online course
Everyday Machines
Everyday Machines
Free online home machines course · 12 weeks
- Grade
- K to Grade 5
- Ages
- Ages 5 to 11
- Price
- Free
- Format
- Self-paced online course at learn.lanternlearn.com
About this course
Everyday Machines is a free 12-week online science course for Kindergarten to Grade 5, with a grown-up. Each week opens up one machine at home: how a zipper's hooks lock, how a key lifts the pins in a lock, what a faucet's washer does, how a toilet flushes, what a light switch opens and closes, how a fridge moves heat out, what a thermostat decides, what a spring does, how a car moves and how an elevator lifts. Kids look closely, take apart one approved item, run one fair test, draw a cutaway and explain the machine in their own words with Rocket, Raven and Nova. Saturday is Machine Day with the family.
12-week list
Each week has short lessons Monday to Friday and a Machine Day with the family on Saturday.
| Week | Topic | Focus | NGSS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Machines Everywhere | What a machine is, and the wheels all around you | K-2-ETS1-2 |
| 2 | The Zipper | Rows of hooks and a slider that is a wedge | K-2-ETS1-2 |
| 3 | Lock and Key | A key's shape lifts the pins just right | K-2-ETS1-2 |
| 4 | The Faucet | A twist that stops the water | 2-PS1-2 |
| 5 | The Toilet | A tank, a flap, a float and gravity | 5-PS2-1 |
| 6 | The Light Switch | A loop, a gap and a glow | 4-PS3-2 |
| 7 | Magnets at Home | A pull you can feel but not see | 3-PS2-3 |
| 8 | The Refrigerator | A machine that moves heat out | 4-PS3-2 |
| 9 | The Thermostat | A switch that feels the room | 3-5-ETS1-1 |
| 10 | Springs and Click Pens | A spring pushes back | 3-PS2-1 |
| 11 | How a Car Moves | Fuel or a battery, wheels, brakes and belts | 4-PS3-4 |
| 12 | The Elevator and Your Machine Show | A car, a counterweight and your big explanation | 3-5-ETS1-2 |