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Mechanisms are an indispensable element in manufacturing, and therefore, they are important learning contents. In Japanese education, the study of mechanisms has been incorporated into elementary school Graphic Arts and junior high school Technology. In Graphic Arts, activities to make toys using mechanism are taken up. In Technology, the various mechanisms study in more detail and the making activities that apply these mechanisms are taken up. As making activities for mechanism learning, walking robots using link mechanisms are often taken up in junior high school technology, and there is a bias in the mechanisms that can be learned in the activity. Therefore, we consider it necessary to enhance teaching materials that can incorporate various mechanisms into making activities, and we have been working on the development of teaching materials for learning mechanisms. In this study, we conducted a class practice using the teaching materials developed for junior high school students and analyzed their educational effects based on students’ worksheets and questionnaires. We developed the materials using friction wheel, lantern wheel, Geneva drive, cam mechanism, lever crank mechanism, and parallel motion linkage as teaching material for learning mechanisms. In this activity, two students worked in pairs to make one type of mechanism. Students worked in the following activities: reading blueprint, marking, drilling, and assembling parts. As a result of analysis, it was clarified that encountering a situation in which the mechanism students had fabricated did not work well provided them with an opportunity to think about how to make it work. It was suggested that this opportunity led to a deep understanding of the mechanisms. A student commented, “Before this activity, I didn’t understand how friction wheel work. But after this activity, I understand its mechanism.” This statement indicates that the student learned about the mechanism through this activity.

secondary education; development of teaching material; teaching practice; mechanism