Ultimate Recycling Machine

1. Inform students that the point of Simple Machines Stations is to spark ideas and inspire creative connections for the Chain-Reaction Machine. They are going to take the ramps that they made and connect them into a whole-class Chain-Reaction Machine.

1. Students rotate around stations and explore each concept
   • Students identify the labeled station
   • From their experience with the station or prior knowledge describe the concept
     1. What does it do?
     2. How does it work?
   • Students brainstorm ways in which this machine may assist with their recycling project.
2. Teacher facilitates student learning
   • Monitors station timing
     1. Based on classroom dynamics—you know your students.
   • Circles around classroom
     1. Asks guiding and supporting questions—deepen student understanding
     2. Provides examples of the use of the machine in real-world scenarios
        • Making real-world connections
        • Students can provide real-world connections
     3. Answers student questions

1. Students “apply” simple machine
   • Students sketch a possible transition to another ramp
     1. Students make connections from lab to project outcome
     2. Students participate in engineering practices

*Students should be given the simple machines table hand-out to support this process.

1. Watch the OK GO “This Too Shall Pass” video, and/or Honda’s “Cog” commercial.
   • Re-engage students in the Chain-Reaction Machine Process
   • Provide ideas for students.
2. Students construct recycling machine
   • Teacher may have to set supporting guidelines for classroom management
     1. Delegate roles, provide guidelines on which group communicates to who. The order of which group follows which needs to be clearly defined, so groups can decide how to transition between their elements
     2. Support students at toolstation—safety
   • Students take part in engineering practices
     1. Communicate amongst peers and plan
     2. Construct and problem solve
     3. Design, expand and elaborate on ideas
3. Students explain conservation of energy concepts
   • Articulate in writing
     1. Work, gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy
     2. Possibly elastic potential energy etc.
   • Students effectively use academic language and concepts.
   • Students sketch their connection
     • Label points ii. Identify energy at that point
4. Students develop a procedure to collect and analyze data
   • Identify energy at each point
   • Calculate the respective energy using the correct formula
   • Explain their data collection process
   • Articulate areas of trouble to demonstrate deep understanding of content and its application.
5. Students should record in a daily log
   • Serves as reflection and collection of the evolution of their thinking process
   • Students ought to think deeper about content and its application to engineering and real-world phenomenon.
   • Teacher should scaffold the logs to make them appropriate to their class and can be used as a method of assessment (pre and post)
6. Teacher facilitates
   • Probes students for conceptual understanding
   • Models for students when necessary
   • Evaluates and suggests
   • Provides constructive feedback

Evaluate

1. Teacher evaluates student progress in each of the following areas (rubric created by instructor)
   • Construction of transition
   • Explanation and application of content
     1. Calculations and conceptual understanding
   • Application of the scientific method in respect to the collecting and analyzing of data

NGSS CONNECTION:

MS-PS3-1 Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.

MS-PS3-2 Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

MS-PS3-5 Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.

COMMON CORE CONNECTION:

ELA/Literacy
RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions. (MS-PS3-1)

RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).

SL.8.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

Mathematics
MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (MS-PS3-1)

6.RP.A.2 Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b ≠ 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship. (MS-PS3-1)

7.RP.A.2 Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities. (MS-PS3-1)

8.EE.A.1 Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. (MS-PS3-1)

8.EE.A.2 Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p and x3 = p, where p is a positive rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and cube roots of small perfect cubes. Know that √2 is irrational. (MS-PS3-1)

8.F.A.3 Interpret the equation y = mx + b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line; give examples of functions that are not linear.

DOK:
Level 2: Concept
Level 3: Strategic Thinking
Level 4: Extended Thinking