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Electric celebrations - Hamilton trust planning

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Electric celebrations - Hamilton trust planning

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You Will Need

Provided Resources Additional resources

Dragons (parent volunteers)

Electrical kits (bulbs, batteries, buzzers, motors, switches, wires)

Planning and Activities

Teaching Activities

1. Plan and carry out a series of simple electrical circuit investigations

2. Identify current electrical knowledge and areas to explore further

3. Create success criteria for their Dragons' Den electrical challenge

Investigation
Investigate a range of simple electric circuit challenges (planning/fair testing/exploring)

Vocabulary
Electricity, electrical circuit, complete circuit, circuit symbol, components, cell, battery, positive/negative, connect/connection, loose connection, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, bright/dim, switch, buzzer, volume, motor, fast(er)/slow(er), voltage, current, conductor, insulator, metal/non metal, enquiry question, investigation, findings

Planning and Activities

Teaching

Set up a series of enquiries that explore electrical circuits and various effects.

Record findings in tables and graphs.

Investigate examples of festive lights, identifying key features.

Develop ideas and circuits that reflect the design success criteria.

Activities

1. Carry out a series of enquiries that explore the effects of voltage on electrical circuit components.

2. Record and present results graphically.

3. Look at examples of festive lights and list key features.

4. Create annotated drawings to represent their design ideas.

Investigation - exploring, fair testing, pattern seeking
Investigate the effects of voltage and number of components on a working circuit.

Vocabulary
Electricity, electrical circuit, complete circuit, circuit diagram, circuit symbol, components, cell, battery, positive/negative, terminal, connect/connection, loose connection, short circuit, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, bright/dim, switch, buzzer, volume, motor, fast(er)/slow(er), voltage, current, resistance, scatter diagram, investigation, causal relationship

You Will Need

Planning and Activities

Teaching

Identify from circuit diagrams those circuits that will or won't work.

Draw an accurate circuit diagram.

Research and explain why electrical components behave as they do in terms of resistance.

Feed back on others' designs.

Use feedback to improve their own design.

Understand how electrical components in their design work to the desired effect.

Activities

1. Draw a circuit diagram with a summary of the brightness, volume and speed of components within it.

2. Annotate their circuit diagram with explanations of the role of resistance in making components work.

3. Feed back on other's designs.

4. Use feedback to improve their design.

Investigation - exploring, analysing secondary sources
Explore resistance through the use of various components.
Draw circuit diagrams.

Vocabulary
Electricity, electrical circuit, circuit diagram, circuit symbol, components, cell, battery, positive/negative, terminal, connect/connection, loose connection, short circuit, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, bright/dim, switch, buzzer, volume, motor, fast(er)/slow(er), conductor, insulator, metal/non metal, voltage, current, resistance

You Will Need

Dimmer switch guidance 1 from www.YouTube.com
Dimmer switch guidance 2 from www.sciencebuddies.org
Dimmer switch guidance 3 from www.bbc.co.uk

Planning and Activities

Teaching

Investigate, design and make a dimmer switch.

Describe how a dimmer switch affects resistance.

Incorporate a dimmer switch into their design.

Identify materials and tools required to make a prototype.

Activities

1. Investigate and develop a dimmer switch.

2. Identify materials and tools for their design.

Investigation - problem solving, exploring
Design and make a dimmer switch.

Vocabulary
Electricity, appliances/device, electrical circuit, complete circuit, components, cell, battery, positive/negative, terminal, connect/connection, loose connection, short circuit, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, bright/dim, switch, buzzer, volume, motor, fast(er)/slow(er), conductor, insulator, metal/non metal, voltage, current, resistance

You Will Need

Provided Resources

General cost details

Presentation prompts

Additional resources

Electrical equipment

Range of materials and tools for design features (see materials request forms from Session 4)

Planning and Activities

Teaching

Build a working circuit.

Explain how components work.

Select appropriate batteries.

Create a prototype of their design.

Use working electrical systems within their prototype.

Use tools and materials effectively in their prototype, adapting as they work.

Activities

1. Create a working electrical prototype and identify possible improvements.

2. Effectively use appropriate materials, tools and equipment.

3. Explain clearly how components work.

4. Explain clearly the effect that different voltages have on components in a circuit.

Investigation - exploring, problem solving
Design and create a light decoration circuit.

Vocabulary
Electricity, appliances/device, electrical circuit, complete circuit, circuit diagram, circuit symbol, components, cell, battery, positive/negative, terminal, connect/connection, loose connection, short circuit, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, bright/dim, switch, buzzer, volume, motor, fast(er)/slow(er), conductor, insulator, metal/non metal, voltage, current, resistance

You Will Need

Planning and Activities

Teaching Activities

1. Demonstrate how their decoration works and to link their circuits to their diagrams.

2. Link findings from previous electrical investigations to their circuits.

3. Outline how their design meets all success criteria.

4. Demonstrate electrical knowledge and skills through presentation.

Vocabulary
Electricity, appliances/device, electrical circuit, complete circuit, circuit diagram, circuit symbol, components, cell, battery, positive/negative, terminal, connect/connection, loose connection, short circuit, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, bright/dim, switch, buzzer, volume, motor, fast(er)/slow(er), conductor, insulator, metal/non metal, voltage, current, resistance

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Provided Resources Additional resources Dragons (parent volunteers) Electrical kits (bulbs, batteries, buzzers, motors, switches, wires) Teaching Activities Plan and carry out a series of simple electrical circuit investigations Identify current electrical knowledge and areas to explore further Create success criteria for their Dragons' Den electrical challenge Investigation Investigate a range

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Subject knowledge about electricity

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Subject knowledge about electricity

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Looking to amp up the fun and have the kids learn something about electricity? Give this electric play dough experiment a try. It's simple, hands-on and the kids will l-o-v-e it!

In this episode of Adventures in Learning, the kids have a blast with a cool project developed by AnneMarie Thomas of the St. Thomas Lab at the University of St. Thomas. Dr. Thomas and her researchers wanted to introduce circuits to young kids. In their research they discovered that salt dough was a great conductor and sugar dough was a solid insulator.

Want to give it a try?

What You'll Need

You can find the last three items on the list at an electronics store or you can order a kit online at squishycircuitsstore.com.

If you're assembling everything yourself, pick up some spade terminals while you're at the store and crimp them to the end of the wires. Click here to see how. Let me assure you, if I can do it, anyone can. Honestly.

How to Make Circuits

Once you have all the materials, let the kids sculpt, play and create! Use this activity to talk about electricity and how conductive materials allow it to flow freely, while insulating materials make it slow down or stop.

First, have the kids make a very simple series circuit. At its most basic form, the kids are forming a circle that allows the electricity to flow in one direction to light up a light. Start by having the kids take two pieces of conductive dough. Next, place a wire into each one making sure the two pieces of dough do not touch. Then have the kids close the circuit by placing a wire from an LED into each piece of dough. If the LED doesn't light up, have the kids flip it around. LEDs only allow energy to flow in one direction. The kids have just created a series circuit!

Now have them remove a piece from the circuit, either take one of the battery pack wires out of the dough, or remove one of the LED wires. The light goes out. It's a broken or open circuit. The energy can't flow.

Have the kids close the circuit again. Now have them push the pieces of dough together. What happens to the light? They have a short circuit. To fix it, have them place a piece of insulating dough between the pieces of conductive dough. The light shines again.

While this activity is the ultimate in rainy day fun, it'd also be amazing at a birthday party. Pair it with a 'take apart' activity where kids use real tools to take apart old electronics to see how they work, and you have a STEM/STEAM dream party.

Want more ideas for inspiring Science Technology Engineering Art and M ath projects? Check out these links...

More Adventures in Learning

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Electric Play Dough - Adventures in Learning

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Looking to amp up the fun and have the kids learn something about electricity? Give this electric play dough experiment a try. It's simple, hands-on and the kids will l-o-v-e it! In this episode of Adventures in Learning, the kids have a blast with a cool project developed by AnneMarie Thomas of the St.

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Help your children to learn about circuits and electricity, using our free teaching and learning resources.

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When Charlie McButton Lost Power

by Suzanne Collins and Mike Lester

Literacy related activities here

Lesson plans and interviews here

Mr a, Mr C and Mr D's KS2 song about electricity. Here

Great interactive from the Electrical Safety Council.
All about electricity generation, uses and safety.
Could be used at either KS1 or KS2 - here

BBC Science Clips - building a circuit KS1 - here

BBC Science Clips - Circuits and conductors KS2 - here

BBC Science Clips - Changing circuits KS2 - here

BBC's primary history page on John Logie Baird, inventor of the TV.

KS1 friendly video about Benjamin Frankin's experiment with a kite and a key in a thunderstorm. Here

Building electrical circuits

Or, go one further and make your own light bulb using only foil, paper clips, batteries, blue tack, a jam jar and, the key ingredient, pencil lead for a propelling pencil.

(Click on the photos for a bigger view.)

Lesson plans and resources

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When Charlie McButton Lost Power by Suzanne Collins and Mike Lester Literacy related activities here Lesson plans and interviews here Mr a, Mr C and Mr D's KS2 song about electricity. Here Great interactive from the Electrical Safety Council. All about electricity generation, uses and safety.

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Electricity vocabulary

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We all know the words around electricity -- “charge,” “positive,” “battery” and more. But where do they come from and what do they really mean? Let the history of these words illuminate the physics of electric phenomena.

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Teachers TV- Primary Science -Electricity

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http://edchat.net - © Crown Copyright. Provided by Education not Limited Further resources available on http://edchat.net Licensed to Education not Limited formerly The Artists' Guild Ltd. Licence information available at www.edchat.net

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This animation is several exercises in one with lots of activities to explain some basic ideas of a series or parallel circuit. It spans KS3, KS4 and KS5 as all the ideas will work and tidy up any ...

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Series and Parallel circuits