At the beginning of my module on electricity this week, I asked a question of my students,"What and how electricity plays an important in the 21st century.
The "Big Idea" that is the focus of this blogging experience is electricity and flow of current through the circuit. This particular "Big Idea" is a focus at the 4th grade level at the national and state level here in NJ. Learning how a circuit operates is important in assisting each one of us troubleshoot electrical issues that arise in our everyday lives. (i.e- Christmas lights, circuit breakers in a house, etc.)
Before introducing 21-century technology and tools into the lesson, I would allow the natural curiosity of the students "loose." The first inquiry experience is giving each cooperative learning pair of children, a D-cell, 2 wires and a light bulb, let them light the bulb without any prompting from the teacher. The second inquiry experience is the how the flow of a circuit can be controlled with the introduction of a switch in this case a hex screw. The final inquiry experience students in cooperative learning groups explore and investigate parallel and series circuits.
After the inquiry experiences, technology is then integrated into the lesson - The sites provide additional insight to students correcting any misunderstanding and misconceptions they might come up during the inquiry stage.
Science Zone
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/electricity.htm
Students can click on a variety of links for interactive sites involving different electricity concepts.
42explore
http://www.42explore.com/electric.htm
Good reference site
Science Kids
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/electricitycircuits.html
Interactive site - students experiment with different components to build a circuit.
Challenges: Integration of the interactive sites and technology into the actual inquiry experiences.
Any suggestions from my fellow colleagues?
