To help teachers we support deliver important safety messages to students, we have developed curriculum materials in collaboration with the Department of Education to help students learn about electricity and electrical safety. A lesson to capture student interest and assess what students know about electricity using a KWL chart. Form small groups and ask students to share and record what they know about electricity on a small KWL card (know, what to know, learned):.
Attachment
1 KWL Chart
Know, want, learnt
What do I know about electricity?
What do I want to find out?
What have I learnt?
KWhat do I know about electricity? W
What do I want to find out? L
1 Word Wall Cards (enlarge for display on wall)
1 How to Use a SciTech Journal
How to use a SciTech journal
Using a SciTech Journal
Attachment - Reproduced from the Australian Academy of Science Primary Connections series with permission
TASK
To inform students about electricity safety
Teacher Background Information
Assessment
Equipment
2 Electricity Safety
Tommy: "Let's take our balloon down to the substation and see if we can make it rub." After all students have had a turn to dramatize their scenes, begin the interactive whiteboard lessons and activities. At the end of the interactive whiteboard activities, hand out the electrical safety quiz and ask students to complete.
Interactive Resources
- What is the emergency phone number in Australia?
- If someone is getting an electric shock inside a house, what is the first thing you should do?
- Why can a bird sit on a power line and not get an electric shock?
- What do you do if your toast gets stuck in the toaster?
- If you see a fallen power line across a footpath, you should
If someone in your home gets an electric shock, what's the first thing to do? you should do?. If a small electrical fire occurs, ask an adult to put it out. What do you think would be the best thing they could use to put out an electrical fire? Do you think this is the best they can use to put out an electrical fire?
2 Electricity Safety Quiz
- Your sister is using a hair dryer next to a bath containing water, what should you do?
- Your friend asks you to play near the substation because it is a cool place
- Why should you never fly your kite near overhead power lines?
- What can happen if you plug in too many appliances at one power point or power board?
- Why shouldn’t you dig near underground power lines?
- What should you do with faulty appliances or appliances that have a damaged cord?
- Think of a dangerous electrical situation. Draw and label it in the box below
- Answer is B. Emergency phone number is 000
- Answer is C. When birds are only touching one wire and nothing else, the electricity cannot make a circuit
- Stacked power points with too many plugs connected to it can cause an electrical fire
- They should be disconnected at the power point and fixed or replaced by an electrician
Tell your sister it's dangerous and that she shouldn't use her hair dryer near water. Tell an adult and stay at least 8 meters away from the downed power line and anything it might touch. You must use a power strip or have an electrician install an extra power point.
2 Electricity Safety Quiz – Answers
If she wants to use the hair dryer in the bathroom, she must make sure that the bathroom is full of water. They must be disconnected at the power point and fixed or replaced by an electrician. This can be anything from a faulty electrical outlet to a "bundled" power point - one with many outlets in it.
Identifying different forms of energy
Hydro)
3 What is Energy?
It is important to emphasize to students that energy is not created and cannot be destroyed, but only changes from one form to another.
3 Word Cards
Identifying different forms of energy and how they can be changed
4 Transforming Energy
Divide the class into groups, assign roles (chief scientist, safety officer, laboratory technician, science journalist, and science communicator), and hand out the badges included at the end of this lesson. Explain to the students that they are going to do an investigation to determine if a balloon has energy. Ask the students to examine the balloon and decide if the balloon has energy when deflated.
Now ask the students to inflate the balloon again and this time stretch the neck of the balloon as they release the air. Have the students write a science report (example attached at the back of this lesson) of their investigation in their SciTech journals. Ask the students to include a table of energy types in their report and annotated diagrams.
Balloon position Type of energy
Introduction
Structuring cooperative learning
Group roles
4 How to organise a cooperative learning group
Lab Technician
Science Communicator
Chief Scientist
Safety Officer
Science Journalist
Group skills
Supporting equity
Move into your groups quickly and quietly
Speak softly
Stay with your group
Take turns
Perform your role
4 Example of a Science Report
Investigation
Prediction
Observation
Results
Conclusion
4 Quiz – Types of Energy
Answer the following questions in full sentences
Types of Energy
4 Cloze Passage – Types of Energy
To investigate how electricity is generated?
5 Electricity Generation and Transmission
Encourage groups that are struggling to refer to the flash chart on slide 9 of Essential Energy's Interactive Whiteboard Lesson 3. Show the students the hand-held generator and explain that the magnet and copper wire in it are just like the generator in the power station.
Power Plant to the Home
The cards are currently in order. Jumble them and hand a set to each group
5 Power Transmission Cards
The electricity generated at the power station is fed through transmission lines to zone substation transformers. The electrical energy then travels along the distribution power lines to our homes, schools, hospitals, offices, factories, street lamps, traffic lights, movie theaters, restaurants, fire stations and everything else that needs electrical energy to operate. The electricity travels through wires inside the walls to outlets and switches throughout your home.
It passes through zone substations where the voltage is stepped down, then to transformers which step it down again to make it safe to use in our homes. You can use the power to turn on lights, watch TV, listen to music and cook dinner.
TASK A
Simulating open and closed circuits
6 Exploring Electrical Circuits
Discuss the function of each part of the circuit, such as the wires to allow the flow of electrons, the battery which gives more energy to the electrons, and the light bulb which uses some of the energy. Simulate an open circuit by placing students in the circuit and asking them to walk around it. It is important for students to understand that once a circuit is open, all electrons stop flowing.
Simulate and discuss a short circuit by drawing a chalk line around the bulb (obstacle). Discuss with students, the easiest path is a short circuit (electrons will follow the path of least resistance to return to their energy source). Return to the classroom and ask students to draw annotated diagrams of open and closed circuits in their SciTech journals.
Have students make notes about new terminology and concepts in their SciTech journal books, add to the KWL chart, and word wall.
TASK B
Making electrical circuits
Identify materials that conduct electricity and insulate electricity
7 Investigating Conductors and Insulators
Object Material Prediction: Will it conduct
Extension Activity
Creating a series circuit and a parallel circuit
8 Investigating Series and Parallel Circuits
Have students construct a closed circuit that includes 2 parallel batteries, 2 wires, and a light bulb. Place a dark card behind the bulb and compare the brightness of the bulb with the previous round. Ask students to place a third battery side by side and compare the brightness of the bulb.
What do you think happens to the flow of electrons in a series and parallel circuit.
Investigating the Voltage in a Series Circuit and a Parallel Circuit
Type of circuit Number of batteries Multimeter reading (DCV)/(DCA)
After students have constructed their diagrams, they discuss the results and compose a statement summarizing what they have learned about batteries that are arranged in series and parallel circuits. Add the statements to the KWL chart and any new words should be added to the word wall. Ask students to predict what might happen to the brightness of two light bulbs if they were placed in series.
Ask students to predict what might happen to the lighting of the 2 bulbs if they were placed in parallel.
8 Using a Multimeter
Measuring electric current
Measuring voltage
Constructing circuits to observe the generation of electricity
9 Generating Electricity Investigation
Have students draw diagrams in their SciTech journal to show each form of generating electricity.
Constructing circuits to observe the transformation of energy
Teacher Background
10 Transforming Electrical Energy Investigation
Who invented the electric light bulb?
Which is a renewable energy source?
Which is a good conductor of electricity?
Which is a good insulator of electricity?
Electricity is generated at a
How could your school reduce its electricity consumption?
How could you help to conserve electricity usage at home?
10 Electricity Quiz
Why do houses have meter boxes?
Explain why energy cannot be destroyed
What type of energy is stored energy?
List 4 different types of energy
List 5 different energy resources
Describe what an electrical circuit is
Draw a closed electrical circuit in the box below
Students demonstrate understanding gained through a scientific investigation by resolving a design brief
Explore and define
Design brief
Generate and develop ideas
11 Design Task
Produce Solutions
Product Need / Purpose Energy transformations
Evaluate
Students could
AC or Alternating Current: An electric current that repeatedly changes its direction from negative to positive and back again. Ampere: The ampere or ampere is a measure used for the flow of electrons or the flow of electric current. Charge: The electrical property of electrons and protons that causes attraction and repulsion between them.
You need voltage to make the current flow, just like water pressure is needed to make the water flow. It's impossible to see an electrical current, but it's there — and it's used to power everything from a light to your CD player. Direct Current or Direct Current: In electric current, the flow of electrons is always in the same direction.
Direct current is most commonly found in portable devices such as cameras, iPods, and cell phones. Distribution Lines: The familiar "pole and wires" that students may see on the street are part of the low-voltage distribution network that supplies customers with electricity. Distribution System: The poles, wires, cables, substations, and other equipment needed to transport electricity from the transmission system to people's homes.
It can be stimulated into motion by various forces such as magnetism and has a negative charge.
Glossary
Insulator: A material (such as plastic or glass) that does not allow electricity to easily pass through it. Kilowatt hour: A measurement of electricity equal to one kilowatt of power produced or used in one hour. Meter (Power/Electricity): A device that measures and records the production or consumption of electrical energy.
Ohm: A unit of electrical resistance equivalent to that of a conductor in which a current of one amp is produced by a potential of one volt across its terminals. Power Point: A hollow device used to connect a power source or an electrical device. Static electricity: A type of electrical charge that can build up when two objects rub together.
Transmission lines: high-voltage lines that transport electricity in bulk from the power plants to the point where distributors such as Ausgrid, Endeavor Energy and Essential Energy purchase the supply. Turbine: A fan-like device connected to the generator to aid in the production of electricity. Volt: The volt is the unit of measure for the electromotive force required to pass one ampere through a one ohm resistor.
Windmill: A machine that captures the wind's energy and transfers the motion to a generator shaft.
Physical phenomena Teacher notes
Basic conceptual ideas and understandings Forms of energy
Electricity
Teacher Background Information
Progression of students’ learning
Energy (in general)
Specific forms of energy
Circuit
Progression of Students’ Learning
Battery
Current and voltage
Circuit components
Designing and making
What is technology?
What is design?
What is making?
Designing and Making
Typically in technology education the process of design and results in a product, service, system or environment; or a part of a product, service, system or environment.
How can we assist students to design effectively?
Planning a design task
Here are some tips for planning a design task
What parts of the design process do you want to leave open for the student to work through in detail and what parts will be closed or teacher directed so that students can move through it more directly. Be clear about what you want student learning to focus on and allocate instructional time accordingly. Allow sufficient instructional time in your program to enable the students to have clearly established criteria for success for the design solution.
Try to limit the number of success criteria to one or two in early 1st level and maybe have three or four criteria by 3rd level. Once your students have clearly defined success criteria, all of their decision-making should refer back to the agreed upon success criteria. Allow enough time for students to test, refine, and retest their ideas several times if you want them to achieve a quality solution.
Questioning techniques are important in helping students become creative, critical, innovative and entrepreneurial as they engage in the design and making process. Questions should not be limited to closed questions requiring only a simple answer, but should be more open-ended so that a wide range of ideas can be generated and explored. She refers to short-lever questions that limit options and presuppose solutions and hard truths, and long-lever questions that create options, challenge assumptions, and allow the free flow of ideas.
Questions have been added to the design and build model below to help students through the process.
Exploring the task
The need or opportunity
The user
The client
Resources
Social and environmental considerations
Questions to Guide Designing & Making Tasks
Criteria for success
Defining the task
Generating ideas and realising solutions
Generating ideas
Representing ideas
Investigating resources
Resolving ideas
Finalising the proposal
Managing safety risks
Managing production
Evaluating products and processes
Evaluating throughout the design process
Reflecting on learning after the design process
Design solution
Design process
Learning outcomes
