Task to Support Students with Literacy Difficulties

Simple Machines Cloze 

Carefully read through the text below. Fill in the blank spaces. Follow the arrows for clues about what the missing word is.

 
Simple machines are tools which help us do work. A ______ machine reduces the amount of effort needed to move something. Some simple machines make work easier by changing a weak ____  __  ____ to a strong push or pull. Also, some simple machines change a small movement into a large _______. Simple machines do not need electricity to work. Compound machines have two or more simple machines working together to make work easier. 

One type of simple machine is an inclined plane. An inclined _____ is a flat surface raised up on one end. An example of an inclined plane is a ____. It is easier to move an object along a ramp than to lift the object straight up or down.
 

Another type of simple ______ is a lever. Some levers make lifting weights easier, like a see-saw. Other _____ help pry objects apart by putting force on a pivot point.
 

Wheels are also a type of _____ machine. Wheels help us by reducing friction. Wheels rotate around an ____ which is joined to the object being moved. The axle holds the object in place while the wheels turn freely.

 Answers (not on actual worksheet): simple, push or pull, movement, plane, ramp, machine, levers, simple, axle.