Energy

Danielle Krueger Grade/Level: 4 Science Concept: Electric Circuits

Driving Question: A wire, a load, and a source, are the necessary components used to complete a circuit, and create a path for electricity to flow.

Learning Outcomes: At the close of the unit, students will be able to draw and label necessary components to complete a circuit and describe what the purpose of each component is in their science notebooks.Pre-assessment: "What do you already know about electric circuits?"

Formative assessment: "Are you with me?" "Who can tell me what components we have already reviewed?" "What are the other kinds of circuits that we have already discussed?"

Summative assessment: I will ask the students to complete two worksheets labeling components of circuits and different kinds of circuits.

Science Materials: My mentor teachers have provided me with a kit that includes: A wire for each student. A light bulb for each student. A battery for each student.The students will need their science notebooks and a pencil.

Other Resources: Materials and resources:1. 1-100 pack of orange post-it notes.2. 1-100 pack of yellow post-it notes.3. 1-100 pack of blue post-it notes.4. 1 Large piece of paper to make the K-W-L chart.

Differentiated Instruction: There are fifty-six students in my classroom. They are all at different learning levels, but all are eager to learn. When asking questions, I will focus on wait time to give all students an equal opportunity to answer my questions. I will ask the students to complete the worksheets independently so that I can see each student's progress throughout the unit. I will also assess students through formative assessment and give special attention to the students who appear to be lost in the material. I will encourage collaborative learning so that students are able to help one another out. Also, I will not pass out the materials until the students are instructed to use it so that they are not distracted while I am speaking.

Collaboration: Students will work collaboratively & individually. Students will work in groups of 2. Time Allotment: 3 class periods. 30 Min. per class. Author's Comments : E’s Implementation Plan

ENGAGE: To get students excited and thinking about the topic, I will read a short poem that I wrote about how an ordinary day would be different without electricity:

A Day without Electricity I’d have no alarm, who knows? I’d sleep ‘til noon, No cold milk in my cereal, it’d be dry lucky charms and a spoon.

I’d have to get ready in the dark, and hope I look nice, The TV won’t turn on; books will have to suffice!

I’d have to WALK to school? No way, that’s too far, But I guess without electricity, it'd be too dangerous to drive a car.

I keep flipping the light switch, hoping the lights all turn on, But nothing seems to work; something terrible has gone wrong!

What could have happened? Somewhere, the circuit must have broke, Pay attention how to solve this problem; it is not a joke.

In order to have a pathway for electricity to flow, We will need some materials, to make the lights glow.

To complete a circuit, we need a load, source, and wire, Then we can have electricity just like we desire!

The source can be a battery, and the load can be a light, So complete the circuit, and let the lights shine extra bright tonight!

I will continue class by asking students what they know about electricity:

What comes to mind when thinking about electricity? What types of materials might we need to make electricity? How come lights turn on when you flip on a light switch? I will ask the students to share their ideas and I will record them on the board. I will encourage students to think about what life must have been like before electricity and how it would be different. I will allow time for students to turn and talk to discuss this. I will then ask students to raise their hands and share what their partner shared.We will discuss how the students believe their lives may be different and what technologies would be lost without electricity.

Then I will ask the students what questions they may have about electricity and electric circuits. I will provide an orange post-it note for the things students already know about electricity and electric circuits. I will ask the students what more they would like to learn about electricity in this unit. I will provide a yellow post-it not for the students to write down things that they would like to know about this unit. This will keep all students engaged and on task. Then I will collect the post-it notes and record their findings on a K-W-L chart.

EXPLORE: To start my explore lesson, I will ask the students to take out their science notebooks and jot down four different ways that they believe may complete the circuit and provide a pathway for the flow of electricity. Then, I will provide my students with a wire, a light bulb, and a battery. I will ask the students to try to get the light bulb to light up. Because there are fifty-six students in the class, I realize that some students will figure out how to complete the circuit much faster than others. I will also students to turn and talk and collaborate while conducting this experiment. After students have discovered how to light up the bulb one way, I will tell the students that there are actually four ways to light the bulb and complete the circuit with the given materials. I will ask the students to think about what must be touching in order to make the electricity flow.

To close, I will ask students to think critically about their findings and jot down ideas, questions, explanations, and diagrams in their science notebooks. I will also encourage them to think about how switches work, and what they believe is happening to the circuit when they flip the switch on and off.

EXPLAIN: I will begin by passing out a blue post-it note. I will explain to the students that this is where they will write down something that they learned from the unit at the end of this lesson.

I will continue by asking my students to show me how they made the light bulb light up in the explore lesson. I will be the only one with the materials, so that students are not distracted. Once a student explained one way to complete the circuit, I will ask for example from another student. I will repeat this until all four ways of completing the circuit have been identified. What did you notice about what needed to be touching in order to complete the circuit?(I will encourage students to look in their science notebooks to remind themselves of what they found.)What then must be the components to make a simple circuit?Does anyone know any other kinds of circuits?I will briefly explain how switches work as simply breaking or completing a circuit.I will take this time to explain to students that there are simple circuits, series circuits, parallel circuits, and complex circuits. I will briefly explain that a simple circuit is what we created and uses only one load and one source. (I will explain that a load is the light bulb in our example, and the source is the battery.) A series circuit can have several loads and sources, yet only have one pathway for electricity to flow; connecting all loads and sources. A parallel circuit can provide several pathways for electricity to flow, so there are more wires connecting the sources and the loads. Finally, I will explain that complex circuits, which power everyday items like computers and televisions, require many loads, sources, and wires, which can be connected through combinations of both series circuits and parallel circuits. I will show a transparency of a diagram of these different kinds of circuits to review and ask them to identify what type of circuit is being displayed. I will then ask the students to jot down something that they learned from this unit on the provided post-it note.

I will wrap up the unit by asking the students to share what they learned and post their post-it note on the L section of the K-W-L chart that will be hanging on the white board at the front of the classroom. As the students post their findings, I will ask them to connect what they learned to the evidence. I will do this by asking how they discovered what they learned.