Goals

...Students will understand the relationships between physical change and more theoretical/emotional change
...Students will experience the flexibility of figurative language
...Students will be provided with many examples of machine metaphors

 

Details

Duration: 15 minutes

Assessments: Student reflections/journals, Student discussions

Materials: Computer w/lcd projector YouTube access, or files (see "Resources)

 

Description

Fun with YouTube: This is a series of warm-ups completed in journals and shared out to the class. There are a total of 10 clips provided.

Students will view short clips of different physical functions performed by simple machines, and make comparisons between them and ideas/events/people/etc of their choice.

Students are encouraged to list descriptions of actions, reactions, and relationships in order to create categories for comparison.

EXAMPLES:
-Spindle.-It always end up back where it starts.-People are spindles.
-Engine.-Moves things forward.-Good decisions are engines.
-Pistons.-Has high points and low points.-Life is a piston.

Clip - Can Opener
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (1.7M)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e-3...

Clip - Conveyor Belt
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (2.3M)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rqx...

Clip - Dominos
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (1.1M)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=I-E...

Clip - Gears
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (1.6M)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fhv...

Clip - Pinball
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (867K)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ltx...

Clip - Pulley
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (2.9M)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ntZ...

Clip - Slingshot
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (4.5M)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=A7Y...

Clip - Teeter Totter
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (3.7M)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=65j...

Clip - Toaster
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (2.3M)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=b9Z...

Clip - Water Wheel
Students create metaphors for this simple machine, by listing qualities of it, then naming other things that share those...
Download (4.0M)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VO6...

YouTube Links
These are the links to the originally posted video clips of simple machines. Some are silly....
Download (28K)

Author Reflections

Sharing is very important for this activity; since many 9th graders are challenged by the idea of metaphor, several demonstrate understanding for the first time through sharing in this activity. Encourage 100% participation, and be open to coming back to students who couldn't rodcue a metaphor for a can opener, once you get to the teeter totter, etc.