Perkins School for the Blind
Building a Basic Series Circuit
Make science a fully accessible subject for your learners with visual impairments. They'll use tactile models to explore the nature of basic electrical circuits. Template board, wires, batteries, and Velcro are used to construct the...
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Transformation of Energy-8th Grade
Eighth graders examine how electricity is produced in relation to the atom as well as what causes electric current to flow and what determines how much current flows through a circuit. These and other concepts of transformation of energy...
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Magneto-hydrodynamic Drives
Students examine how electric and magnetic fields can be used to force water out of a chamber to move a vehicle forward.
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Invisible Investigations
Students simulate how charged particles move in a particle detector. In this physics lesson, students observe how iron filings behave when magnetic marbles are passed underneath them. They record and draw their observations.
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Aurora Borealis
Students discuss what causes the northern lights and the folklore attached to them. They discuss magnetic fields, and use various common materials to discover if ions conduct electricity.
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The Conncection Lesson
Fourth graders see how electricity can flow through objects and can be used to do work. They construct a working circuit of their own and explain why it is able to do work. They get students familiar with what it takes to create a movie.
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How to Be "Naturally Attractive" (Without Even Trying)
Students examine the various properties of magnets, explain how a compass works and make an electromagnet. They also experiment with magnetic lines-of-force using paper and iron filings.
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Attract or Repel?
Students explain why some objects attract and some do not. For this physics lesson, students investigate the magnetic properties of objects using CEENBoT. They give some important applications of magnets.
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Where's Up?
Fifth graders brainstorm answers to the question why compasses point north. In groups, they use introduce the needle to the different ends of the magnet. They place the needles in a styroform disk and record their results in their...
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Static Cling
Students work together to discover the concept of static electricity. They participate in an experiment in which they test different objects charge. They make observations and record them for later use.
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Sticky Books
Fourth graders investigate items that are magnetic and those that are not. They determine the properties of the magnetic items. They create a digital book that demonstrates what they have learned about magnetism.
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Am I Sticky
Fourth graders become familiar with magnets and their properties. They investigate what items are magnetic and non-magnetic and make generalizations about the properties. They utilize technology to develop an interactive digital book.
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Charge It!
Students complete an experiment using balloons to help them examine the concept of static electricity. They discover how engineers use this information to create better air filters for homes. They describe how to charge an insulator as...
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Mystery Card 3
Students will make a circuit on a mystery card. They will connect wires, bulbs, and battery to form an electrical tester. After students learn how to make one following the directions, they can create their own mystery card by...
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Electromagnetism - Transformers
Students build small circuits using transformers. In this electromagnetism lesson plan, students will show that transformers increase voltage which leads to an increase in current. An ammeter and the brightness of a light bulb will be...
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A Simple Motor
Instructions for building a simple electromagnetic motor are provided for the teacher. Aside from some sketchy background information and a list of content standards to be met, that is about all you will find in this resource. The motor...
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Electricity/Magnetism
Second graders experiment with ballons to see which objects will cling and which objects will not. They use an assortment of objects, paper clips, pennies, button, scraps of paper, or puffed cereal. They make predictions and record results.
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Current-Carrying Coils In Magnetic Fields
Students predict the direction of movement for the pointer of a home-made galvanometer for a given current direction and describe how the current-carrying coil exerts a force on the magnet.
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Powered Up About Electricity!
Students study the process of turning coal into electricity. In this electricity lesson, students are guided by their teacher through the steps required to turn coal into electricity. Students complete a worksheet answering questions...
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Webbing out Electricity
Fourth graders identify electricity as a form of energy that is associated with common household products. They utilize technology as an aid in which they can graphically organize their thoughts.
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Lenz's Law
Students conduct a series of experiments on electromagnetic induction. In this physics lesson, students apply the right hand rule to determine the current direction and electromotive force. They test Lenz's and Faraday's law by observing...
LABScI
Circuits Lab: Lightbulbs
Electrons flow from negative to positive, but the general consensus is that current flows from positive to negative. Scholars explore current through construction of circuits in both series and parallel. The focus is on voltage,...
Science Matters
Forms of Energy
The amount of energy Americans use doubles every 20 years. The first instructional activity in a 10-part series teaches scholars about different forms of energy. They rotate through five stations with hands-on activities or experiments...
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Fun with Electromagnets
Junior scientists work in groups to construct electromagnets. They experiment by varying number of wraps around the nail, the diameter of the nail, and the type of metal the nail is made of to see if any of these factors has an effect on...