Unit Study – Simple Machines & Mike Mulligan Steam Shovel

Welcome this week we are studying Simple Machines and Mike Mulligan Steam Shovel would make a nice addition to Five in A Rows Unit Study Mike Mulligan Steam Shovel.

A modern classic that no child should miss. Since it was first published in 1939, “Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shove” has delighted generations of children. Mike and his trusty steam shovel, Mary Anne, dig deep canals for boats to travel through, cut mountain passes for trains, and hollow out cellars for city skyscrapers—the very symbol of industrial America. But with progress come new machines, and soon the inseparable duo are out of work. Mike believes that Mary Anne can dig as much in a day as one hundred men can dig in a week, and the two have one last chance to prove it and save Mary Anne from the scrap heap. What happens next in the small town of Popperville is a testament to their friendship, and to old-fashioned hard work and ingenuity.

This Unit Study can be used as a Supplement for Five in A Row and Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel

Spelling words for this week:

1. high

2. every

3. near

4.west

5.dress

6. best

7. next

8. else

9. checked

10.grand

11.stand

12.am

13.matter

14.forms

15.value

BONUS WORDS

GEAR

INCLINE

PULLEY

MACHINE

AXLE

Memory Verse:

Psalm 27:1

The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall, I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

COPYWORK:

Day 1

To raise the sail on his boat, a sailor would use a type of pulley.

Day 2

When you flip a light switch on, you are using a lever.

Day 3

Twisting a doorknob, you are using a wheel and axle.

Day 4

A driveway is a type of inclined plane.

Day 5

COPY the fun facts about simple machines for all days together!

CRAFTS:

Flag Raiser—Fixed Pulley

Decorate/color a flag created using the 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” paper.

Place the pencil/wooden dowel through the hole in the thread spool, making sure that the spool can turn easily.

Tie the ends of the string together.

Tape one side of the flag to the string.

Place the loop of the string over the spool, with the flag hanging near the bottom of the loop.

Have one student hold the ends of the pencil/wooden dowel high over his/her head.

Have the other student pull down on the string opposite the flag.

Observe the distance the string is pulled and the distance and direction the flag moves up. Relate this to simple machines. (The spool is a fixed pulley that allows you to pull down on the string and raise the flag upward. Placing a fixed pulley at the top of a tall flagpole makes the job of raising a flag easier than if you had to carry the flag up the pole. A fixed pulley makes work easier by changing the direction of the force. Pulling down is easier because you can use the weight of your body and the force of gravity to help you.)

Crafts:

Cat & Press Roll Machine Steam Shovel

Five In A Row Volume One

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Pencils

RESOURCES for this Unit:

Simple Machines Scavenger Hunt

What are simple machines

Project made with home item

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates