3rd Grade - Electricity

A million years or so ago, I was an undergraduate studying physics and computer science. I had a reasonable theoretical background in science but little practical experience. As one of just a handful of females in the class, I was seriously nervous about the hands-on lab component of the course.

A classmate (and new friend) took me under his wing and gave me a crash course in using multimeters, breadboards, and other lab equipment. Today I got to "pay it forward" in a small way. The third grade explored electricity.

Ask your student whether electricity is matter or energy. Do they rememberwhat electricity is? (For our purposes, it is the flow of electrons.)

We built simple series circuits and tested a variety of items to see if they were conductors or insulators. Conductors allow the electrons that produce electricity to flow. Insulators prevent electricity from flowing.

Does your student remember an example of a conductor? An insulator?

Mrs. Pine will revisit this concept with the students in 4th grade when they investigate parallel and series circuits along with electromagnets. Hopefully our students who pursue science, engineering or other technical courses in college will feel very well prepared having had their first hands-on lesson before the age of 10. :-)

Science Rocks!