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Partial Progress - Circles (browser only)
Electricity
Objectives
- To investigate how to wire a circuit.
- To recognise the positive (+) and negative (–) terminals of a cell.
- To understand that a circuit must be complete in order to work.
Resources
D cells | Wires | Cell holder | Light bulb | Bulb holder | Small pieces of various materials e.g. wood, cloth, glass, paper, a coin and a spoon
Today's Lesson
Main Activity
Discuss with your child that you need to make a circuit breaker and a complete circuit in order for the bulb to light up. If there are loose connections, the circuit is not complete and therefore will not light up. Allow your child to make the circuit again if they need to.
Look at the resource How to use a circuit tester.
📄 READ - How to use a circuit tester📄 Download READ - How to use a circuit tester
Ask your child to investigate which materials can be used to complete the circuit, enabling the bulb to light up. Then ask your child to create two lists of materials: Conductors (that allowed the bulb to light up) and Insulators (non-conductors that do not allow a complete circuit). Encourage your child to discuss and report on the similarities between the properties of the conductors of electricity. Note: They are all metals. Some materials let electricity pass through them easily. These materials are known as electrical conductors. Many metals, such as copper, iron and steel, are good electrical conductors. That is why the parts of electrical objects that need to let electricity pass through are always made of metal. Some materials do not allow electricity to pass through them. These materials are known as electrical insulators. Plastic, wood, glass and rubber are good electrical insulators. That is why they are used to cover materials that carry electricity, so that there is less risk of electrocution.