Kindergarten: Machines All Around Us
This unit introduces students to the foundational idea that machines are human-made tools designed to help people do work and solve problems.
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Machines All Around Us
Approximate Total Time: 2 class periods (30 minutes each)
Recommended for Ages 5–6 (typically U.S. Kindergarten)
About This Unit
Students explore what machines are, how machines differ from living things, and how machines help people perform work and solve problems. They learn that machines are designed and built by people, are not alive, and only do what they are designed or programmed to do.
Students also explore how machines gather information through sensors. By comparing human senses with machine sensors, students discover that machines can detect information such as light, sound, movement, and touch, but do not think or experience the world like humans. These ideas prepare students for future learning about artificial intelligence.
Lessons
1. What Is a Machine?
Students identify examples of machines, explore how machines help people perform work or solve problems, and learn that machines are human-made and not alive.
2. How Do Machines Sense the World?
Students explore how machines use sensors to gather information and compare machine sensors with human senses.