IT IS SHOCKING!!! (ELECTRICITY)
PHYSICAL SCIENCE & ICT UNIT by Lyons & Portelli
Unit investigation summary
Source: Queensland DET, ACARA, QSA

Electrical energy as part of our everyday lives

Portable devices reliance on batteries for electrical energy.

Electric circuits allow energy to be transference

Flow of electrons in transferring energy in electric circuits

Through investigating batteries, light bulbs, switches, conductors and insulators
Assessment: Students explain how battery-operated toy they have created work .
Australian Curriculum intent
Australian Curriculum: Science Year 6
The following three Science curriculum strands list the content descriptions explicitly covered in the unit.
Processing and analysing data and information
Science understanding
Physical sciences

Electrical circuits provide a means of transferring and
transforming electricity

Energy from a variety of sources can be used to generate
electricity

Science as a human endeavour

Construct and use a range of representations, including tables
and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or
relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate

Compare data with predictions and use as evidence in
explanations
Evaluating

Nature and development of science

Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using
evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena

Important contributions to the advancement of science have been
made by people from a range of cultures

Use and influence of science

Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to
solve problems that directly affect peoples’ lives

Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and
Science inquiry skills
Suggest improvements to the methods used to investigate a
question
Communicating

Communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of
ways, including multi-modal texts
Australian Curriculum: ICT
Inquiring with ICT

search for data, information and digital content using a range of
information sources including online communication tools such as
blogs, wikis, RSS and databases

critically evaluate data and information gathered for usefulness,
credibility, relevance, accuracy and reliability
Questioning and predicting

With guidance, pose questions to clarify practical problems or
inform a scientific investigation, and predict what the findings
Planning and conducting

With guidance, select appropriate investigation methods to answer
questions or solve problems

Decide which variable should be changed and measured in fair
tests and accurately observe, measure and record data

Use equipment and materials safely, identifying potential risks

reference valid sources of information and acknowledge the work
of others
Communicating with ICT

use digital devices to collect and share ideas and information
apply agreed communication conventions and protocols and
netiquette when communicating online
Learning Sequence
Focus questions guiding sequence of understanding
Week 1: Electricity and atoms
SUPPORTING ENRICHMENT INVESTIGATIONS
1.
using static electricity
2.
Introduction
1.
What uses electricity - list 5 devices that use
Charge your light bulbs - Light up a fluorescent lightbulb
Glow worm - Make a basic electrical circuit with light
through a cardboard bug
electricity
3.
Electronic door bell - Make a ringing door bell circuit
2.
What are the difference between AC and DC
4.
Franklins bells - Use the static electricity from an
3.
electricity?
List items that uses electricity?
4.
What would life be like without electricity ( write a
narrative )
old television to make a paper clip swing
5.
Lemon battery challenge- Make a battery using lemons
5.
What is electricity – write the definition
6.
Zap! - Create static electricity
6.
Describe the flow of electrons in a battery?
7.
Jitterbug - Make a bristle-bot using a vibrating motor and
Deconstructing definition of electricity
7.
Describe an atom
8.
9.
Draw a labelled diagram of an atom
Explain why -at a fundamental subatomic level you
are not touching the chair
10.
How are electrons related to electricity
11.
12.
What makes these free electrons move?
(Measurement )– what is the difference between
voltage and current
Week 2: Circuits & investigations
13.
What is a circuit
14.
List the different parts of a circuit
15.
What are insulators and conductors
16.
List conductors and insulators around you
17.
How do you stop and start the flow of electrons
energy
18.
Even though the electrons flow from the negative to
the positive terminals, it is conventional to say that
the current flows from positive to negative
Week 3 : Safety
19.
Refer to – incident and response task
20. Design a safe glove for an electrician (enrich)
Week 4: Applying knowledge to build circuits ******
21.
Build a circuit with using the kit
22. Build a circuit using the template of torch
23. Use –resource sheet 10 to build a torch (take photos ,
draw labelled diagram of circuit)
24. Draw the cutaway diagram of a torch
Final product development
25. Select a toy to build and write your proposal ( see
Criteria Sheet)
26. Build your toy
27. Write a Science journal to showing each stage of the
process you used to create your electrical toy.
a toothbrush head.
SUPPORTING ENRICHMENT CRTICAL THINKING
TASKS
Critical thinking
8.
Electricity in living creatures – investigation
9. Refer to de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats activity
Creative thinking tasks
Devices for the future
10. modifications to current devices
11. Design a torch of the future.
12. ––Can you think of other ways of making these
devices work?
13. ––What types of battery-operated devices do you
think we will have in the future?
14. ––Write a letter to a designer giving them some
suggestions of how to improve a battery-operated
device of your choice.
15. ––Explore your house or classroom to find many
different types of switches. Draw and label the
switches, and explain how each type of switch is
designed for its purpose.
16. ––Design and draw different circuit diagrams and
then make them.
17. ––Research how different types of materials are
used for insulation in a range of electrical devices
and then design a device to use one of these types
of materials as an insulator.
18. ––Create your own quiz questions for each section of
the Blobz Guide and put them on the Blobz Guide
section of the scientists’ chat-board for other
students to try.
Vocabulary
electric circuit • closed circuit • open circuit • electrons • voltage • electric current • electrical components • battery (cell) •
wires • switch • light bulb • filament • energy • transferred energy • transformed energy • stored energy • chemicals • negative
terminal • positive terminal • connection points • chemical reaction • electrical energy • light
Resources
http://science.org.au/primaryconnections/curriculum-resources/its-electrifying.html
http://www.science.org.au/primaryconnections/science-background-resource/data/Phy/sub/electeng/electeng.htm
Useful websites
Energizer Learning Centre
Comprehensive information on how batteries work, the history of batteries, battery care and how flashlights work.
BBC Schools Science Clips
An Interactive learning activity where students construct virtual circuits, including notions of parallel and series circuits.
Electric Circuits – An Interactive E-Learning Website
An Interactive E-Learning Website designed to extend the knowledge and understanding of electricity and electric circuits of 7 - 11 yr olds.
The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits
An interactive flash game for up to five players including information, a hands-on exploration task and a quiz for different aspects of
electricity and circuits.
The science and safety of electricity
Safety tips, challenges, experiments and games designed for upper primary and secondary students.
What is electricity?
Information site designed for students, including project information, a library of things that can be downloaded and games.
Alessandro Volta and Luigi Galvani's debate in detail
An attempt to dramatise what a debate between the two eminent scientists might have sounded like.
Crocodile clips
Provides flexible, easy-to-use modelling software for schools and colleges.
Source: Primary Connections
Australian CurriculumDelaney: Portelli & Lyons
Te
Assessment task
SOUTHERN CROSS CATHOLIC COLLEGE
Delany Junior Years Campus
TERM 4: Assignment 5/6LP
Year 5/6 2012 – Science Home Project
IT’S ELECTRIFYING!
DATE DUE: WEEK 5: YOUR TASK: Create a toy or game that uses a simple electric circuit to
activate buzzers and/or small motors and/or light bulbs. You will need to trial your design.
DATE DUE: Week 3: Your design Proposal
o aim
o design proposal
o diagram
o research information
o materials used
o describe the steps
Assessable Elements
A
Knowledge and
Student has a
Understanding
proficient
EC5.4 Different forms of
knowledge of a
energy used within a
battery operated
community have different
electric circuit and
sources. (Science)
its uses.
ENGLISH
Student design
Connects ideas in a complex
proposal and
paragraph i
process – shows
Scientific labelled diagrams
accurate and well
explained details.
Communicating
Student make well
Sci5e: select and use tools,
reasoned decisions
technologies and materials
when trialling
suited to the activities and
materials to
investigations
(Science)
conduct and
insulate electricity
in their circuit.
Investigating and
Student designs
Designing
and produces a
THE5.2 Aspects of
creative toy or
appropriateness influence
game that
product design and
production decisions
effectively
(Technology)
enhances a simple
circuit.
DATE DUE: Week 5: Construction Process
o
o
o
o
B
Student has a
thorough
knowledge of a
battery
operated
electric circuit.
Student design
proposal and
process – shows
elaboration of
expected details
Student selects
effective
materials to
conduct and
insulate
electricity in
their circuit.
Student designs
and produces a
toy or game
that effectively
enhances a
simple circuit.
photos of steps of construction
what worked
improvements
problems
C
Student has a
competent
knowledge of a
battery
operated
electric circuit.
Student design
proposal and
process – all
expected details
included
Student selects
suitable
materials to
conduct and
insulate
electricity in
their circuit.
Student designs
and produces a
toy or game that
is appropriate
for a simple
circuit.
D
Student has a
superficial
knowledge of a
battery operated
electric circuit.
E
Student has little
or no knowledge of
the way an electric
circuit functions.
Student design
proposals with
some elements
completed
Student design
proposals lacking
information
Student selects
some suitable
materials to
conduct and
insulate
electricity in their
circuit.
Student designs
and produces a
toy or game that
uses a simple
circuit.
Student is unable
to identify and
select suitable
materials to
conduct and
insulate electricity
in their circuit.
Student designs
and produces a toy
or game that is
inappropriate for a
simple circuit. OR
does not complete
the task.