Magnets & Electricity
Investigation 3: Advanced Connections
Part 2
Building Parallel Circuits
Students learn another way to operate two components as they construct a parallel circuit.
3. Lesson set up and Management
1.1.4 Understand that energy keeps things running and comes in many forms.
1.2.2 Know that energy can be transferred from one object to another and can be transformed from one type of energy to another.
2.1.2 Plan and conduct simple investigations, using appropriate tools, measures and safety rules.
2.1.3 Use data to construct reasonable explanations.
2.1.5 Record and report observations, explanations and conclusions using visual, oral, written, and mathematical expression.
1. A circuit is a pathway through which electric current flows.
2. A circuit that splits into two or more pathways before coming together at the battery is a parallel circuit.
3. Components in a parallel circuit each have a direct pathway to the energy source.
Parallel circuit like Example A in teacher's guide Investigation 3, Page 19. |
A successful parallel circuit. |
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
1. Keep your wire stripper handy. You and your students will use them for cutting more wire and stripping plastic when the wire break.
2. Before handing out any equipment remind students about the safety of hot wires.
3. As students get their circuits to work, have them draw their set-ups on the board. You will then need to discuss which are series and which are parallel circuits. If no one draws Design C on Page 19, make sure to do it and have them set up this parallel circuit. It will become very important in Step 8.
4. Remind students that when they are working with two batteries, some may not get their circuits to work. Be sure to discuss the orientation of the batteries and why this is so important. See Part 1, Page 13, Step 10 for further explanation. There is also a great description of this explanation on Page 7 of this investigation in the book.
Student Management:
1. Keep all materials at the station at which they are working. Don't let them carry the materials around. Let the students wander and explore.
2. Make sure students don't try to add more than two batteries at this point.
3. Keep Moving! If you are constantly moving, it will keep everyone on task.
4. When discussing questions, have students place their materials in the middle of their table or desks and have them place their hands in lap.
1. You can lengthen or shorten the time on any lesson.
2. Use Pages 2 & 3 to help guide further inquiry at the end of every part.
3. Give students time to discuss their observations with each other.
4. Give journal reflection time.
5. Keep word banks and content inquiry charts up so students can see and have more time to copy later, if needed. It's nice if you can keep them up all the time and just add to them as you go.
Writing Support:
1. Reflective journaling on the day's lesson.
2. Start and finish each lesson with a KWLQ chart. ("What do I know?", "What do I want to know?", "What have I learned?" and "Are there any more questions to investigate?")
3. Have students write all word banks and inquiries in their journals.
Reading Support:
1. Read FOSS Science Story "A True Pioneer: Lewis Latimer."
2. Check the Resource section of the teacher's guide for more reading suggestions or the literature link on this site.