Central Idea:  Machines are used to manipulate the world around us and alter the way we work.

Lines of Inquiry:  

How simple machines work together

Machines impact our daily lives

Ways machines alter effort


One of the best ways you can help your child in school is to talk to them about what they are learning.  This is especially important for bilingual families.  By discussing concepts in your first language children better understand the concepts at school in English.  This is also true for native English speakers, of course.

 
Our second Unit of Inquiry this year is called “Simple Machines.” Below is a vocabulary list of terms your child may be introduced to in class.  Please, DO NOT have your child look up and define these terms using the dictionary.  Instead, have conversations about the following words and concepts with your child in any language:

Pulley
Level
Inclined plane
Wedge
Screw
Simple
Machine
Pull
Force
Gravity
Work
Productive
Efficient
Ramp
Lift
Push
Compound
Fulcrum
Wheel
Axle
Effort
Load
Gear
Turn

Informal discussions at the dinner table can make a huge difference in the classroom.
 
Amy Neal
2nd Grade Learning Support

We read The Little Red Hen but we only read the words.  We did not peek at the pictures!  Our job was to be the illustrator and finish the book so that we could show our buddies, The Busy Bees from PreK 3.  We made a picture to go with each page of the story. 

We used many different kinds of tools.  We used crayons, paint, markers, paint rollers, felt, feathers, glitter, cotton balls, sharpies, colored pencils, pencils, colored tissue paper and pencil shavings. 

We picked the tools for many different reasons.

·      To make our pictures realistic

·      To make our buddies happy

·      So the Busy Bees could feel the pictures. 

·      3 year olds like touch and feel books.

·      To match the words in the book

We made a gallery of our illustrations and used post-its for a See, Think, Wonder.  It was cool to see what other kids in the class thought about our illustrations and to answer their questions. 

Our buddies came to visit and we performed The Little Red Hen for them.  We shared our illustrations with them and got them to read the pictures.  They really liked touching the pictures.  Then we made masks together. 

Now we are making books that are ‘just right’ for our buddies.  This time, we will be the author AND illustrator!