Playing With Pulleys
In this lesson, children will explore simple machines while experimenting with using a pulley to lift objects.
Learning Goals:
This lesson will help children meet the following educational standards:
- Demonstrate curiosity about the world and begin to use the practices of science and engineering to answer questions and solve problems
- Explore concepts and information about the physical, earth and life sciences
- Understand important connections and concepts in science and engineering
Learning Targets:
After this lesson, children should be more proficient at:
- Developing beginning skills in the use of science and engineering practices such as observing, asking questions, solving problems, and drawing conclusions
- Identifying, describing and comparing the physical properties of objects
- Exploring the effect of force on objects in and outside of the early childhood environment
- Understanding rules to follow when investigating and exploring
- Using nonstandard and standard scientific tools for investigation
Step 1: Gather materials.
- A basket, bag or bucket
- The book, Pull, Lift and Lower: A Book About Pulleys, by Michael Dahl
- Rope (about 30 feet, depending on the height of your structure)
- A tree with a sideways limb (or any structure you can throw a rope over)
Step 2: Introduce activity.
- Read: Pull, Lift and Lower: A Book About Pulleys (or any of the titles in our Suggested Books section below).
- Point out new vocabulary words.
- Ask the children to share examples of pulleys they have seen or used, such as a flag on a flagpole or window blinds.
- Explain that the children will be experimenting with a simple pulley setup to see if they can lift a heavy object by pulling down on a pulley rope. One end of the rope will be tied to a basket or bucket. The children will pull down on the other end of the rope and the tension in the rope will lift the load.
Step 3: Engage children in lesson activities.
- Gather the children and ask them to observe you as you set up the pulley.
- Tie one end of a rope to the handle of a basket or bucket.
- If you are tossing the rope over a tree branch or another tall structure, tie the other end of the rope to a beanbag in a sock, a stick or another tossable object heavy enough to anchor the rope on the other side.
- Toss the end with the beanbag, stick or other tossable object over a tree branch. Now you have a pulley!
- Demonstrate how to pull down to raise the basket and release the rope slightly to lower the basket a bit. Model this action a few times.
- Before you begin the experiment, set up some safety rules. Explain that swinging the pulley or letting go of the rope completely can be dangerous. Some educators require the children to count down (3-2-1) to signal that the pulley is being lowered so that all engineering explorers can move out of harm's way.
- Encourage the children to practice raising and lowering the basket.
- As the children investigate the properties of the pulley, encourage them to make observations. Ask: "What happens if you pull fast? Pull slow? Let go?"
- Extend the investigation by adding objects of different sizes and weights to the bucket or basket.
- Encourage the children to make predictions. Ask questions such as: "Do we think we can lift this?"
Step 4: Engineering vocabulary
- Pulley: A simple machine to make it easier to lift things
- Fixed Pulley: A pulley that is attached to an object that is not moving
- Moveable Pulley: A pulley that is attached to the object that is being lifted
Suggested Books
Pulleys Pull Their Weight: Simple Machines for Kids by Andi Diehn
Simple Machines by D.J. Ward
Simple Machines: Wheels, Levers and Pulleys by David Adler
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