Scribd
Upload
350 views

Lesson Plan - Science 011615

This document outlines a 45-minute science lesson plan for 5th grade students about electrical conductors and insulators. The lesson involves students making predictions, testing various materials in circuit testers, analyzing their results, and drawing conclusions. They will learn that metals conduct electricity while non-metals typically do not. The lesson encourages applying the scientific method and addresses a student's question about how wires transmit electricity. Assessment involves observing students' scientific inquiry skills and a follow-up MCAS question assignment.

Uploaded by

api-285889647
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
350 views

Lesson Plan - Science 011615

This document outlines a 45-minute science lesson plan for 5th grade students about electrical conductors and insulators. The lesson involves students making predictions, testing various materials in circuit testers, analyzing their results, and drawing conclusions. They will learn that metals conduct electricity while non-metals typically do not. The lesson encourages applying the scientific method and addresses a student's question about how wires transmit electricity. Assessment involves observing students' scientific inquiry skills and a follow-up MCAS question assignment.

Uploaded by

api-285889647
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Ana Parra Martin

01/16/2015
SCIENCE LESSON: Conductors & Insulators
Unit: ELECTRICITY & ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS
Student learning objectives:
Students will practice aspects of the scientific method by asking questions,
applying prior knowledge, constructing hypotheses/predictions, conducting
experiments, analyzing data to draw conclusions and reporting results.
Students will develop an understanding of the behavior of electrical conductors
and insulators in a circuit.
Students will identify metals vs. non-metals and discover that metals are good
conductors of electricity.
Students will learn how to construct a circuit tester to identify different materials
as conductors or insulators.
Students will learn to identify troubleshooting techniques to check circuits.
Target age: 5th grade
Time: 45 min
Materials: D-cell batteries, insulated wires, small light bulbs, battery holders, light bulb
holders, objects to test as conductors/insulators (wooden golf tee, straw, brass screw,
paperclip, aluminum screening, plastic screening, chalk, pencil, brass paper fastener, wire
nail, aluminum nail, marble, pipe cleaner, bare copper wire, bare aluminum wire, penny,
rubber band), worksheet to record results, whiteboard and markers.
***
Activity:
Initial Review and Focus for Lesson
1. Review what students have learned so far in this unit about electricity, and what
they know about electrical conductors and insulators.
Conductors: Allow electrical current to flow through them.
Insulators: Do not allow electrical current to flow through them.
2. Address a previously recorded student question from the beginning of the unit:
How do wires work and make electricity travel? (J.R.)
Ask students to keep this question in mind as they experiment with their
circuits during todays lesson. Can they come up with hypotheses?

3. Introduce activity: Students will first predict whether assorted objects act as a
conductors or insulators, then experiment by inserting objects into circuit testers
and observe whether the light bulb turns on or stays off.
What does it mean if the light bulb turns on when you touch the wires to
the object you are testing? (= Conductor, electricity is flowing through)
What does it mean if the light bulb stays off when you touch the wires to
the object you are testing? (= Insulator, electricity not flowing through)
Hint: Some objects in their packs may behave as conductors or insulators,
depending on where they touch them with the wires.
4. Review and model how to construct a circuit tester (physically and on the board).
Body of Lesson
5. Pass out circuit boxes and recording worksheets to each student.
6. Students in groups discuss and make predictions for each object on worksheets.
Walk around observing predictions and asking about student reasoning.
7. Students set up their circuit testers and troubleshoot until their bulbs light up.
Walk around helping struggling students until the whole class is ready
with a functional circuit.
8. Pass out 1 bag of assorted objects to test for every pair of students.
9. Students experiment by inserting different objects into their circuit testers and
record whether the bulb lights up or not on their worksheets. As they are
performing the tests, students will group materials on their desks as being
conductors or insulators (some materials, e.g. the pencil and the pipe cleaner may
act as both depending on where the students place the wires).
Walk around the class, checking in with students as they work. Ask
students questions about what they are observing and how they are
reasoning about their results based on their initial predictions.
Sharing and wrap-up discussion
10. Share and compare class results to consolidate findings, record on the board.
Make a Venn diagram on the board for students to show how they grouped
objects as conductors or insulators. Copy in science notebooks.
Did their predictions match their findings? Did any objects surprise them?
Did they notice any patterns and can they draw any conclusions?
Discuss any differences in grouping and resolve any contradictory results
by having students briefly demonstrate findings for the class.
11. Re-address student question: How do wires work and make electricity travel?
Do we have any ideas or hypotheses now?

12. What new questions/ ideas do we have that we want to explore? Record on chart.
13. Clean up and collect materials.
***
Extensions: Students in pairs may work at different speeds while testing all the materials
on their list. For those who finish early: continue investigating different materials they
find in or around their desk and record their results in their notebooks.
Encourage students to think about all the parts of their circuits and the material each is
made of. What is conducting and what is insulating? What could be their functions?
Ask students to think of ways electricity is used and transmitted in their homes. What
parts of the system act as conductors or insulators? Why is it useful to have both types of
materials in an electrical circuit? Bring ideas to share with the class for the next lesson.
Assessment:
During the lesson: Are students engaging in scientific practice? What questions are they
asking? Are they building hypotheses? Are they analyzing their results to draw
conclusions? What patterns are they noticing and what formal concepts have they
learned? Do students understand the difference between conductors and insulators and
their functions? Have they made the connection that all the conductors in their packet are
also metals?
Follow-up: Written MCAS open response about conductors and insulators (next week
class time and homework).

You might also like