Picture Books for Simple Machines

In Waldorf, Physics is a Science focus for three years: grades 6, 7, and 8. In grade 7, a block on Simple Machines is typically done. These six Simple Machines are Lever, Pulley, Wheel & Axle, Inclined Plane, Wedge, and Screw.

My hands-down favorite book for all three years of Physics is Roberto Trostli's. It is packed with simple experiments which the teacher can do to demonstrate all kinds of principles. But of course I also love to have stories too! It is amazing how many picture books have simple machines in them, and one of the great benefits of Waldorf education is that there are blocks on soooo many topics, and you know even when your child is in Kindergarten what they all will be! So you can begin to make mental notes whenever you see a teaching idea for one.

This is one reason why I always recommend homeschoolers keep a blog. You can make them private, and make little notes for yourself over the years whenever you see a good book or experiment or museum, etc. And then use the search box to find your own ideas when you get ready to teach a block.

Becca and the Archimedes Screw
2017

Mathematicians Are People, Too:
Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians
biography of Archimedes

In this case, I have been reading picture books to Zac and making a note whenever I find one that seems good for the Simple Machines block. As always, if you have any books to add to this list, feel free to comment!

The latest book on the list is Eric and the Little Canal Boat by Lillian Bason.

Bason's cheerful and sweet vintage children's book (1967) takes place in Sweden and explains how a young boy gets to help on the canal boat for the first time, hopping out onto the shore and using a long pole to turn the crank that opens and closes the wooden gates on the locks. He tries hard to work quickly and make sure the boat is on time, to make the captain and passengers happy, but when a family of ducks is slowly paddling into the lock he waits to close the gate so that the mama is not separated from her babies. As it turns out, the captain and passengers ARE happy, because they appreciated his kindness to the animals. This book is adorable, and the illustrations of the canal and how a lock works are really helpful for children who are trying to picture the process.

Others on the list:

Petunia, I Love You
by Roger Duvoisin (for lever)

The Blacksmith (Colonial People)
by Bobbie Kalman (for lever - "How the bellows worked" on page 11)

The Quicksand Book
by Tomie dePaola (for rope and tree branch - precursor to pulley)

Hello Lighthouse
by Sophia Blackall (for pulley)

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade
by Melissa Sweet (for pulley)

Ship
by David Macaulay (for pulley)

Going Up! Elisha Otis's Trip to the Top
by Monica Kulling (for pulley)

Doctor De Soto
by William Steig (for pulley and winch)

Woody, Hazel, and Little Pip
by Elsa Beskow (for winch and wheel & axle)

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel
by Kathryn Gibbs Davis (for wheel & axle)

The King Who Sneezed
by Angela McAllister (for wedge... have children design a Royal Doorstopper)

The Giant Ball of String
by Arthur Geisert (for fun and for our Rube Goldberg Machine project)

P.S. Trostli categorizes a pulley as a flexible lever. He also bundles the crank and winch in with wheel and axle, and groups the inclined plane, wedge, and screw. (I love the exercise he gives where you wrap an inclined-plane triangle of paper around a stick and it reveals the threads of a screw!)

P.P.S. I have taught this block several times and like to conclude it by building a Rube Goldberg machine. The music video for "This Too Shall Pass" by OK Go is a great way to introduce them! Our 2017 design started with a ball rolling down a 10 foot long pipe and concluded with a cable car delivering a carrot to the rabbit. But I also spoke with a teacher who suggested giving the children a really hard task, like lifting a heavy weight a great height, and letting them figure out a combination of simple machines that would make the work easier. I may try that next time!

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