Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Do you worry about the kids burning themselves when completing the bulb and motor activities?
Answer: Set expectations before handing out the materials and warn children that the items will get hot from time to time. Tell them to let go immediately if they begin to feel any warmth on their fingers at all. If it does happen, have them let go of the materials and put their burning finger in their mouth. If you are too worried and do not want to deal with the risk of burning at all, then use the bulb and battery holders from day one.
Question: This is my first time using the kit and there seems to be a lot of material to cover in a short period of time. How do I get through everything?
Answer: When you use the kit for the first time, especially if electricity is new to you, you probably won't get through it all your first year. You will see that some lessons that took you longer to complete the first time around will go faster the following year because of what you now know. Enjoy the kit. The kids will have a blast learning and so will you.
Question: What is the easiest and most efficient way to organize the materials for this unit?
Answer: Throughout all of its units, FOSS uses a "materials station" approach where the "Getter" in each group is responsible for retrieving and returning the materials to a central location. For Magnetism and Electricity, many have found it more efficient to package the needed materials for a specific lesson into group tubs or table group tubs. This makes distribution and collection easier. Have the groups observe the content of the tubs as they are distributed and then require that the groups return the tubs the same way, making sure all of the materials are accounted for. This is an especially useful technique when teaching the electricity portion of the unit where you have many D-cells, bulbs, wires and holders to manage.