TCNJ Lesson Plan #4

Properties of Matter: Electrical Conductivity (Day 2-Circuits)

Student Name: Kayla Taylor Grade Level: 5

Guiding and/or Essential Questions:

What are properties of matter? What is an insulator? What are circuits?
What is electrical energy? How does it flow? What is a conductor?

Pre-lesson Assignments and/or Student Prior Knowledge

Students completed a unit on circuits in 3rd grade and, overall, showed an understanding of how
to draw circuit diagrams on the pre-assessment. Yesterday, they completed an investigation
about electrical conductors and insulators. They used circuit materials to test whether various
materials are electrical conductors. Through the investigation, they determined what materials
are conductors and what materials are insulators. Today, they will further explore circuits.

Standards:
5-PS1-3. Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter- Measurement of a variety of properties can be
used to identify materials.

Learning Objectives and Assessments:

Learning Objectives Assessment

Students will build an electrical circuit and
draw an accurate diagram of it.
Teacher will assess the circuits worksheet and
student circuits during the investigation for
accurate completion of a circuit. Teacher will
also look for students to follow directions
about how many inputs, outputs, and switches
they should have in their circuit.

Students will explain how to tell the path of a During the closing discussion, the teacher will
circuit is complete. assess student responses for understanding
that a circuit is complete when it is closed.

Materials/Resources:
Whiteboard and marker
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/circuit-construction-kit-dc
Circuits worksheet
Circuit materials-wires, batteries, lights, sounds, switches, ect.
Document camera
Plan for set-up/distribution/cleanup of materials:
Teachers will pass out worksheets. The link to the online simulation will be shared with
students ahead of time, through “Mrs. C’s Science Doc”. Materials will be in buckets, so
students can take a bucket from the window sill. At the end of the lesson, the students
know to put the materials back in the bucket and put the bucket back on the window sill.

Step by Step plan:

1. Lesson Beginning:
a. To start the lesson, I will ask students to come to board to help draw and label the
circuit from yesterday’s conductor/insulator investigation.
i. Each student who volunteers will draw one part of the circuit.
ii. The class drawing should include a power source (input), wires, and a
light (output).
iii. As students draw each part, I will ask the students to brainstorm about the
purpose of each part.
iv. I will point out this is called a circuit diagram.
b. Once the circuit is on the board, I will ask the students if there are any parts of a
circuit that our circuit does not include.
i. They may come up with a resistor or a switch. If they do not suggest a
switch, I will point it out to them.
2. Online Simulation:
a. I will ask the students to take our their Chromebooks. I will explain that they have
15 (maybe 20) minutes to play with the online simulation (shared with them on
the science doc) and become comfortable with circuits before using real circuits. I
will also tell them that they have to ask for teacher permission to move onto the
real circuit materials.
b. They will have to diagram at least one circuit that they made using the online
simulation.
c. During this time, the teacher will monitor student progress to ensure they are
recording their diagrams and visit the students who may need extra support.
3. Circuits Investigation:
a. Once I see students starting to understand the concepts of circuits on the online
simulation, I will give them permission to use the real circuit materials to try and
recreate their design or create a new design.
b. While using the materials, students will record their circuits on the worksheet
using a circuit diagram.
c. The teacher will monitor student progress and assistant students who many need
extra support.
4. Closing:
 a. I will end the lesson with whole class discussion. I will ask the students to put all
materials away and back in the buckets on the window sill. The students will
return to their seats with only their circuits worksheet.
b. (If time) I will ask the students to share some of their circuit diagrams over the
document camera. The students will identify out their inputs and outputs and
share a challenge in creating the circuit.
c. Finally, I will ask the students how to identify when a circuit is complete. If the
students do not use the word “closed”, I will introduce it to them.

Key Questions (that you will ask):

What did our circuit yesterday include?
What is the purpose of (part of the circuit)?
What are your inputs? What are your outputs?
What challenges did you face while creating the circuit?
How do you know when a circuit is complete?

Logistics:
Timing:
50-minute lesson:
Beginning- 5 minutes
Online simulation- 15-20 minutes
Circuit investigation- 20
Closing- 5-10 minutes
Transitions:
Students will be asked to get into their lab groups as they come into the classroom. Before
transition to the circuit investigation, students will need teacher permission. This ensures that not
all students are moving to the next activity at the same time. To ease the transition into the whole
class demonstration and discussion, I will have the students put the materials away before
moving back to their tables.

Classroom Management:
All directions will be given before the students begin the investigation. Students will be
reminded of the directions throughout the investigation, as needed. Teachers will use the hand
clapping method to get the students attention and, if necessary, will ask the students to out their
hands on their heads. The students are familiar with the clean-up routine.

Differentiation:
Students are grouped according to who they work well with, as well as, ability.
S can record data/observations from the investigation on his computer.
Teacher must give permission for a student to use the real circuits, so the teacher can ensure that
the student understands the online simulation and provide more support if they do not.
Depending on the student, I will adjust the requirements for their circuits, such as the number of
outputs required. I will create separate worksheets for this. This can be used for excelling
students and students who need more support.
Name:_________________________________________ Date:_____________

Circuits: Online Simulation

Objective: Create a closed circuit using the online simulation and real circuits. Draw a diagram
of a circuit and explain how to tell when the circuit is complete.

Directions: Using the online simulation, create a circuit with at least one input, at
least one switch, and up to three outputs. Diagram and label the circuit in the space
below:
Name:_________________________________________ Date:_____________

Circuit Diagrams
Objective: Create a closed circuit using the online simulation and real circuits. Draw a diagram
of a circuit and explain how to tell when the circuit is complete.

Directions: Using the real circuit materials, create a circuit with at least one input,
at least one switch, and up to two outputs. Diagram and label the circuit in the space
below:
Name:_________________________________________ Date:_____________

Circuits: Online Simulation

Objective: Create a closed circuit using the online simulation and real circuits. Draw a
diagram of a circuit and explain how to tell when the circuit is complete.

Directions: Using the online simulation, create a circuit with at

least one battery, at least one switch, and up to three light
bulbs. Diagram and label the circuit in the space below:
Name:_________________________________________ Date:_____________

Circuits and Circuit Diagrams

Objective: Create a closed circuit using the online simulation and real circuits. Draw a
diagram of a circuit and explain how to tell when the circuit is complete.

Directions: Using the real circuit materials, create a circuit with at

least one battery, at least one switch, and up to two light
bulbs. Diagram and label the circuit in the space below: