Activity
DiscoverE

Make a Light Bulb

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Could you reinvent the light bulb? Scholars tap into their inner Thomas Edisons to build a light bulb prototype out of a jar and some wires. They see how long the filament wire glows in the jar (batteries not included) to measure their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inventions 1: Edison And The Light Bulb

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine the realm and power of inventions, and recognize their impact on people and society. Small groups pretend to have been hired by Edison to make special posters that advertise the uses and benefits of the light bulb.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Light up a Light Bulb

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders investigate electricity.  In this electricity lesson, 3rd graders observe a familiar battery-operated toy and brainstorm reasons why and how the battery works.  Students work in pairs to explore batteries, bulbs,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WHAT MAKES A LIGHT BULB LIGHT?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Can You See the Light?

For Students 3rd - 4th
Third and fourth graders use this worksheet to help them draw their own version of a fully functioning circuit. They see the battery, the light bulb, and two wires with clips. They must draw the complete circuit, using these elements, on...
Organizer
2
2
World Intellectual Property Organization

Learn from the Past, Create the Future: Inventions and Patents

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Edison and the Light Bulb

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners explore the impact of inventions on society, specifically Edison and the light bulb. In this technology lesson, students use online resources and listen to a story about Edison to develop an understanding of how the light bulb...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Incandescent Light Bulb

For Teachers 5th - Higher Ed
Students study the history of the light bulb and how an incandescent light bulb works.  In this electricity lesson plan students complete several experiments on the light bulb.
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Electricity: Sources, Usage, Challenges, and the Future

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What does the future of energy look like? Junior engineers collaborate to discover a solution to the global energy crisis during a very hands-on activity. The unit focuses on learning through collaboration to develop a deep understanding...
Lesson Plan
DiscoverE

Oranges and Batteries

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Orange you glad you can make circuits using fruit? Young electricians learn about electric circuits and electricity. As part of the activity, they build a circuit with an orange and then with a banana.
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Making a Battery

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Don't be shocked when your class has a blast making their own batteries! Science scholars examine a dry cell battery, then design and construct a wet cell battery. The activity guides them through the parts of a battery, the variables...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Improvement of the Electric Light Bulb

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study how the first electric light was made and the history behind it.  In this electricity instructional activity students create their own light bulb.
Lesson Plan
Consumers Energy

Circuits and the Flow of Electricity Lesson Plan

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
I think I lost an electron. Are you sure? Yes, I'm positive! Starting with a hands-on demonstration and problem solving activity, young scientists define vocabulary related to circuitry and currents. Then they build their own circuits...
Interactive
PBS

Real-World Ratio and Rate Reasoning: How to Power the Skate Park

For Students 5th - 6th Standards
Bring on the lights! Using an interactive, characters try to figure out how to light a skate park by examining area and ratios to determine the number of solar panels needed to power them. Pupils design a house with a roof to hold solar...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inventions 1: Edison and the Light Bulb

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students are introduced to the realm and power of inventions, and help them to better recognize their impact on people and society.
Worksheet
Scholastic

On or Off?

For Students 2nd - 4th
How does electricity work? Put an electric circuit into your own hands with a short experiment that makes a switch out of a battery, light bulb, and thumb tacks. Young scientists then respond to short answers about why the circuit...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Holiday Lights and Circuits

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Young scholars create a simple circuit using batteries, wires, and light bulbs. In this circuits lesson plan, students learn the difference between a series circuit and a parallel circuit and connect it to holiday lights they use in...
Activity
DiscoverE

Let Your Lights Glow

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Put those old holiday lights to good use. Individuals use a section of ornamental lights to create electric circuits. If the lights glow, it's a success; otherwise, it's time to try again!
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ohm's Law I

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Electricity And Magnetism

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the relationship between magnetism and electricity byby explaining how the model motor operates. They observe the the spinning of a coil of copper wire that is part of a circuit.
Lesson Plan
1
1
Virginia Department of Education

Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How can one easily classify metals, nonmetals, and metalloids? Pupils answer this question as they experiment with unknown substances and perform tests on conductivity, brittleness, and malleability to determine...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Parallel circuit

For Students 4th - 6th
In this parallel circuit activity, students use batteries, a breadboard, light bulbs and more to make a parallel circuit and answer short answer questions. Students answer 2 questions.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Battery fun

For Students 4th - 5th
Conduct an experiment with batteries to make a simple circuit. Fifth graders read the provided information, consider the two circuits, and determine which one is complete. An electrically charged experiment suggestion is included. Tip:...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Completing the Circuit

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students 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...