can accurately bring simple machines to life with their bodies using pantomime and tableau.
  • Students can write about their machines and their processes in their STEAM journal. 
  • Students can draw a diagram of the beginning, middle, and end of each task pantomime with labels of simple machine names as well as any related vocabulary.

 

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Accelerated: Have students videotape their group, introducing and enacting their Hexathlon competition machines on Flip Grid or another recording application. 

Remedial: Have students explain one simple machine competition activity using a beginning, middle, and end. 

 

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Ideas contributed by:  Susie Spear Purcell. Updated by: Katy Betts.

Revised and copyright:  August 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Modules

SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE 2-3

SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE

SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will read how Mazie engineers simple machines in her house when students read, Mazie’s Amazing Machines, by Sheryl Haft. Students will embody the six simple machines in their groups by creating tableaux and playing the 3-Second Machine Game. They will then be challenged to create a hexathlon (six-event) competition using pantomime by designing simple machines using their bodies.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 2-3
CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can bring simple machines to life using my body.

  • I can work as a team to design simple machines. 

  • I can work as a team to pantomime everyday tasks using simple machines. 

  • I can explain the role of force and motion in simple machines.

Essential Questions

  • How do simple machines help make tasks in our everyday lives easier?

  • How do the parts of something help make the whole?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 2

S2P2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the effect of a force (a push or a pull) in the movement of an object (changes in speed and direction).

 

Arts Standards

Grade 2TA2.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments. a. Use imagination and vocal elements (e.g. inflection, pitch, volume, articulation) to communicate c. Collaborate and perform with an ensemble to share theatre with an audience. d. Explore character choices and relationships in a variety of dramatic forms (e.g. narrated story, pantomime, puppetry, dramatic play).

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3

3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

 

3-PS2-2. Make observations and measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.

 

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 3: I can act in improvised scenes and written scripts.

Anchor Standard 8: I can relate theatre to other content areas, arts disciplines, and careers.

 

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Simple machines - Basic mechanical devices that are used to make work easier by altering the magnitude or direction of a force

  • Motion - The change in position or orientation of an object with respect to a reference point or frame of reference
  • Force - A push or pull that can cause an object to change its state of motion, accelerate, deform, or experience other effects

 

  • Lever - A simple machine consisting of a rigid beam or bar that is free to pivot around a fixed point called a fulcrum

  • Pulley - A simple machine consisting of a grooved wheel (often called a sheave) that is mounted on a fixed or movable axle
  • Wedge - A simple machine consisting of a triangular-shaped object with a sharp edge or inclined plane on one or both of its sides
  • Inclined plane - A simple machine consisting of a sloping surface or ramp that reduces the amount of force required to lift or move objects vertically
  • Wheel and axle - A simple machine consisting of a wheel (a circular object with a central hole) mounted on an axle (a cylindrical shaft)
  • Screw - A simple machine and a type of fastener that consists of a cylindrical shaft with a helical (spiral) ridge or thread wrapped around it
  • Fulcrum - A fixed point or pivot around which a lever or other mechanical device rotates or moves
  • Load - The force or weight that is applied to a structure, device, or system

Arts Vocabulary

  • Body - The physical presence, movements, and expressions of an actor

  • Gestures - The movements and actions of the body, particularly the hands, arms, and face, that are used by actors to convey emotions, thoughts, intentions, and messages to the audience
  • Tableau - A static and silent scene or picture created by actors who freeze in specific poses or positions to represent a moment or concept
  • Pantomime - A form of performance where actors use gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to convey a story or narrative without speaking

 

Materials

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Show the video – Coca-Cola Music Machine: "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke".
  • Ask students to describe what they saw.
    • Ask students what the purpose of the machine was in the video. 
    • Discuss what a simple machine is.
  • Introduce Rube Goldberg to students.
    • Read the book Mazie’s Amazing Machines by Sheryl Haft, 
    • While reading the book, explore each simple machine with a body movement. 
    • After reading the book, ask students which Mazie machine was their favorite and how it made life simpler.
    • Ask students how motion and force played a role in the simple machines.

 

Work Session

SIMPLE MACHINE TABLEAU GAME

  • Explain to students that they will be making a tableau demonstrating a simple machine that they learned about in the book.
    • Explain to students that a tableau is a static and silent scene or picture created by actors who freeze in specific poses or positions to represent a moment or concept
  • Give each student a lanyard with the name of a simple machine. 
  • Have students get in groups of three with students who have the same simple machine. 
  • Have each group create a tableau of their machine using each group member. Then ask students to “bring it life” and demonstrate how the simple machine works with movement.
  • Debrief the simple machines discussing the roles of motion and force.

 

INTRODUCE PANTOMIME

  • Explain to students that pantomime is a form of performance where actors use exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to convey a story or narrative without speaking. Actors use acting and reacting in pantomime. 
  • Show students a video of pantomime such as Le Mime Marceau or Punch & Mimi- Brushing Teeth.

 

EVERYDAY SIMPLE MACHINE TASKS

  • In their groups, ask students to think of an example of their simple machine being used in everyday activities. Some examples are:
    • Inclined plane: Wheelchair ramp, skateboard ramp, slide
    • Wedge: Knife, axle, plow, prop to keep a door open
    • Screw: Lid to a jar, bottle opener, corkscrew
    • Wheel and axle: Steering wheel of a car, bicycle pedal
    • Pulley: Flagpole with flag, raising and lowering blinds
    • Lever: Scissor handle, paperclip, clothespin
  • Ask students to identify how force and motion make their machine work.
  • Provide time for groups to share with the class.

 

CLASS HEXATHLON PHYSICAL CHALLENGE

  • Introduce hexathlon events to students. These are Olympic-like events that have six different sports or competitions that athletes must perform.
  • Tell students that they will create a Pantomimed Hexathlon Class Competition, with each of the six competitions representing an everyday task for each of the six simple machines.
    • Examples:
      • Prop a door open (wedge)
      • Untwist ten jar lids (screw)
      • Push a box up a ramp (inclined plane)
      • Complete a lap by scooter (wheel and axle)
      • Lift the most weight with a pulley
      • Sweep a ball into a goal using a broom (lever) 
  • Have each group develop a team name. 

 

DEVELOP GAMES

  • Each group will develop one task for their assigned simple machine (the same simple machine that they made a tableau of). 
  • Hand out the SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE TASKS -  WORKSHEET for students to identify a task for their simple machine. 
  • Next, have students develop a pantomime for their task.
    • Tell students that it should have a beginning, middle, and end movement. This will help clarify and slow down the movements to avoid an overall general movement that does not show distinct parts. 

 

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

  • Set the stage by playing Olympic music.
  • Invite each group to perform their tasks and time them. 
  • Have students in the audience identify which simple machine each task used.
  • Discuss the role of force and motion in the simple machine.

 

Closing Reflection

  •  
  • Facilitate a class discussion that reflects on the following questions:
    • How can you use simple machines in your life to make everyday tasks easier? 
    • Can you design a machine in your house or community to help someone in need? Which simple machines would it use? 
  • Have students draw a diagram of the beginning, middle, and end of each task pantomime with labels of simple machine names as well as any related vocabulary.
  • Students should reflect and write about their machines and their process in designing them in their STEAM journal.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teacher will assess students by:

  • Circulating the room assessing students’ understanding of the simple machine movements. *Adjust and correct students as you encounter movements that do not reflect the simple machine. 
  • Asking questions to determine if students’ bodies match the simple machine movements. 
  • Asking specific questions about the fulcrum, load, and force.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can accurately bring simple machines to life with their bodies using pantomime and tableau.
  • Students can write about their machines and their processes in their STEAM journal. 
  • Students can draw a diagram of the beginning, middle, and end of each task pantomime with labels of simple machine names as well as any related vocabulary. 
  • Students can explain the role of force and motion in the function of simple machines.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Accelerated: 

  • Have students videotape their group, introducing and enacting their Hexathlon competition machines on Flip Grid or another recording application. 
  • Have students pantomime multiple simple machines (or all six), instead of just one. 

Remedial: Instead of individual groups developing their own simple machines, the class can develop six simple machine tasks together.

 

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Ideas contributed by:  Susie Spear Purcell. Updated by: Katy Betts.

Revised and copyright:  August 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

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SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE K-1

SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE

SIMPLE MACHINE HEXATHLON CHALLENGE

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will read how Mazie engineers simple machines in her house when students read the book, Mazie’s Amazing Machines, by Sheryl Haft. Students will embody the six simple machines in their groups by creating tableaux and playing the 3-Second Machine Game. They will then be challenged to create a hexathlon (six-event) competition using pantomime by demonstrating simple machines using their bodies.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: K-1
CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & ELA
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

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"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can bring simple machines to life using my body.

  • I can work as a team to design simple machines. 

  • I can work as a team to pantomime everyday tasks using simple machines. 

  • I can explain the role of force and motion in simple machines.

Essential Questions

  • How do simple machines help make tasks in our everyday lives easier?

  • How do the parts of something help make the whole?

  • What is the relationship between an object’s physical attributes and its resulting motion?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Kindergarten

SKP2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to compare and describe different types of motion. a. Plan and carry out an investigation to determine the relationship between an object’s physical attributes and its resulting motion (straight, circular, back and forth, fast and slow, and motionless) when a force is applied. (Examples could include toss, drop, push, and pull.)

Arts Standards

KindergartenTAK.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments. c. Cooperate in theatre experiences. d. Assume roles in a variety of dramatic forms (e.g. narrated story, pantomime, puppetry, dramatic play).

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Kindergarten

K-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.

 

K-PS2-2. Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 3: I can act in improvised scenes and written scripts.

Anchor Standard 8: I can relate theatre to other content areas, arts disciplines, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Simple machines - Basic mechanical devices that are used to make work easier by altering the magnitude or direction of a force

  • Motion - The change in position or orientation of an object with respect to a reference point or frame of reference
  • Force - A push or pull that can cause an object to change its state of motion, accelerate, deform, or experience other effects

 

  • Lever - A simple machine consisting of a rigid beam or bar that is free to pivot around a fixed point called a fulcrum

  • Pulley - A simple machine consisting of a grooved wheel (often called a sheave) that is mounted on a fixed or movable axle
  • Wedge - A simple machine consisting of a triangular-shaped object with a sharp edge or inclined plane on one or both of its sides
  • Inclined plane - A simple machine consisting of a sloping surface or ramp that reduces the amount of force required to lift or move objects vertically
  • Wheel and axle - A simple machine consisting of a wheel (a circular object with a central hole) mounted on an axle (a cylindrical shaft)
  • Screw - A simple machine and a type of fastener that consists of a cylindrical shaft with a helical (spiral) ridge or thread wrapped around it
  • Fulcrum - A fixed point or pivot around which a lever or other mechanical device rotates or moves
  • Load - The force or weight that is applied to a structure, device, or system

Arts Vocabulary

  • Body - The physical presence, movements, and expressions of an actor

  • Gestures - The movements and actions of the body, particularly the hands, arms, and face, that are used by actors to convey emotions, thoughts, intentions, and messages to the audience
  • Tableau - A static and silent scene or picture created by actors who freeze in specific poses or positions to represent a moment or concept
  • Pantomime - A form of performance where actors use gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to convey a story or narrative without speaking

 

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Show the video – Coca-Cola Music Machine: "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke".
  • Ask students to describe what they saw.
    • Ask students what the purpose of the machine was in the video. 
    • Discuss what a simple machine is.
  • Introduce Rube Goldberg to students.
    • Read the book Mazie’s Amazing Machines by Sheryl Haft, 
    • While reading the book, explore each simple machine with a body movement. Focus on the shapes that students will make with their bodies and how the shapes will be different depending on the purpose of the machine (i.e., a wedge versus a wheel).
    • After reading the book, ask students which Mazie machine was their favorite and how it made life simpler.

 

Work Session

SIMPLE MACHINE TABLEAU GAME

  • Explain to students that they will be making a tableau demonstrating a simple machine that they learned about in the book.
    • Explain to students that a tableau is a static and silent scene or picture created by actors who freeze in specific poses or positions to represent a moment or concept.
  • Give each student a lanyard with the name of a simple machine. 
  • Have students get in groups of three with students who have the same simple machine. 
  • Have each group create a tableau of their machine using each group member. Then ask students to “bring it life” and demonstrate how the simple machine works with movement.
  • Discuss each machine’s physical attributes and how that impacts its resulting motion (straight, circular, back and forth, fast and slow, and motionless) when force is applied.

 

INTRODUCE PANTOMIME

  • Explain to students that pantomime is a form of performance where actors use exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to convey a story or narrative without speaking. Actors use acting and reacting in pantomime. 
  • Show students a video of pantomime such as Le Mime Marceau or Punch & Mimi- Brushing Teeth.
  • Give students a prompt, such as brushing teeth, to practice pantomime.

 

EVERYDAY SIMPLE MACHINE TASKS

  • Show students pictures of the following activities. Ask them to match them to the simple machines.
    • Wheelchair ramp, skateboard ramp, slide (Inclined plane)
    • Knife, axle, plow, prop to keep a door open (Wedge)
    • Lid to a jar, bottle opener, corkscrew (Screw)
    • Steering wheel of a car, bicycle pedal (Wheel and axle)
    • Flagpole with flag, raising and lowering blinds (Pulley)
    • Scissor handle, paperclip, clothespin (Lever)
  • Discuss how the physical attributes of each machine impacts how it functions. 

 

CLASS HEXATHLON PHYSICAL CHALLENGE

  • Introduce hexathlon events to students. These are Olympic-like events that have six different sports or competitions that athletes must perform.
  • Tell students that they will create a Pantomimed Hexathlon Class Competition, with each of the six competitions representing the six simple machines.
  • Have each group develop a team name. 

 

DEVELOP GAMES

  • Students should focus on creating body shapes that reflect the simple machine.
  • Next, have students develop a pantomime for their machine.
    • Tell students that it should have a beginning, middle, and end movement. This will help clarify and slow down the movements to avoid an overall general movement that does not show distinct parts. 

 

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

  • Set the stage by playing Olympic music.
  • Invite each group to perform their machine. 
  • Have students in the audience identify which simple machine each task used.
  • Discuss how students’ body shapes were different based on the machine and the task it was intended to complete.

 

Closing Reflection

    • Facilitate a class discussion that reflects on the following questions:
      • How can you use simple machines in your life to make everyday tasks easier? 
      • Can you design a machine in your house or community to help someone in need? Which simple machines would it use? 
    • Have students draw a diagram of the beginning, middle, and end of their machine pantomime.
  • If applicable, students should reflect and write about their machines and their process in designing them in their STEAM journal.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teacher will assess students by:

  • Circulating the room assessing students’ understanding of the simple machine movements. *Adjust and correct students as you encounter movements that do not reflect the simple machine. 
  • Asking questions to determine if students’ bodies match the simple machine movements. 
  • Asking specific questions about the body shapes students use to represent the machines.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can accurately bring simple machines to life with their bodies using pantomime and tableau.
  • Students can draw a diagram of the beginning, middle, and end of each task pantomime with labels of simple machine names as well as any related vocabulary. 
  • Students can explain the relationship between an object’s physical attributes and its resulting motion.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Accelerated: 

  • Have students videotape their group, introducing and enacting their Hexathlon competition machines on Flip Grid or another recording application. 
  • Have students pantomime multiple simple machines (or all six), instead of just one. 

Remedial: 

  • Instead of individual groups pantomiming their own simple machines, the class can pantomime the six simple machines together.
  • Focus only on the simple machines that use push and pull.

 

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Ideas contributed by:  Susie Spear Purcell. Updated by: Katy Betts.

Revised and copyright:  August 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Modules