Educational Galaxy

Maker Skills — EG's own notes, in simple words

Book: Kaushal Bodh (CBSE, Class 6)  |  Chapter 3  |  Medium: English

Section: Part 2 – Work with Machines and Materials

Diagram (labels are printed on the image): A maker workbench with cardboard, a ruler, glue and a model in progress. A general teaching picture; no real project is pictured.

A child showing a finished cardboard model. A general picture about maker skills; no real model is pictured.

What the chapter is about

Machines make our lives easy, and materials are all around us. This project teaches simple machines that make work easier: you will develop skills to create toys from waste using simple machines, then explore the simple machines used in a bicycle, and learn how to maintain and repair them to keep your bicycle in good working condition. Part 2 offers two projects, of which you take up only one (or design your own with your teacher's help).

Simple machines help us do things beyond our capacity, which are difficult or simply not possible by hand — can we lift heavy loads or break wood with our hands? A cart with wheels and axle can move very heavy objects with less force, and pulleys can lift heavy objects. Complex machines such as bicycles, toys, buses, cycle rickshaws and autorickshaws are made of many interconnected simple machines — wheel and axle and pulleys, for example — and even doorknobs, doors and windows work through simple machines. Ancient people used the same machines: huge stone temples in ancient India were built by quarrying and transporting large stone blocks, carving them with chisels and hammers, and lifting and placing them with inclined planes, levers and pulleys.

What you will be able to do

• Make toys from various materials using simple machines — catapult, robotic arms, elastic band propeller boat, balloon car, rubber band car, and windmill.
• Identify the various simple machines that make up a complex machine, like a bicycle.
• Identify the main parts of a bicycle and their functions.
• Identify common bicycle problems, such as flat tyres and misaligned brakes, and perform necessary maintenance and repair.

What you will need

For toys from trash using simple machines — materials: cardboard, plastic pipe, empty plastic bottles, plastic spoon, drinking straws, plastic bottle caps, paper, ice cream sticks, thread, rubber bands, glue, tape, glue gun, cellophane tape, clothes clips, all pin, balloon, colour box, chopsticks (wood, plastic or metal). Tools: scissors, metre scale and cutter.

For simple machines in a bicycle: at least 5–6 bicycles; materials: oil/grease; tools: spanner set, wrenches, chain brush, tyre levers and air pump. You will also visit a bicycle shop, or request someone who can repair a bicycle to come to school to teach you.

Simple machines in our surroundings

Activity 1. Identify everything around you that helps you do something, and find out whether it is a simple machine or made up of simple machines — asking your teacher, friends and family for help. NCERT's examples: a knife, used for cutting vegetables and fruits; and a vegetable peeler, used for removing peels of fruits and vegetables. Record each machine and how it is used.

Using levers to make toys

A lever is a fixed bar or handle that moves around a fixed point, called the hinge/fulcrum. Using a spoon to open a tin lid is a lever — the spoon tip is fixed under the lid and you apply force at the other end. A seesaw in the playground is another example. Toys using levers: catapult (a single lever), and lazy tongs and robotic arms (multiple levers).

Catapult (ice cream sticks, rubber bands, ice cream spoon).

1. Stack about 5–6 ice cream sticks and hold them together with rubber bands, one on each end. Hold two other sticks together at one end with a rubber band.
2. Place the two sets of sticks as shown in the book's figure.
3. Attach the ice cream spoon with a rubber band. Your catapult is ready.

Robotic arm (ice cream sticks, glue, old bottle caps, toothpicks, cutter).

1. Pierce the ice cream sticks in the centre; break a toothpick into small pieces and join the sticks by passing a piece through the holes, adding glue where the sticks are joined — there must be free movement of the sticks.
2. Join a few more sticks in the same way.
3. Cut out the centres of the bottle caps with the cutter, leaving two circular shapes.
4. Glue the bottle caps to the ends of the first set of sticks. Your robotic arm is ready.

Afterwards, draw a sketch of the toy with accurate measurements where parts are connected (or paste a photograph), and write instructions for someone using the robotic arm for the first time.

Using a propeller, and a wheel and axle, to make toys

A propeller is a wheel with blades; as the wheel moves, the blades help movement by pushing through water or air.

Elastic band propeller boat (ice cream sticks, glue, straw, bottle caps, rubber bands).

1. Paste ice cream sticks in the shape shown in the book's figure.
2. Paste additional sticks to make a boat shape, and make holes as indicated by the dots.
3. Make slits in the bottle caps, and cut and paste ice cream sticks to the sides to make a propeller.
4. Pass a straw through the caps and the holes in the side of the boat.
5. Tie a rubber band at the tip of the boat and to the middle of the straw.
6. Wind up the rubber band using the paddle wheels and place the boat in water. Your boat is ready.

A wheel and axle is a simple machine made up of wheels held together by a rod so they move together; with two sets of wheel and axle, they balance each other and can move loads of any shape placed above them. Car wheels are examples.

Rubber band car (clothes clips, straws, chopsticks/toothpick, bottle caps, cellophane tape, scissors, rubber bands, glue).

1. Cut a straw to a length that joins two clothes clips slightly far apart.
2. Make holes in the exact centres of four bottle caps and attach them to a toothpick or piece of wooden skewer to act as wheels for the clothes clips — attach one cap, pass it through the straw at each end, then attach the other cap, gluing cap and toothpick/skewer together.
3. Attach a small part of a toothpick/chopstick between one set of wheels and glue it to the straw (the front of the car). On the other end, loop a rubber band over the straw (the back of the car).
4. Pass the other end of the rubber band over the small piece between the wheels at the back.
5. Wind up the rubber band at the back and release the car on stable ground. Your car is ready to race.

Air balloon car (flexible straws, old plastic bottle, old bottle caps, cellophane tape, rubber band, chopsticks, balloon, glue).

1. Tape the chopsticks onto the bottle.
2. Make holes in the bottle caps and attach them to the chopsticks, gluing them so they stay attached.
3. Fix the balloon to one end of the straw with a rubber band.
4. Make a hole in the bottle and insert the straw.
5. Blow the balloon from the open end of the straw, press your finger to the straw, and place the car on an even surface.
6. Release your finger. Your balloon car is ready to move.

After each toy, paste a photograph and write instructions for someone using it for the first time.

Using more than one simple machine: the windmill

A windmill generates energy from wind. A real windmill has many parts, but your working model uses a combination of simple machines — propeller and wheel and axle — with other parts to make them work together. Materials: pieces of cardboard, chart paper, straws, glue and a cutter.

1. Make a cardboard box as shown in the book's figure; make holes in the centres of the sides and pass a straw through them, with a circular piece of cardboard passing through it.
2. Attach another circular piece of cardboard of the same size to the other end of the straw.
3. Repeat for the other side, except that now you place the circular pieces of cardboard at the ends of the straw.
4. Make a cylinder with chart paper; make a fan with a short piece of straw, circular pieces of cardboard and blades cut out of chart paper.
5. Assemble the pieces as shown in the figure. You now have a working windmill.

Then draw a sketch of the windmill with accurate measurements of its parts, and write instructions for a first-time user. The book also suggests asking ChatGPT — an AI chatbot, a smart Intelligent Assistant that answers questions using information available on the Internet — for ideas on using waste material to make fun things (with your teacher's help and Internet-safety rules). What else can you do? Make a chain reaction machine using different kinds of simple machines made from trash (search: 'Simple machine + Chain reaction toy').

Simple machines in a bicycle

A bicycle is made using different simple machines, such as wheels, wheels and axles, levers and pulleys. All its parts — wheels, gears, pedals and more — work together to transform the rider's effort into motion.

Part	Function
Brake pads	Placed around wheels; they grab the wheels to resist their motion.
Brakes	Slow down or stop the bicycle. Types: rim brakes, disc brakes and drum brakes.
Chain	Transfers power to the rear wheel.
Chain rings, sprocket	Guide the chain and transmit power from pedal to chain.
Frame	The main structure that supports the rider and connects all the parts.
Handlebars	A place to hold and steer the bicycle.
Hubs	The central part of the wheel; they allow the wheel to spin around the axle.
Kickstand	Enables the bicycle to stand upright.
Cycle light	Improves visibility and safety.
Pedals	The point of contact for the rider's feet to apply force.
Rims	Support the tyres and provide the braking surface (rim brakes).
Saddle	Where the rider sits.
Seatpost	Connects the saddle to the frame, usually of adjustable height.
Spokes	Connect the rim to the hub and provide strength and stability.
Tyres	Provide traction and cushioning.

Common problems and solutions: rusting of parts — clean with sandpaper and apply oil or paint, as appropriate; loose parts — fix with the appropriate tools (ask your teacher which tools are used); wheels not moving freely — oiling the moving parts helps; flat tyres — check air pressure regularly to avoid them. Fill a table for brake, chain, spokes, kickstand, handlebars and tyre: each part's function, whether it is functioning well (Yes/No), and whether you did anything to fix it (Yes/No). If needed, seek help from experts in a bicycle repair shop.

Activity 7 — Visit to a bicycle repair shop (or invite a bicycle mechanic to school). Ask the mechanic: what should be regularly checked before riding; can the saddle height be adjusted, and how; what is the best way to clean a bicycle; how do you know tyres need inflating; how is a punctured tyre repaired; how often should a bicycle chain be oiled; how can squeaking brakes be fixed; and how are bicycle wheels aligned?

Activity 8 — Organise an exhibition of the toys. With your teacher's help: define the purpose (raise awareness, showcase creativity, or teach how to make toys from waste, with demonstrations); decide a theme (for example eco-friendly toys, historical toys, futuristic toys) and ensure all toys align with it; decide the exhibition space and plan the layout with enough space for each toy and for visitors, decorating the venue in line with the theme; send invitations to parents, local artists and community members; arrange toys attractively, each labelled with the creator's name and a brief description, ensuring all toys are safe to handle and the venue is child-friendly; have volunteers supervise the exhibition; collect feedback from visitors, students and teachers; and take photos and videos to document the event for the school newsletter or website.

Practice set — try it yourself

1. What are maker skills?
   Hint: Think about making useful things by hand.
2. Why measure twice and cut once?
   Hint: Think about avoiding waste.
3. What should you do if a part does not fit?
   Hint: Think about finding why, not forcing.
4. Name two tool safety rules.
   Hint: Think cutting direction and counting tools.
5. Plan a cardboard pen stand: sketch, materials, steps.
   Hint: List materials first.

Questions with Answers

1. What are maker skills?
   Maker skills are the skills of making useful things with hands and simple tools — measuring, cutting, joining and finishing materials like cardboard, wood, cloth or wire.
2. Why do makers say measure twice, cut once?
   Because careful measuring before cutting avoids mistakes and wasted material — a wrong cut cannot be undone.
3. What should you do if a part does not fit?
   Do not force it. Find why it does not fit, fix the measurement or cut, and try again.
4. Name two tool safety rules.
   Cut away from the body and never run with sharp tools; also count tools back after work and leave the workspace clean.
5. What are the steps of a maker project?
   Plan and sketch the idea, list materials, measure carefully, cut and join step by step checking fit, then smooth, test and clean up.

Questions with Answers — extension (NCERT simple machines, toys, bicycle and Think and Answer types)

1. What is a simple machine, and why does it help?
   A simple machine is a basic device such as a lever, pulley, wheel and axle, or inclined plane that makes work easier — it lets us do things beyond our capacity, such as moving very heavy objects with less force (cart with wheels and axle) or lifting heavy objects (pulley).
2. What is a lever, and what are its examples in this project?
   A lever is a fixed bar or handle moving around a fixed point called the hinge/fulcrum. Examples: a spoon opening a tin lid, a seesaw, a catapult (single lever), and lazy tongs and robotic arms (multiple levers).
3. How is a catapult made from ice cream sticks?
   Stack 5–6 sticks, bound with rubber bands at each end; hold two more sticks together at one end with a rubber band; place the two sets as in the book's figure; and attach an ice cream spoon with a rubber band.
4. What is a propeller, and how does the propeller boat work?
   A propeller is a wheel with blades that pushes through water or air as it moves. In the boat, a straw passes through bottle-cap propellers and the boat's sides, and a rubber band tied from the boat's tip to the middle of the straw is wound up with the paddle wheels; placed in water, the unwinding band turns the propeller and drives the boat.
5. How does the rubber band car use a wheel and axle?
   Bottle-cap wheels are fixed to a toothpick or skewer (the axle) through a straw frame; a rubber band looped over the straw at the back and over a small toothpick piece between the back wheels is wound up, and releasing it drives the wheels.
6. How does the balloon car move?
   Air blown into a balloon fixed to a straw escapes through the straw when the finger is released, pushing the bottle-body car forward on its bottle-cap wheels.
7. What two simple machines combine in the windmill model?
   A propeller (chart-paper blades on a straw fan) and a wheel and axle (straw passing through circular cardboard pieces in a cardboard box), assembled with a chart-paper cylinder.
8. Name six bicycle parts and their functions.
   Frame — main structure supporting the rider and connecting all parts; chain — transfers power to the rear wheel; pedals — where the rider's feet apply force; handlebars — holding and steering; brakes — slowing or stopping (rim, disc or drum types); tyres — traction and cushioning.
9. How do you fix rust, loose parts, stiff wheels and flat tyres?
   Rust: clean with sandpaper, then oil or paint as appropriate. Loose parts: fix with the appropriate tools (ask your teacher which). Wheels not moving freely: oil the moving parts. Flat tyres: check air pressure regularly.
10. How can you estimate how many times a bicycle wheel rotates over 10 metres?
    Use the circumference of the rim of the bicycle tyre — divide 10 metres by the circumference — or observe the movement of the bicycle tyre directly.
11. Can using a bicycle make a difference to our health and the environment? How?
    Yes. Cycling is physical exercise, good for health, and it needs no fuel, so it causes no exhaust pollution — unlike motor vehicles — making it kinder to the environment.
12. Which jobs are related to this project?
    Bicycle mechanic, toy maker and engineer.

How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Check your answers against Questions with Answers, and ask your teacher or parent to check your work.