INTRODUCTIONTECH MACHINES
Teacher Guide Introduction
Who is the material for?
The Tech Machines Teacher Guide is for preschool teachers. It is designed to help teachersdevelop children’s early engineering skills, such as designing and building, investigating andsolving problems, and exploring machines and their functions.

What is it for?
Designed for preschoolers, the construction theme enables children to explore engineering
concepts in a familiar setting as they build vehicles, machines, construction equipment, andimaginative models.
The Tech Machines Teacher Guide provides fun and engaging exploration opportunities while
promoting the development of children’s science, technology, and math skills.
Using the Teacher Guide, preschool teachers can facilitate exciting lessons in which children
will learn about machine parts like wheels, pulleys, and joints while exploring their functions.
The specially designed screwdriver allows children to use tools in a fun and safe way. Most
importantly, the lessons will enable them to become problem solvers, enhancing their creativity
through construction and demonstration.

©2018 The LEGO Group.

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How are the learning objectives achieved?
Throughout the lessons, strategic questions will guide children through the process ofapplying engineering skills. Furthermore, the LEGO® DUPLO® building activities will reinforce
creativity, inquiry, and exploration.
The Tech Machines set comes with a Getting Started card that includes five quick steps for
introducing the set in your classroom. By following the steps, you will introduce the children to
the unique elements of the set, such as the screwdrivers and interlocking bricks.
This Teacher Guide includes eight lessons. Refer to the table of contents for a brief descriptionof lesson topics. Each lesson is labeled as beginner, intermediate or advanced, based on theskills and knowledge needed to complete the lesson. The lessons may be selected andadapted according to what is most relevant and appropriate for the children.
The activities and lessons contained in this Teacher Guide require the LEGO® Education Tech
Machines set (45002)

Customizing to Your Class Needs
The Tech Machines lessons can be tailored to your needs and the needs of your class. One
Tech Machines set can be used with up to four children at a time, working in pairs if thechildren are able. Children need a lot of practice before becoming proficient at building with apartner, and this is a good way to promote collaboration. Only the advanced activities explicitly
ask the children to build with a partner. However, if the children are ready, you may incorporate
partner building into all the activities.

©2018 The LEGO Group.

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Lesson Structure
Each lesson is structured according to a natural learning flow called the LEGO® Education 4C
approach, which promotes successful learning experiences. The Connect, Construct, andContemplate phases, which are the first three phases of each lesson, can be done in onesession. The Continue phase is more challenging and can be completed in a later session.

Connect
During the Connect phase, discussions will spark children’s curiosity and activate their existingknowledge while preparing them for a new learning experience.

Construct
In this phase, the children will participate in a hands-on building activity. As their hands createmodels of people, places, objects, and ideas, their minds will organize and store new
information related to these structures.

Contemplate
During the Contemplate phase, children are given the opportunity to reflect on what they havedone and to talk about and share insights they have gained during the Construct phase of thelesson.

Continue
New challenges in this phase build upon the concepts learned previously in the lesson,
providing an opportunity for children to apply their newly-acquired knowledge duringextension activities. Because the children may not be ready to complete the Continue phase
until they have repeatedly practiced the skills learned earlier in the lesson, this phase can bedone during a later session.

©2018 The LEGO Group.

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Did you notice?
The learning guidelines from the National Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC), Head Start, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have been used todevelop the Tech Machines lessons. This Teacher Guide focuses on the learning values formath, science, and engineering. Please refer to the learning grid for an overview of the learning
values referenced throughout this Teacher Guide. The learning goals listed at the end of eachlesson can be used to determine whether each child is developing the relevant skills. Thesebullet points target specific skills or pieces of information that are practiced or presented
during each lesson.

©2018 The LEGO Group.

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