Gears: Science, Technology, Engineering& Mathematics Activities will help guide students in the early learning to primary levels as they begin to grasp the concepts of STEM-focused instruction.
The lessons in this book can be used with Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, Science and Technologies instruction at the Foundation to Year 2 level. They are sequential and designed to give the children a lot of fun while discovering for themselves some interesting concepts. The children are actively engaged as learners experiencing many ideas relating to gears. They look in detail at the direction in which gears spin, the various sizes of gears, combinations in which bases can be arranged and the effects that various combinations have on spinning directions. They look at the varying attributes while sorting and classifying as well as beginning early work on building an understanding of ratio. They have the opportunity to record results on a table/spreadsheet, as pictures graphs, wall stories, etc.
All lessons have an extensive list of skills and outcomes based on Australian Curriculum content. The lessons include student worksheets and assessment ideas. The assessment tasks include checklists, student self-evaluations, work samples to collect and specific observations to make.
The lessons plans in Gears are based on Gears! Gears! Gears!®, manufactured by Learning Resources®. Sets of the Gears! Gears! Gears!® product are necessary to make full use of the activities within Gears.
