Teach Engineering
Circuits
Don't know how to make the initial connection on electric circuits? This lesson provides the background to present the introductory vocabulary to learning about electric circuits. It is organized in a meaningful progression with an...
Curated OER
Magnetism and Electricity
Young scholars demonstrate a comprehension of the properties, position, and motion of objects and materials, and of light, heat, electricity, and magnetism. They use materials to assemble an electric circuit and test materials,...
Teach Engineering
Can You Resist This?
Some things are hard to resist. Small collaborative groups build circuits and calculate the voltage using Ohm's Law. Budding engineers explore the connection between the voltage across different resistors and linear...
Curated OER
WHAT MAKES A LIGHT BULB LIGHT?
Students are able to use inquiry to answer the essential questions. They are able to predict and test configurations of a battery, bulb, and wire that make the complete circuit. Students craft a group and individual theory of a...
Curated OER
Wire Maze
Students investigate what causes electrical circuits to work. They construct a wire circuit and pass a paperclip through the maze, trying not to touch the wire, and answer discussion questions.
Curated OER
Electricity
Students examine basic electrical components. They build a simple electrical circuit which rings a buzzer. They experiment with conducting and nonconducting materials.
Curated OER
Completing the Circuit
Learners use a battery, wires, small light bulb and a light bulb holder to learn the difference between an open circuit and a closed circuit, and understand that electric current only occurs in a closed circuit. They describe the...
Curated OER
Electricity - How it Works and How We Measure and Pay For It
Students investigate energy consumption by researching wattage. In this electricity lesson, students discuss how electricity works and gets transferred to our electronic devices through generators and circuits. Students...
Curated OER
Electric Circuits
Students explore energy by completing an electricity worksheet. In this conductors lesson plan, students define the energy related vocabulary terms circuit, electronics, conductor and semi-conductor before examining computer chips in...
Curated OER
Many Paths
Students explore the composition and practical application of parallel circuitry, compared to series circuitry. They design and build parallel circuits and investigate their characteristics, and apply Ohm's law. They recognize that...
Teach Engineering
How a Hybrid Works
Work with your class to connect series and parallel circuits to hybrid cars. The lesson introduces basic circuit diagrams before having scholars apply the understanding of the difference between parallel and series circuits to...
Curated OER
Magnetism And Electricity
Students investigate the concept of electricity and how to build a circuit. They identify the presence of heat, light, sound, and the magnetic effects. Students construct the circuit and draw a diagram that gives directions for its...
Curated OER
Electricity: Will It Conduct?
Students build conductivity testers and investigate which solids and solutions conduct electricity. Working in groups, they predict which items will conduct electricity and record their answers on worksheets.
Curated OER
How Smart are You about Electricity, Batteries and Conductors?
Students create working circuits. In this electricity and circuits lesson, students make a battery, then build a flashlight and use part of the flashlight to create a conductivity tester.
Trash For Teaching
The Light-House Project
Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...
Curated OER
From Sunlight to Electric Current
Students explore concept of current in electrical circuits. They examine how energy from the sun can be used to power everyday items, including vehicles.
National Woman's History Museum
Getting with the Program
A seven-step lesson introduces the emergence of computer sciences and the contributions women made to the profession after World War II. Several science experiments offer pupils a hands-on learning experience that showcases parabolas,...
Curated OER
Electricity for Kids! It's Shocking!
Students investigate the world of electricity by completing a KWL sheet. In this energy lesson, students view PowerPoint presentations about electricity, who invented it, and how it is used today. Students define several electricity...
Curated OER
What Is Electricity?
Students investigate vocabulary words associated with electricity. In this electrical lesson, students utilize the Internet to research what electricity is and how it works. Students create an actual circuit in class using a...
Curated OER
The Path of Electrons
Students engage in an interactive "hot potato" demonstration to gain an appreciation for the flow of electrons through a circuit. They role play the different parts of a simple circuit and send small items representing electrons (paper...
Curated OER
Ohm's Law I
Students work to increase the intensity of a light bulb by testing batteries in series and parallel circuits. They analyze Ohm's Law, power, parallel and series circuits, and ways to measure voltage and current.
Curated OER
On The Move
Fourth graders solve basic mathematical problems. They identify and apply key terms and equations relative to physical science. They discuss how train engines use fuel to move a generator, which creates electrical current that moves...
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...
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...