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Waterwheels Lesson Plan
Waterwheels Lesson Plan
Overview of lesson:
The students will work in groups to design, build and test a water wheel. This lesson will take place over several
days to ensure the students have ample time to plan and build. The testing will take place all on one day. The
students will experience designing, building and testing their water wheel creation cooperatively in groups.
Learning Objectives
Students will design, construct and test their own water wheel to explore moving vehicles and simple forces.
Resources List
1
Material and Equipment
Word Wheel worksheet
Water Wheel criteria worksheet
Vocabulary worksheet
Design worksheet
Various building materials including: popsicle sticks, cardboard, plastic, hot glue, straws, plastic spoons,
plasticine
A sink with running water
Lesson Procedures
Group discussion:
Why is water important?
Discuss the use of water wheels in the past and present: grind grain into flour, crush rocks, make paper.
Talk about the parts of a water wheel and why they are important for its mechanics. Parts: wheel, paddles
or buckets, millrace, head race, axle.
Millrace: current of water that turns the water wheel
Head race: the stream leading to the water wheel.
Two types of water wheels: undershot and overshot: undershot, pushes water under the wheel, overshot,
water is poured over the wheel. We are making overshot water wheels.
Individual work:
Hand out of the vocabulary sheets and write the definitions of the following words on the board. The
students will write the words on their sheets and then put the sheet into their science binder. The words:
undershot, overshot, mill race, head race, turbine. Hydropower.
Assessment: A Wheel of Words Worksheet
2
Hand out criteria sheet and read it aloud together.
Begin planning and design (28 min.):
Use the popsicle sticks to create partner groups. These
partners will be teams for making the water wheels. The
students can then sit with their partner.
Hand out the design planning sheets to the partner groups.
Sometimes designers start out with an idea and end up
creating something completely different in the end. It is
okay if their final product does not look like their design,
but use it as a guide.
Have the partners look at and touch all the materials that
are available for them to use to build their water wheel.
The students can use the rest of the period to brainstorm
with their partner about planning and designing their
water wheel.
Start to clean up the materials 2 minutes before the bell.
Introduction (5 min.):
Remind the students where they ended off last class.
Before the students go with their partners to design and plan, tell them that they should be pretty much
finished their design by the end of this period. If they are not done the design yet, they will have less time
to build their waterwheel next class.
Planning and design (33 min.):
Students can have the rest of the period to work with their partner to create their design. Visit each group
often to make sure they are on task.
If students are finished their plans, they can start gathering their materials to build.
2 minutes before the bell, give a clean up warning. All materials that are not being used can be stored
underneath the microwave table.
Introduction (5 min.):
The students will start to prepare their materials to build their water wheels. Some of the materials have
been brought to school by the students and they may want to use the ones they specifically brought, which
is okay, but they should know that the materials are to share.
Give a few minutes to answer questions about the building.
3
Building the water wheels (28 min.):
Allow the pairs to gather their materials and start building.
Give pairs about 5 minutes with the hot glue guns and then have them switch out so everyone can have a
chance each class.
10 minutes before the bell, announce that it is time to start cleaning up. They can gather their items and
unused materials and put them under the microwave table.
Reflective Notes: