Electrical Circuits and Energy: a full term of science

Ten ready-to-teach lessons for Year 6 Physical sciences. Print this pack and the term is prepared: every lesson comes with a step-by-step plan, the questions to ask, a student worksheet, cut-out cards or exit tickets, an assessment kit and every answer.

Start here: five minutes to Monday

1. Skim the term at a glance on the next page.
2. Print the lesson you need. Each lesson is three A4 sheets: plan, worksheet, cards or tickets.
3. Gather the items under “You need” on the plan: the school’s electricity kit and a few everyday things.
4. Open the free interactive unit on your board or projector. Every plan tells you which picture to show and when.
5. Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No science background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each plan explains the science idea in plain words, lists the misconceptions children bring, and gives model answers. The big idea of the term: a circuit is a complete loop of conductors. When the loop is complete, a current carries energy from the energy source, such as a cell, to the components, and at the output the energy is transformed into light, sound, movement or heat. Switches open and close the loop, conductors carry the current and insulators keep it on its path. How many cells and bulbs a loop has, and whether bulbs share one loop or have their own branches, changes how brightly they glow.

Two ways to run each lesson

Every lesson works as one 60-minute block, or as two 30-minute sessions. The split point is marked in every plan. Look ahead: Lesson 1 needs a room that can be dimmed, and Lessons 8 and 9 design and build one game across two lessons, so keep each team’s materials together.

Safety and care in one look

Use only AA cells (1.5 V each) in holders, and never more than two with the torch bulbs. Never use power points, mains appliances, car batteries or button batteries, which are dangerous if swallowed. Never join a wire straight from one end of a cell to the other: that short circuit makes the wire and the cell hot. An adult cuts the bare wire and tapes the sharp ends in Lessons 8 and 9.

The term at a glance

One lesson a week for a term. Each lesson stands on the ones before it, so run them in order where you can.

How the sequence builds

Lesson 1 finds that a bulb needs a complete loop, and Lesson 2 learns to draw circuits with symbols. Lessons 3 and 4 meet the switch and test conductors and insulators. Lesson 5 follows the energy from the cell to the output, and Lessons 6 and 7 compare more cells and bulbs, series and parallel, and the wiring at home with its safety rules. Lessons 8 and 9 put it all to work in a steady-hand game, and Lesson 10 is the game manual and the final check.

Curriculum links (Australian Curriculum V9)

The whole term teaches the Science Understanding descriptor AC9S6U03 quoted on the cover. The lessons also work these Science Inquiry and Human Endeavour descriptors:

Assessment in this pack

• Every plan ends with “Answers and look-fors”: what meeting the idea sounds like in a Year 6 voice.
• The assessment sheet near the front has a class observation checklist and a three-level rubric.
• Lesson 10 is the summative pair: a manual for the team’s game, plus the “Show what we know” check sheet.

Materials for the whole term

One gathering session covers all ten lessons. Most of it is in a school electricity kit; the rest comes from the classroom, the kitchen drawer or a hardware shop. Count the cells and bulbs before Lesson 6, which needs the most, and buy the bare copper wire before Lesson 8.

The one-trip list

• From the electricity kit: battery holders, torch bulbs in holders, switches, buzzers, small motors, leads with crocodile clips.
• From the classroom: rulers, scissors, coloured pencils, A3 paper, card, tape, magnifiers, a torch.
• From home or the shops: plenty of AA cells, steel paper clips, brass split pins, aluminium foil, rubber bands, paddle-pop sticks, plasticine, shoebox lids, electrical tape, sandpaper.
• From a hardware shop: thick bare copper wire, about 80 cm for each team.

Safety and care in one look

• Use only AA cells in holders, never more than two with the torch bulbs. Never use power points, mains appliances, car batteries or button batteries.
• Never join a wire straight from one end of a cell to the other. If a wire or a cell gets warm, unclip it at once: that is a short circuit.
• An adult cuts the bare wire and tapes every sharp end. Bulbs without holders are glass: handle them gently.
• Let a bulb cool before unclipping it, and keep fingers clear of a spinning motor.

Assessment without extra work

The term assesses itself. Every lesson plan ends with answers and look-fors, and Lesson 10 is the summative pair: a manual for the team’s game, and the check sheet. This sheet is the place to jot down what you notice along the way.

The three levels

Class observation checklist

A tick a lesson is plenty; the Lesson 10 check sheet fills the gaps.

Word wall cards

Cut out the cards and build the wall as the words arrive. Lesson 1 starts the wall with circuit, current, cell and filament; add circuit diagram and battery in Lesson 2, switch in Lesson 3, and conductor and insulator in Lesson 4.

Dear families

This term in science, Year 6 investigates electrical circuits: how a cell, wires and components such as bulbs, buzzers and motors are joined into a complete loop, how switches turn circuits on and off, which materials conduct electricity and which insulate, and how energy is transferred from a cell and transformed into light, sound, movement and heat.

Your child will light a bulb with one cell and one wire, learn the symbols of circuit diagrams, make a switch from a paper clip, test everyday objects to see which conduct, compare circuits with more cells and more bulbs, and find out how the wiring at home is arranged and how to stay safe with it. In a team, they will then design and build a steady-hand game, and by the end of the term they will write a manual that explains how it works.

Try this at home

• Look inside the battery compartment of a torch or a remote control. Which way does each cell face?
• Find three switches at home. What does each one turn on and off? Does it stay on when you let go?
• Look closely (without cutting) at a charger cord. Which parts are conductors, and which are insulators?
• Spot energy chains: what energy goes into a fan, a torch or a toaster, and what comes out?

What to ask your scientist

• What does a circuit need for a bulb to light?
• Which materials are conductors? Which are insulators?
• Why do the other lights stay on when one light in the house blows?
• How does your steady-hand game work?

A small note on care: at school we use only AA cells, never power points, and an adult handles the bare wire. At home, please remind your scientist that the power points are never for experiments.

Warm regards,

The Year 6 team

Printed from the free seegongsik Electrical Circuits and Energy teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/y6/physical/AC9S6U03/pack

What makes a bulb light?

The term starts with a puzzle: can you light a bulb with one cell and one piece of wire? Most children first touch the bulb to the cell and wait. Pairs try every way they can think of, then predict and test six pictures, and look closely at a bulb to find out why only some ways work. A bulb has two contacts, the tip and the metal side of its base, and it lights only when each one is joined to a different end of the cell, making a complete loop through the thin wire inside, the filament.

We are learning to

• make a complete circuit with a cell, a wire and a bulb,
• explain why a bulb lights only when there is a complete loop,
• predict whether a circuit will work, then test the prediction.

Success criteria

• I can light a bulb with one cell and one wire, and show where the loop goes.
• I can say which pictures will light and explain why the others will not.

You need

• for each pair: an AA cell (1.5 V), a small torch bulb (globe) rated about 2.5 V with no holder, and a 20 cm wire with about 2 cm of bare metal at each end,
• a magnifier for each pair, and a dimmed room, as one cell makes the bulb glow softly,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child, and the exit tickets (third sheet).

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Try it and predict in Session A. Test, look inside a bulb and answer Part B in Session B.

Watch for these ideas

• “The bulb lights if it touches the battery.” It needs both of its contacts joined, one to each end of the cell.
• “The electricity comes out of the + end and gets used up in the bulb.” The current flows all the way around the loop and back into the cell; it is the energy that the bulb gives out.
• “Any wire touching the cell will do.” Only the metal ends of a cell are connections; the label on its side is an insulator.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: give pairs a bulb in a holder with two clips, so there are only two places to join.
• Bigger: draw the path the current takes inside the bulb, from the tip, through the filament, to the side of the base.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: A, D, E light; B, C, F do not.
• A: the tip touches the + end and the wire joins the side of the base to the − end: a complete loop through the bulb.
• B: only one contact of the bulb is joined; the side of the base touches nothing, so there is a gap.
• C: both wires go to the same contact, the side of the base, so the current skips the filament. This is a short circuit: do not build it.
• D: one wire joins the + end to the side of the base and the other joins the tip to the − end: a complete loop.
• E: the cell is upside down, but the loop is still complete; a bulb works either way round.
• F: the wire touches the plastic label on the side of the cell, an insulator, not the − end.
• Part B: a bulb lights when its tip and the side of its base are joined to different ends of the cell, so there is a complete loop through the filament.

Will it light?

A. Predict, then test

For each picture, circle your prediction. Then build it and write what happened. Picture C is a short circuit: predict it, but do not build it.

B. The rule

Exit tickets

Cut out the tickets. Each child answers one before leaving.

Teacher note: bulbs without holders are glass, so handle them gently and keep a dustpan handy. If a wire or the cell gets warm, let go of the wire at once: that is a short circuit.

Drawing circuits

A drawing of a circuit can be beautiful and still hard to build from. Electricians and engineers everywhere use the same small set of symbols instead, so that anyone can read a circuit diagram and build exactly the same circuit. Children learn the symbols for a cell, a battery, a bulb, a switch, a buzzer and a motor, build circuits from diagram cards, draw a diagram of their own, and predict which diagrams will light.

We are learning to

• read and draw circuit diagrams with the usual symbols,
• build a circuit from a diagram, and check it against the diagram,
• use a diagram to predict whether a bulb will light.

Success criteria

• I can name the symbols and draw a diagram with straight wires that join at the corners.
• I can say from a diagram whether the loop is complete.

You need

• for each group: two AA cells in holders, a bulb in a holder, a switch, a buzzer, a small motor and four leads with crocodile clips,
• the build cards (third sheet), one set per group, and a ruler for each child,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Learn the symbols and build from the cards in Session A. Draw, predict and check in Session B.

Watch for these ideas

• “The long line is the − end.” The long thin plate is the + end; the short thick plate is the − end.
• Wires drawn with gaps at the corners. In a diagram, a gap is a break in the loop, so the wires must join.
• “A diagram has to look like the real circuit.” It shows how the parts are connected, not their shapes or where they sit on the desk.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: learn the cell, the bulb and the switch first, and build card 1 only.
• Bigger: take apart an old torch (no batteries in it) and draw its circuit diagram.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: A a motor, B a bulb (lamp), C a closed switch, D a cell, E a wire, F an open switch, G a battery (two cells), H a buzzer.
• Part B: two cells (or the battery symbol), a closed switch and a bulb in one loop, drawn with a ruler and joined at the corners.
• Part C: A yes, B no, C no, D yes. B has an open switch and C has a gap, so their loops are broken.

Circuit symbols

A. Name the symbols

B. Draw it

C. Will the bulb light?

Build cards

Cut out the cards. Build the circuit on your card, check it against the diagram, then swap with another group.

Teacher note: use the torch bulbs with no more than two cells, or the bulb can blow. Many buzzers work only one way round: red lead toward the + end.

Switches: a gap we control

A switch is a gap in the loop that we can open and close. Pairs make their own switch from a steel paper clip and two brass split pins pushed through card, put it in a circuit with a bulb, and test it in three different places in the loop. In a single loop it works wherever it goes, because a gap anywhere stops the current all the way around. Then the class hunts for switches and sorts them by how they work.

We are learning to

• explain that a switch opens and closes a gap in a circuit,
• make a working switch from conductors and an insulator,
• test where a switch can go in a single loop.

Success criteria

• I can make a switch and use it to turn a bulb on and off.
• I can explain why the switch works in any place in a single loop.

You need

• for each pair: the switch template (third sheet), two brass split pins, a steel paper clip (not plastic-coated), an AA cell in a holder, a bulb in a holder and three leads with crocodile clips,
• a sharp pencil or a skewer for an adult to start the holes in the card,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Make and test the switch in Session A. Start Session B with the switch hunt.

Watch for these ideas

• “The switch has to go right next to the bulb.” In a single loop it works anywhere, because the current flows all the way around or not at all.
• “A closed switch means off.” It is the other way round from a door: a closed switch joins the gap (on), an open switch leaves it (off).
• “Turning off the switch empties the battery.” The cell keeps its stored energy; the switch only stops the current.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: use a ready-made switch from the kit and test two places only.
• Bigger: design a switch that turns a buzzer on when a box lid is lifted, using foil and card.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: in every place, the bulb lights when the switch is closed and goes out when it is open.
• Part B: answers vary. A light switch is usually a rocker that stays where you put it; a doorbell is a push switch that springs back.
• Part C: 1. a single loop has only one path, so a gap anywhere stops the current all the way around. 2. the paper clip and the split pins are metal conductors; the card is an insulator, so the current can only cross when the clip touches the second pin. 3. pressing the button closes the gap, and a spring opens it again when you let go.

Our switch

A. Does it matter where the switch goes?

B. Switch hunt

Kinds of switch: push, rocker, slide, turn. Look and write; do not touch power points.

C. Explain it

Switch templates

Cut out a template and glue it to thin card. Push a split pin through each dot, hook the paper clip over pin 1 so it can swing across to pin 2, then open the legs of both pins underneath. Clip one lead to each leg.

Teacher note: start the holes with a sharp pencil or skewer yourself. Check the paper clips are bare steel; a plastic coating is an insulator and the switch will not work.

Conductors and insulators

Some materials let an electric current pass through them and some do not. Groups build a conductor tester: a loop with a cell and a bulb, broken by a gap between two crocodile clips. Any object that joins the gap and lights the bulb is a conductor; any object that leaves the bulb dark is an insulator. Children predict, then test twelve everyday objects, sort the cards and find the pattern: the metal objects conduct, and the plastic, rubber, wood and glass ones insulate.

We are learning to

• test materials to find out whether they are conductors or insulators,
• keep a test fair by testing every object in the same way,
• explain how conductors and insulators are used together in circuits.

Success criteria

• I can use the tester to sort objects into conductors and insulators.
• I can explain why a wire has metal inside and plastic outside.

You need

• for each group: an AA cell in a holder, a bulb in a holder and three leads with crocodile clips,
• the twelve objects on the cards: steel paper clip, aluminium foil, plastic ruler, rubber band, steel teaspoon, door key, wooden paddle-pop stick, glass marble, 5-cent coin, brass split pin, eraser, iron nail,
• a short piece of electrical wire cut open by an adult, the object cards (third sheet), one set per group, and the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Build the tester and test the first six objects in Session A. Test the rest, sort and explain in Session B.

Watch for these ideas

• “Thick things block the current and thin things let it through.” It is the material that matters: a thick nail conducts, a thin rubber band does not.
• “Only metals ever conduct.” For our objects the metals conduct, but the graphite in a pencil and salty water conduct a little too.
• “Insulators are no use in a circuit.” They keep the current on its path: the plastic on wires, the card in our switches, the handles of tools.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: test six objects, three of them metal.
• Bigger: test a pencil sharpened at both ends, with a clip on each point. The graphite is not a metal, but the bulb may glow faintly. What does that tell you?

Answers and look-fors

• Conductors: steel paper clip, aluminium foil, steel teaspoon, door key, 5-cent coin, brass split pin, iron nail. Insulators: plastic ruler, rubber band, wooden paddle-pop stick, glass marble, eraser.
• Part B: 1. they are all made of metal. 2. the metal core carries the current; the plastic cover is an insulator that keeps the current in the wire and away from our hands. 3. rubber is an insulator, so the handles keep the electrician’s hands out of the circuit.
• Fair test: the same cell, bulb and clips for every object, both clips pressed firmly onto bare material each time.

Testing materials

A. Predict, then test

B. The pattern

Object cards

Cut out the cards. After testing, sort them into two piles: conductors and insulators.

Teacher note: test only the objects on the cards. Never test a power point or anything that plugs into one.

Energy in, energy out

A cell stores energy as chemical energy. When the loop is complete, the current transfers that energy along the wires to the output, where it is transformed into light, sound, movement or heat. Groups put a bulb, a buzzer and then a motor into the same circuit and record what each one gives out, and which part is useful and which is wasted. Then they follow the energy as a chain, from the cell to the output, for our circuit and for three everyday devices.

We are learning to

• describe how energy is transferred around a circuit and transformed at the output,
• name the forms of energy: chemical, electrical, light, sound, movement and heat,
• tell useful energy from wasted energy.

Success criteria

• I can write the energy chain for a circuit, from the cell to the output.
• I can say which energy an output gives out on purpose and which is wasted.

You need

• for each group: two AA cells in holders, a bulb in a holder, a buzzer, a small motor with a paper flag taped to its shaft, and four leads with crocodile clips,
• a torch, and a solar garden light if you have one,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child, and the exit tickets (third sheet).

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Swap the outputs in Session A. Start Session B with the energy chains.

Watch for these ideas

• “The battery is full of electricity.” It stores chemical energy; a current flows only when the loop is complete.
• “The energy is used up in the bulb.” It is transformed into light and heat, which spread out into the room.
• “A flat battery has run out of current.” Its stored chemical energy has nearly all been transformed.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: test the bulb and the buzzer only, and write one chain.
• Bigger: the same AA cell lasts for months in a wall clock but only hours in a toy car. Explain why, using the word energy.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: bulb: light (useful), heat, as the glass gets warm (wasted); buzzer: sound (useful), a little heat (wasted); motor with a paper flag: movement (useful), a humming sound and heat (wasted).
• Part B: chemical energy in the cell → electrical energy in the wires → light and heat at the bulb.
• Part C: a battery fan: chemical energy in the cells → electrical energy → movement, with some sound and heat; a battery doorbell: chemical energy in the cells → electrical energy → sound, with a little heat; a solar garden light, by day and then at night: light → electrical energy → chemical energy stored in its battery; at night, chemical energy → electrical energy → light, with a little heat.
• Bigger: the clock transfers the cell’s energy very slowly, a little at a time; the toy car’s motor transfers it quickly.

Following the energy

A. What comes out?

B. The energy chain for our bulb circuit

chemical energy in the cell  →  ______________ in the wires  →  ______________ and ______________ at the bulb

C. More energy chains

Use the words chemical, electrical, light, sound, movement and heat.

Exit tickets

Cut out the tickets. Each child answers one before leaving.

Teacher note: with one or two AA cells the bulb only gets warm, but let it cool before it is unclipped. Keep fingers clear of the motor’s spinning shaft.

More cells, more bulbs

What happens to the brightness when a loop has more cells, or more bulbs? Groups visit five circuits, each a single loop (a series circuit) with one or two cells and one, two or three identical bulbs. They rate how brightly the bulbs glow from 0 to 3, graph the ratings and look for the pattern. Each cell gives the loop a push; bulbs in one loop share that push. So the brightness depends on how many cells there are for each bulb, and circuits with the same share glow about the same.

We are learning to

• investigate how the number of cells and bulbs in a loop changes the brightness,
• record observations on a scale and show them in a column graph,
• explain the pattern in terms of energy shared between the bulbs.

Success criteria

• I can rate the brightness fairly and graph the results.
• I can predict the brightness of a series circuit from its cells and bulbs.

You need

• for the five stations: eight AA cells in holders, nine identical bulbs in holders and about twenty leads with crocodile clips,
• the station cards (third sheet), cut out, one at each station,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Visit the stations in Session A. Graph and explain in Session B.

Watch for these ideas

• “The first bulb gets the most and the second gets what is left.” Identical bulbs in one loop glow the same: the current is the same all the way around.
• “Taking out a bulb makes the others brighter.” In a single loop it breaks the loop, so every bulb goes out.
• “More cells is always better.” The bulbs are made for a certain push: never use more than two cells with them, or they can blow.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: compare stations A, B and C only.
• Bigger: predict how a loop of three cells and three bulbs would glow, and explain your prediction. (Predict only; do not build it.)

Answers and look-fors

• Part A, cells for each bulb: A 1, B 0.5, C 2, D 1, E 0.67. Ratings vary with the bulbs; usually C is brightest and B glows least or not at all.
• Part C: 1. C brightest, B dimmest. 2. A and D, because each has one cell for each bulb. 3. it goes out too: taking out one bulb breaks the only loop. 4. C, then A and D (about the same), then E, then B.
• Bigger: about the same as A and D, as it also has one cell for each bulb.

How bright?

A. Our ratings

Brightness: 0 off, 1 dim, 2 medium, 3 bright. Cells for each bulb = cells ÷ bulbs (round to two decimal places).

B. Our graph

C. The pattern

Station cards

Cut out the cards and set up one station for each. All the bulbs must be the same kind.

Teacher note: never more than two cells with these bulbs. Rate every station in the same light, from the same distance.

Branches, and the wiring at home

When one light in a house blows, the others stay on. Groups find out why by building two circuits, each with one cell and two bulbs: one with both bulbs in a single loop (series), and one with each bulb on its own branch (parallel). On branches, each bulb glows about as brightly as a bulb on its own, and unclipping one leaves the other lit. The wiring in our homes is built from branches like these, but it carries mains electricity, about 230 volts, which can kill. The lesson ends with a sort of everyday safety cards.

We are learning to

• compare series and parallel circuits by building and testing them,
• explain why the circuits in our homes are built as branches,
• use what we know about conductors and circuits to stay safe with electricity.

Success criteria

• I can build two bulbs in series and in parallel, and describe the difference.
• I can explain three safety rules using the words conductor, insulator or circuit.

You need

• for each group: two AA cells in holders, two bulbs in holders and six leads with crocodile clips,
• the safety cards (third sheet), cut out, one set per group,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Build both circuits and answer Part B in Session A. Start Session B with the safety cards.

Watch for these ideas

• “Bulbs on branches share the energy, so they are dimmer.” Each branch gets the full push of the cell; instead, the cell transfers its energy faster and runs flat sooner.
• “The power at home is just like our cells.” Mains electricity pushes about 150 times as hard as one AA cell and can kill; we never experiment with it.
• “A safety switch means nothing can go wrong.” Safety switches cut the power very quickly when current leaks, but they are not a reason to take risks.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: build the series loop; watch the teacher build the branches.
• Bigger: add a switch to one branch only. Which bulb does it control, and why?

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: series, both bulbs glow dimly or not at all, and unclipping one puts out the other; branches, each bulb glows about as brightly as one bulb on its own with one cell, and unclipping one leaves the other lit.
• Part B: 1. in parallel: each light is on its own branch, so a broken one does not break the loop of the others. 2. each appliance can be turned on and off without turning off the others.
• Safety cards: safe B, C, F, G; not safe A, D, E, H, I.
• A: Metal conducts: the knife can carry the current from the toaster into a hand. Switch off at the wall, unplug it, and let an adult free the bread.
• B: A 1.5 V cell cannot push a dangerous current through a person; the power point can.
• C: The plastic cover is the insulator that keeps the current inside. A damaged cord should be replaced, not used.
• D: The crack can let a finger reach the metal parts inside. Stop using it and tell an adult.
• E: A kite string touching a powerline can carry the current to the person holding it. Fly kites well away from powerlines.
• F: Tap water conducts. Keeping water away from appliances and power points stops the current finding a path through a person.
• G: With the plug out there is no complete circuit through the toaster, so no current can flow.
• H: Too many appliances on one power point can overheat the wiring and start a fire.
• I: Water conducts and can find its way into a cracked switch. Dry your hands first.
• Bigger: only the bulb on its own branch; the other branch is still a complete loop.

One loop or branches?

A. Build both

B. Wiring at home

C. Our safety rules

Safe or not safe?

Cut out the cards. Sort them into two piles, safe and not safe, and agree on a reason for each one.

Teacher note: these cards are for talking, not for trying. If a power point, cord or switch at school is damaged, report it, and in an emergency call Triple Zero (000).

Design a steady-hand game

Time to put the term to work. Teams of three design a steady-hand game: a player guides a small wire loop along a wavy bare metal track, and if the loop touches the track, a buzzer sounds. The track and the loop are a switch that the player closes by mistake. Teams decide what their game must do, draw the design and its circuit diagram, explain the job of every part, and put the build steps in order. They build and test the game in Lesson 9.

We are learning to

• design a device that uses a circuit, conductors and insulators for a purpose,
• explain the role of each component in our design,
• plan the steps of a build, working as a team.

Success criteria

• Our design and circuit diagram show a complete loop that closes when the wand touches the track.
• I can say which parts are conductors and which are insulators, and why.

You need

• a finished game to show, if you can make one beforehand, and the Lesson 4 tester for checking wire,
• for each team to look at: about 60 cm of thick bare copper wire for the track and 20 cm for the wand, electrical tape, a shoebox lid or plasticine, two AA cells in a holder, a 3 V buzzer and three leads,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child, and the step cards (third sheet), one set per team.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Brief, teams and the design drawing in Session A. Start Session B with the circuit diagram.

Watch for these ideas

• A coated track. Painted coat hangers and some copper wire have a coating, an insulator: test the wire with the Lesson 4 tester first.
• “The buzzer has to go next to the track.” Like the switch in Lesson 3, it can go anywhere in the single loop.
• A design with two loose ends. Ask: trace the loop from the cell, through the buzzer, to the wand, the track and back. Where is the gap?

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: use a bulb instead of a buzzer, and a gently curving track.
• Bigger: add a bulb on its own branch that lights with the buzzer, or a finish pad that lights a different bulb.

Answers and look-fors

• Part C: the cells, the buzzer and a switch symbol (standing for the wand and the track) in one loop.
• Part D: the track, conductor: joins the loop whenever the wand touches it; the wand loop, conductor: the moving contact, which closes the gap when it touches the track; the wand handle, insulator: tape or a paddle-pop stick that gives a safe grip on the bare wire; the start rest, insulator: tape at one end, where the wand can rest without closing the loop; the buzzer, output: transforms electrical energy into sound when the loop is complete; the cells, energy source: store chemical energy and push the current around the loop; the leads, conductors with an insulating cover: join the parts into one loop.
• Part E: C, F, A, E, B, D.
• Meeting the idea sounds like “the wand and the track are like the two sides of a switch: when they touch, the loop is complete and the buzzer transforms the energy into sound”.

Our steady-hand game

A. Our game must

B. Our design

C. Our circuit diagram

D. The job of each part

E. The build order

Step cards

Cut out the cards and put them in the order you will build your game. Check the order with your team.

Teacher note: an adult cuts the wire with pliers and tapes over every sharp end. Test the track wire with the Lesson 4 tester before you start: some wire has a coating that will not conduct.

Build, test and improve

Teams build the steady-hand game they designed in Lesson 8, following their step cards. Then they test it like engineers: four checks, each done twice. When something does not work, they do not guess; they follow the loop from the cell, part by part, and use the fault cards to find the cause. Finally they write the energy story of their game and choose one improvement.

We are learning to

• build a working circuit from our own design,
• test a device carefully and find faults by following the loop,
• explain how energy is transferred and transformed in our game.

Success criteria

• Our game buzzes on every touch and is silent otherwise.
• I can explain one fault we found, what caused it and how we fixed it.

You need

• for each team: the materials from Lesson 8, their worksheets and step cards, sandpaper and pliers (for the adult),
• spare AA cells, the Lesson 4 tester, and the fault cards (third sheet), one set per team,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Build in Session A. Test, find faults and improve in Session B.

Watch for these ideas

• Testing once and stopping. A check done twice, on every part of the track, finds the faults a single go misses.
• Fixing by guessing. Follow the loop with a finger from the + end of the cells, part by part, back to the − end.
• “The buzzer is broken.” Many buzzers work only one way round: try swapping its leads before replacing it.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: use a bulb instead of a buzzer, and a track the teacher has bent.
• Bigger: add a finish pad of foil at the end of the track that lights a bulb in its own loop when the wand reaches it.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: a working game buzzes on checks 1 and 4 and is silent on checks 2 and 3.
• Part B: 1 B, 2 E, 3 D, 4 A, 5 F, 6 C.
• Part C: chemical energy in the cells → electrical energy in the leads, the wand and the track → sound at the buzzer, with a little heat.
• Part D: answers vary, such as a narrower loop or more bends to make it harder, or a bulb on its own branch so a touch is seen as well as heard.

Testing our game

A. Check it works (do each check twice)

B. Fault finder

Match each fault card (1 to 6) to the fix that solves it (A to F).

C. The energy story

D. Make it better

Fault cards

Cut out the cards. Match each fault to the fix that solves it, then check your own game for the same faults.

Teacher note: if anything gets warm, unclip the cells first and then look for the short circuit.

Show what we know

The summative lesson, run as a celebration. Each child makes a manual for their team’s steady-hand game, the kind that would let another class play it safely and understand how it works: its circuit diagram, the job of every part, where it uses conductors and insulators, the energy story, a fault the team fixed and one safety rule. Teams swap games and manuals, everyone sits the final check alone, and the class closes with the on-screen quiz as a game.

We are learning to

• explain how energy is transferred and transformed in a circuit we built,
• explain the role of each component, conductor and insulator,
• show what we know on our own on the final check.

Success criteria

• My manual explains the circuit, the parts and the energy story of our game, with a correct diagram.
• I can show on the final check how circuits, components, conductors and insulators work.

You need

• A3 paper and coloured pencils, the teams’ games and their worksheets from Lessons 8 and 9,
• the manual planning sheet (next sheet) and the final check (third sheet), one each per child,
• the interactive unit open for the closing quiz.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after making the manuals. Start Session B with swap and play, then the final check and the class quiz.

Watch for these ideas

• A manual that names the parts but not their jobs. Ask: what would happen to the game without this part?
• An energy story that stops at electricity. Ask: what form does the energy take at the buzzer, and what else comes out?
• A diagram with gaps at the corners, or a missing switch for the wand and the track. Ask: where does the loop close?

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: fill three parts of the manual: the diagram, what each part does and the energy story.
• Bigger: add a page on how the game would change with a bulb on its own branch, with its diagram.

Answers and look-fors

• Final check marking guide: 1 a steel paper clip. 2 a cell, a switch and a bulb in one loop, joined at the corners. 3 opens and closes a gap in the loop. 4 the current needs a complete loop: from one end of the cell, in at one contact, through the filament, out at the other contact and back to the other end; if the two contacts are not joined to different ends, there is a gap. 5 chemical → electrical → light and heat. 6 it goes out too: taking out one bulb breaks the only loop. 7 about the same: each circuit has one cell for each bulb. 8 any rule explained with a conductor or an insulator, such as keeping water away from power points, because water conducts.
• A score of 6 or more out of 8, plus a manual that explains the circuit, the parts and the energy story, meets the descriptor. The rubric near the front of the pack turns this into a level.
• Meeting the idea sounds like “the cells store chemical energy; when the wand touches the track the loop is complete, the current carries the energy to the buzzer, and it comes out as sound and a little heat”.

Our game manual

The circuit diagram

Show what we know

Show what you know about circuits and energy. Read each one, then circle, draw or write. Take your time.

Teacher note: read the items aloud one at a time. The marking guide is on this lesson’s plan; the rubric near the front of the pack turns the score into a level.