Electric Circuits
Lesson 5
Building a Circuit
Students use additional tools to create circuits.
3. Lesson Set-up and Management
4-5 PS3E Electrical energy in circuits can be changed to other forms of energy, including light, heat, sound, and motion. Electric circuits require a complete loop through conducting materials in which an electric current can pass.
4-5 PS3B Energy can be transferred from one place to another.
4-5 PS3A Energy has many forms, such as heat, light, sound, motion, and electricity.
4-5 SYSA Systems contain subsystems.
4-5 SYSB A system can do things that none of its subsystems can do by themselves
- Students use a battery holder and a bulb socket to create more permanent circuits.
- Students reinforce the idea of critical connections that are needed to light a bulb.
3. Lesson Set-Up and Management
Materials:
- Make sure the battery holders are positioned to come into contact with both ends of the battery.
- Make sure students know how to correctly screw the bulb into the
bulb socket in Procedure step 5; sometimes students force the bulb.
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| Building a circuit. | A complete circuit. |
Student Management:
- There are multiple ways to connect the system; have students try to create a different way if they finish early.
- Have students record the circuits they created in their science notebook.
- Have students record the forms of energy that are present in the circuit.
- This is a good lesson to reiterate the idea of a system and parts of a system.
- Introduce energy transfers and transformations in this lesson. These terms are not mentioned in the teacher’s guide, but are an extension of the Final Activities that will better meet the state standards.
- A good way to introduce the concept of energy transfer is to discuss if any students have transferred from one school to another. They are the same student, but in a different location. An energy transfer is the same form of energy changing locations.
- If students are familiar with the Transformer toys, this can be used to introduce energy transformations. Energy changes form, but the location stays the same—just like Transformers change, which occurs in one location.
- Finger tracing the path of energy through the system can help students see the energy transfers and transformations.
- This is a good lesson to start a vocab list or word wall.
- This is a key lesson in terms of assessing student understanding of circuits.
Writing Support:
- Focus Question: What are the critical connections needed to make a bulb light.
- A pocket chart can be used to create a word wall as terms are introduced; create vocabulary cards for the terms and place them in the pockets.
- Have students indicate the forms of energy in the system and the location before and after the transfer/ transformation in their notebook.
- Have students use the focus question again at the end of the lesson; it become the reflection question. This also allows you to see if students are able to identify the critical connections needed to make a bulb light.
Reading Support:
- Electricity: Bulbs, Batteries, and Sparks by Darlene Stille can be used after this lesson.