Does "bread machine yeast" work without a bread machine?

I've been using breadmachine yeast when trying to make bread, but it just won't rise enough. Do I need to use a different type of yeast (ie. instant yeast), or am I just not kneading correctly? Here is my ingredient for bread: 1 cup bleached all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast, and enough sugar. Do i need to add more yeast? The most rise I could get is like 1/4 (instead of the double size). I knead it for 10 minutes, and i've tried even longer. Is it the yeast or my technique?