BASICS Project
Lesson Plan
Class: P.3 Finn Magee
Date: 8th May 2008
Topic: Electricity - Insulators and Conductors
Week no. 3
Learning outcomes:
Science ( Science concepts addressed)
- To learn the electrical properties of different materials
-Learn how conductors and insulators react to electric current
-Develop an understanding circuits and current.
Literacy ( Literacy skills addressed)
-Provide coherent and clear explanations for evidence found
-Develop talking and listening skills.
The aspects of science enquiry (Planning, Obtaining and presenting evidence,
considering evidence and evaluating) addressed in this lesson are,
-Pupils will predict whether certain materials are conductors or insulators
-By testing the materials pupils will then be able to prove their predictions right or
wrong.
-Pupils will present their findings by sorting the various materials into two groups;
conductors and insulators.
Resources:
-’The Electricians Academy’ Big Book
-6 x Tool kits (between two pairs) containing:
-2 x Battery Packs
-2 x Bulbs
-6 x Wires
-10 x Bags of Junk Material (hay, paper, paperclips, coins, pencils, string)
-Illustrations of Junk Material
-Glue
-Ghost Ball
-Diagram of tester circuit
Introduction:
How is the book/story used to introduce lesson
The Book will take the form of a story about an electrical company who want to
find a new material that they can make wires from. It will be up to the electricians
to sort out the materials that they could make wires from and the materials that
they couldn’t use. This will introduce the concepts of conductors and insulators into
the class’s vocabulary.
Development:
During the development of the lesson the class will be asked to the front of the
room and to stand in a circle. Each pupil will be assigned as a component in the
circuit. For example some children will be wires, others crocodile clips, some
children will represent bulbs and batteries. This will allow the children to see how
their circuit will be made up in the practical activity. At this point the class will use
the ghost ball to show how a circuit works and how we will break our circuit to put
in some conductors and insulators for testing.
The pupils will then go to their tables to predict what materials in their bags will
be conductors and which will be insulators. The pupils will then have to make the
circuit which they had made at the beginning of the development using a diagram
provide and then to test the different materials in their bags.
Activities
During the development of the lesson the class will be working with the ‘Ghost ball’
in forming a circuit and testing insulators and conductors as a means of getting a
feel for what they have to do.
The next activity will be then to make a tester circuit and then to test the bag of
materials that they will be provided with.
Finally within the conclusion the class will be required to sort the conductors from
the insulators into the Big Book to show which materials would make the best wires
and which materials wouldn’t.
Classroom organisation
During the introduction of the lesson the class will be addressed together as a
whole when reading the book. They will stay together during the development of
the lesson as a class and move together into a circle at the front of the class.
The second half of the development will require the class to split up into pairs for
building the circuits and testing the materials, this is to ensure that every child
will gain hands on experience with the materials.
In the conclusion of the lesson the class will come back together to draw up their
conclusions and to sort the materials tested into conductors and insulators.
Key Vocabulary developed
-Insulator
-Conductor
-Test circuit
-Current
-Flow
-Resist
Key Questions during lesson
-How does did we make the ghost ball light up?
-Why doesn’t it work when we put some materials in the circuit and I works when
we pup other materials in?
-What do you notice about the materials that make the circuit work/ break the
circuit?
-Why do you think your predictions are right?
-How could we test these materials for this company?
-What do you think the test circuit will look like? How will it be different form our
simple circuits that we made?
Conclusion of lesson
How is the lesson concluded? How is the book/story used in conclusion of
plenary?
The lesson will be concluding with a class discussion of their findings and
consequently a sorting activity. The pupils will reveal their findings i.e. what
materials are conductors, what insulators are and why these materials work in the
way they do. The class will then be asked to come to the front and stick various
pictures of the objects they tested into their correct group to show the company
which materials would be best for making wires.
Additional information
At the end of the session the pupils of the class will be given payment form the
company which they helped out in the form of ‘academy tokens’. This will provide
the class with a reward for the work they have done, as well acknowledging what
they have achieved and keeping with the theme of the electrician’s academy.
Lesson Evaluation
This evaluation should reflect on how the book or story enhanced the science
lesson. Please include examples from the lesson to illustrate your comments.
Introduction
How did the children respond to the book or story?
As always the class responded very well to they story book. They enjoyed the
slight twist in the story in that they were testing materials using the circuits they
had been using previously. This had shown the class that there are a number of
purposes for circuits. Also, by using the idea of the class testing for materials to
make wires puts the concept of separating insulators and conductors into context.
There was a purpose given to being able to separate insulators and conductors.
Did the story allow children to express their ideas and current understanding?
Please give examples
The story
By doing the activity with the ghost ball the class were beginning to understand
how insulators and conductors work and the effect that they would have upon a
circuit.
The book was an introduction to the concept, throughout the lesson the class
developed an understanding of the effect of conductors and insulators and the
book provided a basis for this, because they knew that they had to sort materials
out because they had a different effect on electricity. The class had shown a clear
understanding of what was going on because of the use of the ghost ball
'All the conductors were metals, so all metals must be conductors; the plastic
doesn't pass the electricity because it is not metal'.
How did the story set the scene for the science activity?
The story allowed the class to visualise what was going to happen and the reason
why they were taking part in this job task, the story also provided the learning
intentions for the day. It puts the practical activity into context for the class
giving it purpose; they had to sort out the conductors from the insulators so that
the factory would know what materials would be best for making wires form.
The story also helped put the class into character.
Science Activity
During the activity is their any evidence of the children relating the activity
to the story? (From their talk, questions or comments)
During the main activity there was quite alot of evidence of the class relating the
task back to the story. I found that alot of the groups were separating the
materials into two piles (even though they had not been asked to do this outright).
I overheard one girl saying 'I would send the conductors back to the factory
because they would be the best for making wires'. Whilst other children were
clear in letting Finn and I know that 'the string/straw/hay would not make very
good wires because they do not let the electricity flow through them.'
Please comment on the children’s engagement during the activity
There was a constant buzz in the classroom as there is with any lesson done so far,
but the talk which the groups are partaking in is totally task orientated, which is
great to experience. The class remain completely engaged and focused on the task
at hand and I have found that alot if not all of the groups tried to finish up quickly
so that they could test some of their own items. One boy had actually left out
some of his own items in the pile which he tested for being conductors and
insulators.
He told me later that 'my sharpener and my key ring would make great wires for
the factory.'
Conclusion of lesson
Is there any evidence of the children linking the science activity to the story
during this part of the lesson? Please give examples
The conclusion of the lesson required the pupils to link the science activity to the
story because it summed up all the class findings to send back to the factory. This
was done by the class proving their predictions, for the materials, to be right or
wrong and sorting the materials into insulators and conductors into the big book.
Is there evidence of the book or story supporting children’s language? (Are
they using terms or words from the book or story?)
Throughout the lesson the class were constantly using the new terms insulator and
conductor; this was due to the lesson being based solely on this topic of sorting
various materials into these two groupings. I found that alot of children connected
the fact that conductors would 'make good wires' and that 'insulators would not
make good wires'. This helped the pupils understand and be able to define the
meaning of this new language.
Is there any evidence of children transferring understanding or knowledge
from the activity to a new or different situation (for example within another
story or discussion)? Please give examples
The class had to be able to transfer their knowledge from all their previous
lessons on circuits so that they were able to build up a circuit to test these
materials and understand the effects which some materials have on the circuit i.e.
they would either make (the bulb would light up) or break (the bulb would not light)
the circuit. From previous discussions within lessons the class realised their circuit
was going to be slightly different from any circuit they had made before, one child
pointed out that 'we need the space in between the wires so that we can put our
materials in there to test them'.
What are the key ways in which you feel the book or story supported this
lesson, (please give examples), in terms of
1 Children’s motivation/engagement
The whole concept of having the book as a means of setting a task really engages
the children and helps with their motivation within the lesson. The book is there to
set the scene for the electrician’s academy theme. Another factor which
influences the class’s motivation is the cheques which they will receive at the end
of the day if they complete their job task. So not only are the class intrinsically
motivated by the idea of completing a 'job' set up by the book, but they have
something to show for their work in the form of the cheque.
2 Supporting concept development
The book in this case was used to introduce the concept of insulators and
conductors. It not only supported the new language but the book also helped define
these terms in a way which the class could understand and relate to. A conductor
was not only something which allowed current to run through it but it was a
material which would be suitable for making wires because it completed the circuit.
By defining insulator and conductors in the context of whether they would make
good wires or not the class were then allowed to develop their own ideas and
definitions of conductors and insulators. Some of which included
'Conductors let electricity pass through them'
'Insulators stop electricity and break the circuit, that’s why the bulb won't light'
'All the metals are conductors'
'There's plastic around the wires so that I don't get shocked when I touch it (the
wire)'
3 Developing children science language and language in general
The language and the concepts developed within this lesson are inextricably linked
and cannot be separated in this case. The book allowed the class to develop their
own ideas and definitions of the terms conductors and insulators. By carrying out
the task set in the book the class gained a further understanding of this new
language and what exactly it entailed. I was really happy with the way the class
were allowed to think for themselves and come to their own conclusions about the
terms introduced by the book. I was provided for the first time with a key
example of the children learning by themselves through exploration and discussion
with each other.
Pupils’ Comments (Please ask the pupils)
After the lesson please ask a group of pupils the following questions. Please jot
down their responses and try and catch their actual quotes
What were you doing in our lesson today?
'Testing stuff to make wires'
'Telling the factory what things make good wires and what makes bad wires'
'Making a new circuit to test the stuff the factory gave us'
What did you enjoy in the lesson today?
'Testing materials'
'Making the new circuit because there was more wires to make it difficult, but I
still made it'
What did you find out in the lesson this morning?
'Insulators make bad wires and conductors make good wires'
'Insulators will break a circuit and the bulb won't light then'
'All metals are conductors...well maybe not all we have to test them first'
'Water is a conductor, that’s how we lit the ball up (the ghost ball) coz we have
water in our bodies' 'That’s why we can't touch electricity with water on our
hands'
What was your favourite part of the lesson?
'Testing the conductors and the insulators'