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Year 1 Rotary mechanisms: windmills worksheet

“Wheels that turn round” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 1 design and technology unit “Rotary mechanisms: windmills”, for children aged 5 to 6, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 9 to 16 of the year, 8 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Wheels that turn round

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 1 · Design & technology · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can spot rotary motion in things that turn round and round.

A Look back3 min

1.
When you push this end down, which way does the other end go? Circle one.
UpDownRound in a circle
2.
When you pull the rope down, which way does the load go? Circle one.
UpDownSideways
3.
Push a cube along the table. Does it turn round or slide in a line?

B Watch me, then you4 min

Tomas runs a small mill by a stream. The water pushes a wheel, and the wheel keeps going round.

A small wooden water mill beside a stream, with its paddle wheel turning in the water

Watch me

The water pushes the wheel round in a circle.

The axle in the middle turns round with it.

Turning round and round like this is rotary motion.

Now you

1.
A fan blade spins when the fan is on. Is this rotary motion? Circle one.
YesNo

C Your turn6 min

Read each one. Circle the answer or write it.

1.
The handle turns round and round. What does the axle do? Circle one.
Turns round in a circleMoves up and downMoves side to side
2.
You pull the rope. How does the bucket move? Circle one.
Goes up and downTurns round in a circle
3.
You wind a well handle to lift the bucket. You turn it faster. What happens to the bucket? Circle one.
Rises fasterRises slowerStays still
4.
Name one thing at home that turns round in a circle.

Say it out loud: Which things turned round in a circle? Which things moved up and down?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Ali says: “A wheel that turns goes up and down.”

1.
Circle the right answer. Which way does a turning wheel move?
Round and round in a circleUp and down

E Think deeper3 min

An old stone well in a garden with a wooden handle, rope and bucket

1.
Why does a well use a turning handle? Explain in your own words.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Wheels that turn round · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. Up If your child says down, they think both ends move the same way. Lay a ruler on a pencil. Push one end to show the other lifts.

2. Up If your child says down, ask them to pull the rope slowly. Watch the load go up.

3. Look for: Says the cube slides or moves in a straight line, not round. If your child says it turns round, push a cube and a toy wheel side by side and watch both.

B

1. Yes If your child says no, ask them to trace the path with one finger.

C

1. Turns round in a circle If your child says up and down, they are looking at the rope. Point to the axle and turn it with a finger.

2. Goes up and down

3. Rises faster If your child says slower, wind string round a pencil fast, then slowly. Which way did the cup rise faster?

4. Look for: Names a real object that turns round in a circle, such as a wheel, a fan, a tap or a jar lid.

D

1. Round and round in a circle your child is mixing up turning with moving up and down. Ask them to draw a circle in the air while the wheel turns.

E

1. Look for: Says turning winds the rope round the axle. Accepts easier, steadier or smoother lifting.

Words to use

Say“Show me with your hand how the wheel moves. Can you draw the path it makes?”

Instead of“That's right, it spins. Just tell me the answer.”

After the sheet

Make a simple water well. Rest a pencil across two stacks of books. Tie string to its middle and hang a small cup. Let your child wind the string up. You tie the string and do any cutting. The child needs no sharp tools.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

7 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Using the wind(with a plan)
Testing Wind Sails(with a plan)
Choosing Wind Sail Materials(with a plan)
Choosing a windmill axle(with a plan)
Stable Windmill Towers(with a plan)
Testing Our Windmill(with a plan)
Show Our Windmill(with a plan)

Every Year 1 design and technology worksheet

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