Curated OER
Circuit City
Fifth graders are introduced to the concept of circuits and how electricity works. In groups, they design their own subdivision with houses in which they have inside and outside light sources. To end the activity, they make the...
Curated OER
Exploring Electricity: Light Sculptures
Students study electricity by making their own light sculptures. In this light sculptures lesson, students review electrical loops and circuitry components. Students then plan, create, and refine light sculptures.
Curated OER
Series and Parallel Circuits
Young scholars examine electricity. For this circuits lesson students complete an activity that shows them the configuration of circuits.
Teach Engineering
Applications of Linear Functions
It's not so straightforward — lines can model a variety of applications. Pupils experience linear relationships within the context of science, including Hooke's and Ohm's Laws. Class members got a taste of motion and speed from the...
Exploratorium
Penny Battery
Use pennies to light an LED. Class members follow the provided directions to build a multi-celled battery powered by pennies. Using stacks of pennies of varying heights, pupils control the voltage of the battery to light...
Curated OER
Bulbs & Batteries Side by Side
Students build parallel circuits, exploring how they function and looking at their unique features. They describe how current changes when batteries are added in parallel or removed from a parallel arrangement, demonstrate the process of...
Curated OER
Electrons on the Move
Fourth graders study current electricity while constructing a simple electric circuit. They build a galvanic cell to examine the concepts of voltage, current and resistance.
Curated OER
Light Your Way
Students investigate how a simple series circuit functions. They design and construct a working portable flashlight, develop a written plan for the flashlight, test their flashlight for functionality and reliability, and draw the series...
Curated OER
Science: Mirrored Movements
This lesson provides students with a lab experience during which students construct a basic electric circuit and use it to explore dexterity skills. A chance to construct and operate a tool that extends a person's grasping ability and to...
Curated OER
Protecting Treasures
Students explore electricity by creating an alarm. In this circuitry activity, students analyze a diagram of a circuit based alarm which detects sunlight. Students utilize electrical equipment to recreate the circuit and practice using...
Curated OER
Conductors, Insulators, and Semiconductors
Students will investigate the differences in conductivity of materials, design a variety of complete circuits, and observe the differences between the manner in which light is produced in an incandescent light bulb and an LED.
Curated OER
Electromagnets
Students are introduced to the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Using a compass, they observe and record the effects of placing the object near magnetic fields and electric currents. They also experiment using a steel and...
Curated OER
Physical Science: Solar Energy
Learners review and discuss how Solar energy and electricity produce light and heat. They create a photo/picture journal and include pictures taken during solar energy activities to a PowerPoint slide presentation.
Teach Engineering
Ampere's Law
Help your class find the the magnetic field of a toroid, a solenoid bent into a circle with an activity that allows the class to see how a loop of wire carrying an electrical charge behaves much like a magnet. The resource provides...
Science Friday
Make a Speaker
Make science come in loud and clear. Pupils learn about how a speaker works by building one. The scholars first learn about electromagnetic fields by building an electromagnet. Using that knowledge, they build a crude speaker using a...
Curated OER
Electrifying the World
Students explore the fundamental concepts of electricity. They examine different circuit diagrams to study how electricity flows. They finish by creating their own simple circuit.
Curated OER
Is That Icebox Green?
Seventh graders create a timeline of the development of electrical appliances. In this physics lesson, 7th graders explore energy consumption over the past 90 years. They create a poster about their chosen electrical device detailing its...
Curated OER
How Photocells Work
Give small groups of physical scientists tokens that represent electrons in a photovoltaic cell. They play a dice game in which they move the tokens around, representing the flow of electrons through the p-n junction of a semiconductor...
Curated OER
Let it Shine
Fifth graders investigate concepts of electricity by watching a video about Ben Franklin, participating in a web activity about simple circuits and experimenting with creating simple circuits. They examine conductors and insulators.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Artificial Hearing
Your sense of hearing depends upon tiny hairs deep inside your ear and if you lose these hairs, you lose your hearing. Here, groups explore hearing through the decibel measurement of common sounds. As a class, participants discuss...
Curated OER
Two-Cell Battery
Students build their own two-cell battery and determine which electrolyte solution is best suited for making a battery. They discuss background information for their experiment, construct and test their battery, and using the chart on...
Curated OER
Insulators and Conductors
Students conduct an experiment in which they create open and closed circuits. For this insulators and conductors lesson, students review open and closed circuits and then get in groups to make both kinds of circuit. ...
Curated OER
Electronic Components
Students review new terminology and computer circuits and the value of a resistor. They complete three experiments, "Resistance Activities," Transistor Activities,"Diode Activities" and enter data, results and their findings on Student...
Curated OER
Stepper Motor
Students compare a stepper motor from a traditional motor. In this physics instructional activity, students summarize how it works. They build their own stepper motor and explore its uses.