Virginia Department of Education
Electricity and Magnetism
Take charge of your class and provide them with an electrical experience! Individuals investigate the basic principles of electricity and magnetism by creating a model to test electric current and the amount of electricity generated....
Curated OER
Electric Circuits
Experiment with electric circuits and conductivity. Young scientists will model and discuss how an electric circuit works. First they will draw a model of the flow of electrons and then build an actual circuit. Finally, they will explain...
Curated OER
A Shocking Experience
Learners differentiate between current and static electricity, conductors and insulators, explain how energy is converted from chemical to electrical, measure voltage of batteries, collect data on voltage, and predict voltage of...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Let’s Throw an Electric Science Party!
Are you looking for a shockingly good lesson? Check out one that has middle schoolers recreate four of Benjamin Franklin's experiments. Groups investigate, observe, and draw conclusions about static electricity and electrical current....
Curated OER
Exploring Electricity - Four Activities
These are four classic activities used for instructing upper elementary electricians. The first involves experimenting with the Van de Graaff generator. The second is a series of hands-on experiences with static. In the third activity,...
Cornell University
Splitting Water with Electricity
Explore how electricity splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Learners begin by calculating the voltage necessary to separate the water. They then perform the experiment and measure the ratio of hydrogen and oxygen bubbles.
Curated OER
Electricity and Food: From Glowing Pickles in Citrus Batteries
Fifth graders explore electrical concepts and host a guest speaker. This lesson sets up guidelines for students to follow when they have a guest speaker. Students are primed to become actively involved in a lecture or discussion, while...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #11 - Power Maximum: An Electrical Determination
Collaborative groups connect resistors and solar panels in series and measure electrical resistance, voltage, and current. The objective is to order 16 solar panels from strongest to weakest. They graph current-voltage and power curves...
Curated OER
Comparing Light Bulbs
An average home produces twice as many emissions as an average car. Teach your class how to reduce energy consumption by replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Perform an experiment to compare...
Cornell University
Electric Vocabulary
Practice electric vocabulary using multiple methods. Learners begin by watching a video that explains vocabulary related to electric currents. They match vocabulary cards to practice and then create an electric circuit. Using the...
Energy for Keeps
Getting Current: Generating Electricity Using a Magnet
Give your class a magnetic charge with this creative experiment designed to teach emerging scientists about electromagnetism. Pupils construct a model that demonstrates the function of an electrical generator and test this creation in a...
Rochester Institute of Technology
Chemical Reactions and Electricity
After a discussion of chemical reactions and electricity, scholars break into groups and follow a scripted activity to discover if fruit can power a clock. After a concluding discussion, the class a presented with a challenge.
Science Matters
Static Electricity
Working with static electricity is sure to give the class a charge! Budding scientists experiment with balloons and different materials to discover how to create static electricity. They learn about the transfer of electrons and the...
Curated OER
Solar Electricity ~ The Colour Sensitivity of a Photovoltaic Cell
Teacher's notes, a materials list, detailed procedure, tips, and extension ideas are all included to make teaching this lesson on photovoltaic cells a sunny spot in your day! After some brief background reading, physical science...
Curated OER
Electricity and Electrical Circuits
Students are introduced to electricity and electrical circuits. In groups, they draw circuit diagrams, complete a KWL chart and discover the difference between open, closed and series circuits. They define new vocabulary and make...
Curated OER
Electricity and Magnetism: From Fun to Function
Fourth graders experiment with electricity and magnetism and build an electromagnetic motor. In this electromagnetism lesson, 4th graders use household objects to show electrostatics and magnets and compasses to show magnetism. They...
Curated OER
Simplicity of Electricity
Students examine how to make an electrical circuit. They listen to a teacher led discussion, design a switch to control a circuit, and construct a signaling device.
Curated OER
Electricity and Magnetism
Make oral presentations electric and magnetic! As the conclusion of the study of electricity and magnetism, class members are assigned to bring to life items or people associated with these topics. Speaking as the person or object,...
Curated OER
Static Electricity Experiments
Pupils investigate static electricity. They conduct two experiments, make observations and predictions, collect and record data, and write a report describing the findings of their investigations.
Curated OER
More About Static Electricity
Students examine the concept that static electricity is a phenomenon that involves positive and negative charges. They explore the Static Electricity section of the Science, Technology and Engineering website to learn more about the...
Curated OER
Using "Student Power" to Generate Electricity to Run a Portable Compact Disc Player
Students explain the relationship between magnetism and electricity. For this physics lesson, students describe the transformation of energy. They create an electromagnet and investigate the factors affecting its strength.
Curated OER
Static Electricity and Lightning
Students study concepts related to static electricity, based on a single example: lightning. They explain how static electricity, lightning, and sparks are all related phenomena. They draw a diagram illustrating the negative and positive...
Curated OER
How Powerful is Static Electricity?
Students break up into groups to complete a demonstration rubbing a balloon in hair make their hair stand up. Thus, they conclude static electricity. They also experiment with a paper station, ping pong station and a water station...
Curated OER
Simple Circuit: Electric Currents and Circuits
Through inquiry and exploration, 4th graders will learn and understand the functions of open and closed circuits. They will break into 2 groups, define vocabulary, hypothesize how to light a bulb, then test their hypothesis 4 different...