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5E Lesson Plan: Circuitry

ENGAGEMENT:

The 5E lesson plan with science emphasizes that students explore and then understand a science concept. Here is an example with circuitry below.

Tell a story to engage students into the unit of electrical circuits. In this story include that you were deep in a cave when your light hit the ceiling and shattered. When you reached around (after taking a second to calm down) you feel that there are two wires, a battery, and a light bulb that have fallen from the light. This proposes a problem to the students that they will explore to solve.

EXPLORATION:

Have students experiment with the materials and figure out what works as well as what doesn’t work. One thing we did during the experiment was make notes of some of the things we observed, as well as draw pictures of what was and was not working. If students are able to figure out what has happened, the teacher should challenge them to work with one wire and try to make the light bulb work.

Here are some notes that we observed during the experiment:

  • The battery got hot when one wire stretched from the positive to the negative side without making the light bulb illuminate.

  • It does not make a difference the color of the wire when experimenting. We questioned at the beginning whether or not groups that had two black or two red wires would light the bulb and if the groups that had one of each would be more successful.

  • Here are some drawings of the experiments. Having students draw it allows them to organize their thinking and create different explanations/draw various conclusions.

Towards the end there may be some groups that are successful at illuminating with one and two wires. Allow those groups to help the other ones and try to explain what is happening. Allow the students to hypothesize and create different questions.

EXPLANATION:

After students have tangibly illuminated and in some cases failed to illuminate the bulb, now comes the time to create understanding. It is important to use the work of the students to make connections to the science. They are going to want to understand what they have just experimented with. The hope is that the connections to the vocabulary will be meaningful because they will have the resource of actually creating a circuit.

  • CONDUCTORS:  These are materials that help electrons travel. In the example of the light bulb, the metal is a conductor.

  • INSULATORS: These are materials that stop the passing of electrons freely. The plastic on the light bulb is an insulator. It prevents the passing of electrons. The covering around the wires also acts as an insulator preventing the electrons from leaving the wires.

  • BATTERY: The battery in this experiment acts as the storehouse of electrons. It pumps the electrons to the wire that provide the source of illumination for the light.

  • LIGHT BULB: The light bulb has a metal wire through it that allows the electrons to pass through. The bulb is illuminated due to the coil. The coil is tightly wound making it difficult for the electrons to pass through. The reaction is light. They eventually pass through the coil and leave the light bulb through the metal piece on the side. They then travel to the wire attached to the bulb and back into the battery. There is expressed in the picture above. 

  • SWITCH: Switches act as circuit breakers. They open and close the “door” for electrons to pass through them. The "on" switch of a light acts as the circuit breaker by allowing the electrons to travel to the light bulb. However when the switch is off, the electrons hit a wall (i.e. an insulator), which prevents them from traveling to the bulb and illuminating it.

THE COMBINATION THAT WORKED....

  • CLOSED CIRCUIT: A closed circuit is when there is a complete circle for the electrons to travel. This is what is formed when the light bulb is illuminated. The electrons can pass freely from the battery to the light bulb through the wires. They then move from the bulb and back to the battery. It is a cycle.  

  • OPEN CIRCUIT: An open circuit is not a complete circle, which means electrons cannot travel freely and there is no illumination.

  • SHORT CIRCUIT:  A short circuit is when there is a functioning circuit in which electrons can travel, but they do not empty into the device (i.e. the lightbulb). In the case of the light bulb, this was seen when the wires would get hot. One side of the wire is touching the positive side and the other side is touching the negative side of the battery. The circuit is from the battery to the wires and back to the battery. It does not illuminate the bulb, but the electrons are traveling in a circle and heating up the wires.

Vocabulary:

EXPANSION:

In order to expand on what was explored in this lesson, students can explore with various circuitry tools. In this case, I explored the Snap Circuits Motion kit. This kit comes with 165 projects that all reinforce creating circuits for a particular purpose. These circuits can make airplanes, cars, sounds, and much more! The directions are easy to follow and are both written out by steps as well as in a colorful and labeled diagram. The difficulty of these tasks also range from simple to complex, which would allow all students to enter into the lesson. This kit can be used as a way to connect the information learned with creating actual products. This also reinforces the vocabulary used in this unit. 

 

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I found this kit available online through the company, Elenco, for $84.95. 

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However it is also available through Amazon for $53.99...Here is the link below. Amazon also has access to reviews from customers and their use of the product. Many people have found this kit to be helpful and interactive for students.  

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https://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-Motion-Electronics-Discovery/dp/B00KAS5GC4

Here are some reviews of the product. One is from Amazon and the other is from a customer who posted in Geekdad. 

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REVIEWS:

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For this challenge, I worked with Lee Struble on April 4, 2017. We took the circuit kit out for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. 

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We first created a plane that could move forward and backwards as is seen in the video. It was a simple circuit connection and would be a good starting point for students as they learn how the connections and directions work.*

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*Teacher Note: We had to construct the plane. There are separate instructions in the book for this process, but make sure students know they will need to take time for construction. Also beware to not touch the propellers while they are on. 

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Projects with Snap Circuits...

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This challenge can be given to students to explore and try to explain how circuits are used to create certain products. This challenge allows students to create multiple circuits that create motion and light. You could have students do this as a final challenge or start with a more direct circuit to create connections about how circuits work. However this challenge has a circuit that turns on an LED light as well as turns a gear. Students will use two batteries and attach different connectors and switches on the plastic board to create a closed circuit. If pieces are missing, then the circuit will be open and there will not be any motion. Students are challenged to create the circuit picture that will turn a disc on a gear while also lighting an LED light. The light can be lifted to shine over the gear and create the effect of a strobe light. *

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*Teacher Notes: 

-There is a part pictured below that affects the speed of the gear. We did not know that controlled the turning of the gear at first, so when we turned on the various switches, the gear did not turn. Have students try to adjust all of the switches.

-There are connectors that are sometimes only used to control height in the strobe light challenge. These circles are pictured in the book, and go below the other connector pieces.

-Also make sure that the two green gears are touching so that when they are in motion they will create a spin effect. If they are not touching, the disc will not turn.

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Projects with Snap Circuits...

The Strobe Light Challenge

The directions...​

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The switch the controls the speed of the motor that turns the gears.

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The completed circuit

EVALUATION:

In order to evaluate what students have learned about gauge their connections from the explorations to the content, it is important to ask questions before, during, and after the lesson. Evaluations do not always come in the form of formal assessments. In this case, I created few questions to connect the expansion activity with the content. 

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  1. In what ways does the strobe light challenge showcase a closed circuit? Follow the path of the circuit you created.

  2. Which parts of this challenge acted as the insulator? Which parts acted as the conductors of the electricity?

  3. Here is a new challenge, is there a way you could make this challenge into a short circuit? Try out different paths and if successful make drawings of your paths.

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There are a few questions that the Snap Circuits Motion kit sparked in me that as a teacher I could pose to my students and generate further exploration. 

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  1. How does the switch that controls the speed of the gears work? Does it control the flow of electrons? And if so, how?

  2. What would happen if the board the circuit rested on was metal? Would the circuit still function if it did not have the plastic board?

  3. Why are there two battery groups present in each challenge?

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Sample Student Response....

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The strobe light challenge shows a closed circuit. There are multiple circuits happening in this challenge. I will look at the one that controls the actual strobe light. The key to a circuit is that it is a circle so the electrons can travel continuously. The circuit starts from the battery, which acts as the storehouse of electrons. The battery is located on B8. Then the electrons do not like to be near each other so they are going to move to the red wire that is hooked onto this battery. The wire has metal, which allows it to conduct the electrons well. They move to the light switch, labeled D8 on the diagram. There is metal in this piece that continues to transfer electrons. The electrons move to the pivot stand through the black wire. There are a few paths the electrons can take from this piece, but they will continue to move up the three-piece connector to the green C7 connector. This connector leads back to the battery. This is where the electrons will start the process over again.

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Ashley Andre

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