Lesson

Cours
Title/Focu Class Fixed and Movable Pulleys Grade 4 Science
e
s

COURSE OUTCOMES

SLE 3 - Construct a device that use wheel and axles, and demonstrate and describe their
use in:
pulley systems

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson students will be able to:

1. Differentiate between the two different classes of pulleys: fixed (first) and movable (second)
2. Describe how each make work easier and their advantages and disadvantages
3. Give examples of their uses in everyday life

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

25 copies of the pulleys booklet, titled Fixed Pulleys on the first page
1 answer key of the booklet
25 copies of pulleys word search + 1 answer key
Pulleys PowerPoint - contains info on fixed and movable pulleys
Smartboard and computer attached to it
Kahoot quiz online
exemplar pulleys demo - string, pulley, load (small bag of marbles of coins), stick or pencil
fixed pulley = the pulley is attached/hooked-on to the stick and the string is strung through it with the load
attached to one end
movable = one end of the string is tied to the stick, the other end is strung through the pulley and held up
by a hand, the pulley is attached/tied to the load
Students will need their pencils to write in the booklet but a different colour pen or pencil crayon to mark

PREPARATION AND LOGISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

25 copies of pulleys booklet

1 answer key made
25 copies of pulleys word search + 1 answer key
Pulley PowerPoint made
Kahoot quiz made
web address and pin provided to students
Smartboard is connected to a computer and is aligned for touch
Ipad or laptop cart booked
enough so then each student can have one to themselves (no sharing, preferably)
PROCEDURE
Introduction Time
1. Quick review of first class (fixed) pulleys:
a. have the PowerPoint set to the Fixed Pulleys slide or use the exemplar
pulleys as a demonstration again
i. the pulley is attached to a stationary or immovable object (ie. the
ceiling or a pole)
ii. and only the rope and load move 7 min
iii. you pull down on the rope to lift the load
iv. fixed pulleys only change the direction of the pull, not the amount of
force used
2. Ask students if they have any questions about fixed pulleys
3. Then tell students that we are going to be talking about movable
pulleys today
Body Time
1. Ask students if they can predict what a movable 13 min
pulley is
Mini Lesson on a. answer: it is a type of pulley system in which the
Movable Pulleys pulley (wheel and axle) are attached to the load. One
end of the rope or cable is attached to something
Learning Objectives solid or permanent while the other end is pulled up in
#2 & #3 order to lift the load
2. Switch to the slide labeled Movable Pulleys
a. read the information on the slides
b. have a model/exemplar of a movable pulley to
demonstrate to the students how they work
have a pencil or some sort-of stick in your hand, one
end of the string is attached to it, the other end of
the string is run through the pulley which is attached
to the load (can be a bag of coins or marbles, etc.)
c. ask students why they think that when using a
movable pulley you only use half the amount of effort
(ie. if i am trying to lift a load that is 100g, the
amount of effort i use is 50g)
answer: because there are two strings holding up the
load - the one attached to the stationary object and
one attached to the effort which pulls the load up and
down
d. tell students about the disadvantage of using
movable pulleys
you need twice the amount of string to lift the load a
certain distance (ie. if i wanted to lift the load 100cm
high i would need a string that is at least 200cm long)
demonstrate this to the students by lifting it up off
one of their desks
ask students some questions about it
a. ie. if i wanted to lift this load 20 cm off this students
desk how much string would i need? (answer =
40cm)
 1. Tell students that they are going to be completing a
Fixed and worksheet so then the teacher can see if they are
Movable Pulleys understanding the information
Worksheet a. tell them to start out by doing the first two pages on
fixed pulleys and if they finish that to continue on to
Learning Objectives the movable pulleys pages
#1, #2, & #3 if they finish that they can read silently at their desks
or practice their handwriting
2. Hand-out pulleys booklet titled Fixed Pulleys on the
first page
a. give each student at the front enough copies for their
15 min
row and have them pass them back to each students
(Rest of
CLOSURE
class
1. Students who finish their booklets can put them in
period)
the science sections of their binders
2. Students who do not finish must take them home for
homework and bring them back completed because
the next lesson will be a review
a. they will go in their mailboxes to be taken home
b. have them pull out their agendas
c. write on the board: Science Pulleys worksheet
all students must write this in their agendas
those who are finished can put a check mark next to
it

INTRODUCTION (Next
Review of 1. Open up the Kahoot quiz on the Smartboard science
Booklet a. press play for the Fixed and Movable Pulleys Review class
(Kahoot) quiz period) 35
b. everything should be turned to yes except for min
Learning randomizing questions and playing music (those
Objectives #1, should be a no)
#2, #3 c. press Launch
d. the pin should appear at the top of the page
2. Tell students that we are going to be doing a fun
review of the booklet
3. They need to have 3 things on their desks
a. laptop or ipad
b. pulleys booklet
c. different colour pen or pencil crayon to mark

REVIEW QUIZ
1. Explain to the students how the review is going to
work
a. they will be given a website address (Kahoot.it) and a
pin code
b. they will type in the pin code where it says
c. then when we start the quiz, the questions and
 possible answers will appear on the Smartboard
d. the questions will be read out loud by the teacher
e. the questions are the same questions that are asked
in their booklets
f. each answer corresponds to a specific shape & colour
g. on their laptops/ipad they will click/press the shape &
colour that corresponds to the answer they wish to
choose
h. the students are given 20 seconds to answer
i. we are not keeping score so ignore the place
number
j. as we go, students should given themselves check
marks or Xs or make corrections in their books
2. Have students type in the web address into their
ipads or laptops - Kahoot.it
3. They will type in the pin code when they reach the
home page
4. They will type in a nickname
a. can be their real names
b. or a nickname
c. CANNOT BE ANYTHING INAPPROPRIATE OR RUDE
5. Wait until everyone has been entered into the game
before starting (should be 25 names)
6. START THE QUIZ
7. For the first question, give a little bit better
explanation of how it works
a. show them that the answers are written up on the
screen but only the colours and shapes appear on
their ipads/laptops
8. Questions to pay attention to:
a. 1) Do this one together, explaining better to the class
how Kahoot works
b. 4) Reinforce the idea that fixed pulleys only make
lifting things easier because they change the
direction of the force/effort applied, not the amount
of force/effort applied
c. 6) & 7) This sentence is split into two questions
d. 9) & 10) These are the only two questions for the
labeling, do the rest on the board or just as a class
e. 11) Has two possible answers, but the students can
only choose one
f. 13) and 14) This sentence is split into two questions
as well
g. 15) This one also has two answers, but the students
will again only be able to pick one
h. 15) Reinforce the idea that movable pulleys only
require half the amount of effort because there are
two ropes holding the load up
i. 17) Reinforce the idea that movable pulleys require a
 rope that is twice the length of the height you want
the load to move
9. Read each questions aloud to the class so they can
hear and see it
10. Reiterate that the questions are not graded
and arent for points
11. END OF QUIZ
12. Ask students if some of them would like to read
aloud what they put for the very last question
(describing movable pulleys in their own words)
a. look for words such as:
half the amount of effort
twice the amount of rope or cable
the load is attached to the pulley
one end of the string is attached to something
immovable and the other is held by the effort
13. Make sure students have their names on their
booklets and have them pass all their booklets to the
back where you will pick them up
a. remind the students that these werent for marks you
just wanted to see where they were at

Sponge Activity1. Hand-out word search - 1 per student

Pulleys Word a. give each front desk enough sheets for their rows
Search b. instruct them to pass their sheets back
2. Explain to students that they are to find each of the
4 min
words
3. To challenge some students who finish quickly, get
them to write out definitions of each word on the
back of their sheets

1. Have students all hand in their pulleys booklets 35 min

Plan B Review a. students will pass them back to the last person in
each row
Learning b. collect them from the last desk in each row
Objectives #1, 2. Tell students that we are going to be marking each
#2, & #3 others work
a. go over rules for how to appropriately mark someone
elses work:
no inappropriate comments or drawings
no doodling
ONLY SMALL CHECKS OR Xs
do not take up the whole page with checks or Xs
no numbers or grades
if they did get a question wrong put the right answer
beside it
no telling other people who you got or how many
they got right or wrong
 3. Randomly hand the students back someone elses
booklet
4. The only thing on their desks should be someone
elses booklet and a different colour pen or pencil for
marking
5. Pull up the booklet on the Smartboard
6. Use the Popsicle sticks to call on students to answer
each question (including the fill in the blanks)
7. Remind students to give a check if that person got it
right and an X if they didnt and the right answer
beside it
8. When finished, have students pass them back to the
correct person
a. give them time to go over their mistakes (3-5 mins)
9. Get students to hand back the booklets to the
teacher
10. Then hand-out the pulleys word search
a. if they dont get them done thats okay they are NOT
for homework
b. they go in the science sections of their binders
Closure Time

First lesson: the booklets are for homework (both fixed and movable pulleys
pages)
The booklets should go in their mailboxes to go home for homework
3 min
Second lesson: students will hand back their booklets after the Kahoot review quiz
they will be given them back in the next science period
goes in the science sections of their binders
the word search should go in the science sections of their binders

Assessment

Booklet (formative)
to see if the students have grasped the concepts for fixed and movable pulleys and
can differentiate between them
to see if students know what certain terms mean and how they are used when
talking about fixed and/or movable pulleys
Review
see if the students have grasped the
concepts and how many are still having some trouble with the
material