Parallel and Series Circuits – 7403

Summary

With just the definitions of series and parallel circuits and their prior knowledge of electricity, students made plans to construct circuits using Educreations on the iPad prior to constructing circuits using the given materials (wires, bulbs, batteries). Students worked in pairs to construct circuits using the given materials.  Students made videos documenting their success and reflected on reasons why their circuits were successful.  The learning was connected to the wiring of the lights on the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, and students watched a video where an electrician (one of the 4th grade teacher’s dad) explains what type of circuit the Rockefeller Christmas Tree uses to ensure that all lights stay on, even if one burns out.

TIPC Ratings

Ideal/Target – Students constructed their own questions and used hands-on learning and exploration to research the essential questions. Next, they assemble and synthesized this  information to address goals authentic circuit creation tasks.Throughout the research, students made observations and directed their research in order to answer their questions.  Finally, students used tools to powerfully display and interact with information

Ideal/Target – Students assessed their authentic task in a variety of ways including verbal whole group and partner discussions/demonstrations, created videos to demonstrate their thinking with classmates, and completed a Google Form reflecting on their findings which was then shared with the class. They also collaborated with other partners in the class to help them problem solve.

Approaching- Teachers posed questions and gave many different learning opportunities (Educreation planning and hands-on circuit exploration) for students to problem solve how to design specific circuits. The students were only given the definition of a series and parallel circuit (were not provided a diagram) and had to use a baggie of materials, all of which were mixed up and had to think critically about how to make a light bulb light up. When students were unsuccessful with creating a working circuit, teachers proposed questions to facilitate their thinking. Students generated their own questions after experimenting with circuits, which were answered by their own experimenting (ex: Part 3). They also answered questions related to their learning during group discussions, as well as on a Google Form. Students used iPads to videotape their explanation of why they constructed the circuits the way they did and explain what type of circuit it was.

Approaching- Teachers did not set a parameter for experimentation. Students made hypotheses and drew conclusions based on their own creativity. For example, when posed with the task of lighting a light bulb up, some students solved the problem using materials not given in the baggie- for example: students connected wires to the metal on the pencil eraser instead of using the wires provided.

Download Files

Parallelandseriescircuits 2
Contents:

  • Lesson Plan
  • Student Check in form
  • Educreation Planning

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