Light Up Your Drawing!

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

Subject Area

Science

Grade(s)

Overview

The students will make a drawing that lights up, while investigating circuits using copper tape, batteries and LEDs. They will use templates for the first circuit and then explore by adding more LEDs and copper tape traces.

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Science (2015) Grade(s): 4

SC15.4.4
Design, construct, and test a device that changes energy from one form to another (e.g., electric circuits converting electrical energy into motion, light, or sound energy; a passive solar heater converting light energy into heat energy).*

Vocabulary

criteria
constraint
energy
device
convert
design
construct
kinetic
potential
transform
evidence
engineering design process
ask
imagine
plan
create
improve

Knowledge

Students know:

Energy can be transferred from place to place by electric currents.

Skills

Students are able to:

Use scientific knowledge to generate design solutions that convert energy from one form to another.
Describe the given criteria and constraints of the design, which include the following:

The initial and final forms of energy.
Describe how the solution functions to transfer energy from one form to another.

Evaluate potential solutions in terms of the desired features.
Modify the design solutions to make them more effective.

Understanding

Students understand that:

Energy can be transferred in various ways and between objects.
Engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones but are limited by available resources.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Crosscutting Concepts

Energy and Matter

Primary Learning Objectives

The students will build a complete electrical circuit using copper tape, batteries, and LEDs.

The students will be able to draw and label the parts of an electrical circuit.

The students will compare and contrast series and parallel circuits.

Procedures/Activities

ENGAGE:

Watch this video of a light-up, musical greeting card.

If possible, bring in greeting cards that light up and play music.

After watching the video ask students how the designer of this card made the card light up and play music. Have them record their predictions in their science notebook.

Tell them that today they are going to be exploring electric circuits and pretend they are designers for a card company.

EXPLORE:

Students will need a copy of the robot template from the Circuit Templates file. As well as the following materials: copper tape, batteries, and LED bulbs.

Show students that the light bulb will light up when you directly touch the bulb to the wires. Let them explore with the light bulbs and battery for a few minutes.

Ask the students:
- How did you get your bulb to light up?
- Did anyone try to light their bulb and fail?
- Do you ever need to have the bulb away from the energy source?

Tell students that first we are going to follow a template when creating our electrical circuit, and later they will be the designers.

Display the model you created before the lesson.

Do the following to begin creating the circuit:

Press copper tape on the circuit traces.
Be sure to leave breaks in the tape for the LED, switch, and battery.
When tracing the circuit templates with tape, or creating your own circuit, try to turn corners without cutting the tape.When you need to join pieces of copper tape, be sure that the pieces overlap. Press the pieces firmly with your fingernail to ensure the best connection.

Follow these steps to put a battery in the circuit:

To put a battery into a circuit, both sides of the battery need to be a part of the conducting path. To do this, follow these steps:
Create a break in the circuit.
Place the battery on the copper tape right before the break.(The side of the battery with the words is the positive side).
Extend the copper tape from the other side of the break so that it touches the top of the battery.
Fold a small part of the end under so the shiny part of the tape shows on both sides. Now both sides of the battery are in the circuit!
You can add a piece of transparent tape to reinforce the battery’s connection and to keep it securely in place.

Have students glue their robots in their science notebooks.

EXPLAIN:

After students have made their robots eyes light up, discuss with students the components that make up a complete series circuit. Show the class the examples of a series and parallel circuits and a circuit with a switch.

Discuss the components of a circuit. Make sure students know the difference between conductors and insulators, parts of a circuit, and positivity and negativity.

Read aloud the article Science of Electricity, "Batteries, circuits, & transformers" section with the class.

Students will record new learning and observations in their science notebook.

Ask the students:
- Should the LEDs be connected in series or parallel?
- Which colors work together? Which colors don’t?
- Where should the battery go?

Elaborate:

Students will use items from the material list to design and construct their own greeting card. Here is a guide for creating the greeting card.

Assessment Strategies

Evaluate:

Students will be assessed on their science notebook entries and the exit ticket. The notebook and exit ticket should serve as evidence that the students can build a complete electrical circuit using copper tape, batteries, and LEDs, be able to draw and label the parts of an electrical circuit, and compare and contrast series and parallel circuits.

Intervention

Students who need extra assistance should be paired with a higher level student for the reading/activity.

Total Duration

31 to 60 Minutes

Background/Preparation

Teachers should build their own circuit on the back of the robot template before beginning the lesson. The robot template is located within the Circuit Template booklet linked in the materials section.

This lesson can be an introduction to closed circuits. Students do not need prior knowledge.

Review the article Science of Electricity for background information about electric circuits.

Materials and Resources

For each student:

coin battery (CR2032)

LED's (a few colors)

Copper tape

Circuit templates

Clear tape

Science Notebooks

Construction paper

Exit Slip

Approved Date

2016-04-27