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Electricity

Science Year 4 It's Electric

Learn all about electrical circuits and test materials' ability to conduct electricity. Put your knowledge of circuits on display by building your own circuit to create a buzz-wire game. Then, use your game to try to defeat a challenger. Who can remain ‘disconnected’ on the game? You will need to impress with your electrical knowhow.

block outcomes Background Science

Session 1 Electrical fun!

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Objectives

Challenge your knowledge and misconceptions about electricity by exploring a number of electrical games and devices.

Science Objectives
i) Identify common appliances that run on electricity.

ii) Construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers.

Working Scientifically
 1. Ask relevant questions and use different types of scientific enquiries to answer them.

You Will Need

Provided Resources

  • Question pages (laminate if possible)

Additional Resources

  • Sticky notes
  • Resources for building electrical circuits
  • Remote-controlled toys
  • Games that use electricity
  • Plugs with a short bit of wire
  • Screwdrivers
  • Flipchart

Weblinks
What is electricity? from BBC Bitesize (note the typo in written definition; video is correct)

Instructions to build buzz wire game from http://sciencewithkids.com

Lesson Planning

Teaching

  • Explore electrical games and resources, identifying what they know and what they need to know about electricity.

Activities

  1. Spend time exploring a range of games that use electricity, and materials needed to make a simple electrical circuit.
  2. Consider what they already know about electricity.
  3. Understand that electrical items in our homes are powered from mains electricity or batteries and identify some of these appliances and devices.

Investigation - exploring
Explore electricity and understand what you already know.

Vocabulary
Electricity, circuit, switch, battery, plug, mains, appliance, device, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, buzzer, connection, power, cell

Session 2 Understanding electrical safety

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Objectives

Using an interactive resource, discover electrical dangers around the home and create a poster warning others of these dangers.

Science Objectives
i) Identify common appliances that run on electricity.

ii) Recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors.

Working Scientifically
1. Ask relevant questions and use different types of scientific enquiries to answer them.

Other Curriculum Areas
English

  • Write for a range of real purposes and audiences as part of their work across the curriculum.

Extended Writing Opportunities
Information texts: Create detailed safety posters to highlight the dangers of electricity.

Lesson Planning

Teaching

  • Identify the dangers associated with electricity in the home and begin to recognise that the dangers are often associated with materials that are good conductors.

Activities

  1. Understand the dangers of electricity.
  2. Create safety posters to highlight the dangers to others.
  3. Begin to understand that electrical dangers are often associated with materials that are good conductors.

Investigation - exploring
Understand electricity and the dangers it poses.

Vocabulary
Electricity, danger, power, electrocute, plug, socket, safety

Session 3 Building a circuit

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Objectives

Learn about circuits and how to represent them in proper scientific diagrams.

Science Objectives
i) Construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers.

ii) Identify whether or not a lamp will light in a simple series circuit, based on whether or not the lamp is part of a complete loop with a battery.

Working Scientifically
1. Ask relevant questions and use different types of scientific enquiries to answer them.

2. Set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests.

3. Record findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables.

Lesson Planning

Teaching

  • Construct a simple circuit, identifying the basic parts and to label a diagram of the circuit.
  • Predict if different ‘circuit’ layouts will light a bulb, and then test their predictions.

Activities

  1. Identify electrical materials and components required for a buzzer to sound or a bulb to light.
  2. Set up their own series of enquiries that explore electrical circuits and various effects.
  3. Record their findings in a simple table.
  4. See a diagram of an electrical circuit and identify what the symbols represent.

Investigation - problem solving and exploring
Identify electrical components and explore electrical circuits.

Vocabulary
Electricity, circuit, switch, battery, plug, mains, appliance, device, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, buzzer, connection, power, cell, energy, flow, current

Session 4 Good conductor, bad conductor?

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Objectives

Conduct your own experiment, testing different materials to see whether or not they complete your circuits.

Science Objectives
i) Recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit and associate this with whether or not a lamp lights in a simple series circuit.

ii) Recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors.

Working Scientifically

  1. Ask relevant questions and use different types of scientific enquiries to answer them.
  2. Set up simple practical enquiries and comparative and fair tests.
  3. Record findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables.
  4. Report on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions.
  5. Use results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions.

Extended Writing Opportunities
Recount: Write a detailed recount, for Young Scientist of the Year competition, of your first-hand experience of testing a range of materials; include what you did, the results and your conclusions.

You Will Need

Additional Resources

  • Wires
  • Cells (batteries)
  • Crocodile clips
  • Bulbs
  • Buzzers
  • Motors
  • Materials for testing, e.g. clay, ruler, tin foil, rubber, cork, feather, buttons

Weblinks
Conductor quiz for the plenary from educationquizzes.com

Lesson Planning

Teaching

  • Open and close a circuit with a switch and predict and test which other materials could be used to conduct electricity.
  • Record findings and draw conclusions about materials used to make electrical circuits, and materials used to keep us safe from electrical circuits.

Activities

  1. Introduce a switch to their circuit and understand that a break in the circuit will stop the flow of electricity.
  2. Work together to test a range of materials and record their findings in a simple chart.
  3. Predict and explain which materials are good conductors of electricity, and which are not.

Investigation - problem solving and exploring
Identify electrical components and explore electrical circuits

Vocabulary
Electricity, circuit, switch, battery, plug, mains, appliance, device, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, buzzer, connection, power, cell, energy, flow, current, conductor, insulator

Session 5 Showing what you know!

Download all files

Objectives

Put your knowledge of circuits on display by building your own circuit.

Science Objectives
i) Construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers.

ii) Identify whether or not a lamp will light in a simple series circuit, based on whether or not the lamp is part of a complete loop with a battery.

Working Scientifically

  1. Ask relevant questions and use different types of scientific enquiries to answer them.
  2. Set up simple practical enquiries and comparative and fair tests.
  3. Record findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables.
  4. Use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Other Curriculum Areas
Design and Technology

  • Select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks accurately.
  • Select from and use a wider range of materials and components, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities.
  • Understand and use electrical systems in their products.

Lesson Planning

Teaching

  • Make a circuit with a buzzer and a switch and record the circuit in a labelled diagram.
  • Answer questions using scientific evidence to support them.

Activities

  1. With a partner, use knowledge and understanding of electrical circuits to build a circuit with a buzzer and a switch.
  2. Draw a scientific diagram of their circuit.
  3. Use their understanding of electrical circuits to consider how electrical games work.
  4. Work in a team to design and build a buzz wire game.

Investigation - problem solving
Use knowledge of electrical circuits, build a buzz-wire game.

Vocabulary
Electricity, circuit, switch, battery, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, buzzer, connection, power, cell, energy, conductor, insulator

Session 6 It's electric!

Download all files

Objectives

It’s time to use your game to try to defeat a challenger. Who can remain ‘disconnected’ on the game? You will need to impress with your electrical knowhow.

Science Objectives
i) Identify common appliances that run on electricity.

ii) Construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers.

iii) Identify whether or not a lamp will light in a simple series circuit, based on whether or not the lamp is part of a complete loop with a battery.

iv) Recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit and associate this with whether or not a lamp lights in a simple series circuit.

v) Recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors.

Working Scientifically
1. Use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support findings.

You Will Need

Provided Resources

  • Question cards from session resource (laminated – 1 set to go with every game)

Additional Resources

  • The buzz-wire games from the previous session
  • Children’s sets of quiz question cards

Lesson Planning

Teaching

  • Demonstrate an understanding of electrical circuits, including naming its basic parts and drawing a labelled diagram/
  • Answer questions about conductors and insulators.

Activities

  1. Demonstrate their buzz wire game.
  2. Explain the scientific rationale behind their circuits.
  3. Identify how they have developed their electrical knowledge and skills from the outset of the block.
  4. Challenge others to compete against them in an ‘It’s Electric’ quiz and buzzer game.

Investigation - demonstrating
Demonstrate an understanding of electrical circuits with a class quiz.

Vocabulary
Electricity, circuit, switch, battery, wire, crocodile clip, bulb, buzzer, connection, power, cell, energy, conductor, insulator

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