User:Hilville/electricity lesson
From WikiEducator
| Inquiry Lesson Plans for Electricity | ||
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 level lessons | ||
| Lesson 1 | Static Electricity |  |
| Lesson 2 | Circuits | |
| Lesson 3 | Conductors and Insulators | |
| Lesson 4 | Electromagnetic induction | |
| Lesson 5 | Alternative Sources of Electrical Energy | |
== Background for these lessons==
These lessons are designed to cover the learning outcomes on electricity for Grade 6 students in British Columbia using a guided inquiry methodology. This are the lessons I have used very successfully with my Grade 5/6 students in an inner city school. However, before using them, please be aware of the following:
- the classroom will be noisy
- students will be moving around a lot
- the teacher has to let go of control and allow the students to follow their own path
- the teacher needs to engage in conversation (not direction) with all the groups as they try the activities
- the teacher has to be prepared to execute some mental gymnastics trying to follow students' trains of thought
- the teacher should choose the groups for all the usual reasons
- the written output may be of a lower quality than expected
- the equipment list is what I used. Sometimes students had to borrow from another group or use some of my extra supplies when performing their personally designed experiment
In doing these lessons, I observed the following positive observations:
- every student was actively engaged in the activity showing interest, enthusiasm and excitement. This included the cognitively challenged student, the non-medicated ADHD students, the students with severe behaviour problems and the students who have in general already given up on education.
- the groups met my learning objectives even though they were not told what they were.
- all the students were disappointed when we finished this unit
Equipment needed
The quantities refer to the requirements for one group:
- 2 "D" batteries (with battery holders if possible)
- 8 lengths of electrical wire to join the circuits (crocodile clips at each end make a big difference in the ease of connecting the circuits)
- 3 lamps or flashlight bulbs
- 1 iron or steel rod (a steel bolt worked well for me)
- a small buzzer - not really necessary but the students love it.
- a selection of common objects for the activity on conductors and insulators
- iron filings or paper clips
- plastic rulers or rods
- squares of silk, wool, fur, or nylon
- some everyday objects such as rubber bands, yarn, balloons, empty pop cans etc.
