Moving the World? ? Learning About Levers

Summary
The reading introduces the children to the concept of levers and would preferably be done as a class discussion.

Objectives
• The children will be able to identify the fulcrum, force and load in the three classes of levers.

• The children will be able to identify some of the levers used in everyday life.

Suggested Grades
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade

Excerpt
Although pictures have been provided, hands-on experience with actual objects would be ideal. Activity A provides practice in identifying the fulcrum in each class of lever. Activity B tests the children?s ability to identify and categorize everyday levers.

Reading/Discussion:
There are six classes of simple machines. A lever is one of them. Other simple machines in the lever?s family are the wheel and axle and the pulley. Today, we are going to look at levers. A lever is a bar that turns on an unmoving point called a fulcrum. When you push or pull on one end of the bar that pressure is called the force. The object that is lifted on the other end is called the load. There are first class, second class and third class levers. The difference between the three classes depends on where the force is, where the fulcrum is and where the load is. Look at the diagram:

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