Magnets & Electricity
Investigation 2: Making the Connection
Part 4
Investigating Mystery Circuits
Students work with mystery boards to reinforce the concept of conduction and check their understanding as to how electricity flows through a circuit.
3. Lesson set up and Management
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.
3.1.2 Propose, design and test a solution to a problem.
3.1.3 Evaluate how well a design or product solves a problem.
1. A circuit is a pathway through which electric current flows.
2. A switch is a device that opens and closes a circuit.
3. A closed circuit allows electricity to flow; an open circuit does not.
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 breaks.
2. Make sure that all motors have masking tape attached to the motor shaft. See page 16.
3. Before handing out any equipment remind students about the safety of hot wires.
4. See page 15, step #5 if the Fahnestock clip isn't working correctly on the battery or bulb holders.
5. Make sure the mystery boards are assembled before beginning the lesson. If they are not, assemble them according to page 27 step 3.
6. You may choose to complete this lesson individually so you can assess each child on their findings. If you do this, plan for the lesson to take more time and have something for the other students to do as each child rotates through the stations.
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. Keep Moving! If you are constantly moving, it will keep everyone on task.
3. When discussing questions, have students place their materials in the middle of their table or desks and have them place their hands in their 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.
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Trying to find the hidden wire. |
Writing Support:
1. Reflective journaling on the day's lesson. The following prompt could be used, "What is an important idea about electricity you have learned."
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.
4. Write about living in the days before electricity.
5. Write about how your life would be different if we had no electricity today. List all of the things they would no longer be able to do and discuss what we would do instead.
Reading Support:
1. Read FOSS Science Story "Two Reference Stories About Edison."
2. Check the Resource section of the teacher's guide for more reading suggestions or the literature link on this site.