Circuits

ENGAGE-This is a critical part of a good lesson plan, to grab to students attention and make them want to learn more, interest leads to excitement, excitement leads to learning. In this lesson plan I am using the same engagement hook that my professor Jeff did when he taught us about circuits.

" I love to go spelunking- does everyone know what that is? That is where you are able to explore caves! It is so amazing to be underground with the proper geared really just be able to explore under the surface. Well I can recall one specific time when I was with a group of friends and we decided to separate for a moment so they went one directions and I went the other. Once we had gone our separate ways I wanted to see what it was really like to be in complete darkness so I turned my head lamp off just for a moment to experience this! It was amazing total darkness I couldn't see my own hand! Just blackness all around me and then as I was reaching back up to turn on my head lamp BAM I hit it on the rock and it shattered. I was feeling around and all I could feel is a battery, 2 wires, and a small light bulb. What was I going to do? I am in total darkness and my buddies are gone!"

EXPLORE-Exploring an idea with their own thoughts is such a critical part to teaching- trial and error. Exploration is a perfect part of a lesson plan to allow this time to occur. So as I was learning this material I was given a partner and time to explore our own ideas of how to make the materials Jeff was left with in the cave create a light. We had two wires, a battery and a small light bulb and a partner, we were given the task to give light to the bulb. During our exploration time my partner and I struggled trying to get our bulb to light, however once we began to gain understanding about how the wire needed to touch the bulb we began being able to find different ways to light the bulb. We found that the bulb had to be touched in specific ways by the wire- one on the side of the bulb and one on the bottom of the bulb, however this had to occur while the batter was being touched as well. We didn't have an understanding of why this was until our next step in the lesson plan but we were able to problem solve during our exploration and recognize a pattern!

EXPLANATION- After the time we were able to explore the circuits on our own we had a discussion as a class of why some things worked and some did not. During this time our professor Jeff lead us in discussing with each other our findings through drawing- I found this to be a useful tool because we were able to better articulate what we had tried and if it worked or did not work, and through doing this we as a class began to notice a pattern of what was tried and worked and what did not work and why. We then were able to come together in a formal discussion and talk about why some circuits worked and why some did not and what it takes to fully make a circuit work.

When making our battery, wires, and bulbs work they were able to light up because the wire is used as a conductor, which is anything that allows energy to freely and easily flow through the material. We as students were able to hold the wires and not be harmed because the plastic coating was an insulator, which contained the energy specifically to the wire and prevented it from flowing through. The battery is essential in making the work because the battery is where all of the energy (electrons) are stored- so it is not until the battery is hooked up with the wires and light bulb that the energy is able to travel and create light. The wires in the light bulb must connect from the bottom of the bulb and the side, the insulator is on the bottom and electrons enter the bulb and travel up the wire and then through the very small wire across the middle of the bulb where it is so tight electrons bump into each other and create light as they travel across and then down the other side of the wire and out the side of the bulb. In order for something to happen like a light bulb to light up a full circle has to take place- where everything is connected, this is called a closed circuit. A Switch is a device thatch open or close a circuit that allows for the flow of electrons to begin an end creating either an open or closed circuit. A closed circuit is when something is missing from the complete circle- like a wire is not properly connected to the bulb- so there is no light occurring. A short circuit is a dangerous occurrence, this happens when electrons are flowing but the circuit is closed so it is short cutting the device this ends up with it overheating and could potentially cause a fire.

My Professor Jeff Goodman explains the circuit of a lightbulb with our class!

EXPANSION- Being able to take the information that we learned in class and do more using what we now know is a huge part of growing our knowledge! For my expansion part of this lesson plan I chose to check out an Electronic Snap Circuits Kit in the Belk Library at Appalachian State University- they have a special area that is for Education majors to use with all kinds of materials! Here I was able to find just what I needed! I used this kit to create a switch on and off motorized fan circuit. Below are pictures of the kit, the final circuit and a video of my running circuit! This is a diagram circuit, so it is not to challenging to build however for some students this is very much out of their comfort zone so something like this would be more approachable!

EVALUATION- In order to check for understand of a topic as a teacher it is important to asses what your students understand and what they have learned. It can be in many different forms, however for this project since we were able to do our own expansion an adequate explanation provides a measure for understanding.

In the above circuit I am using the batteries to power the motor which turns the fan, however I have added a switch which opens and closes the circuits. When the switch is on it is sending a flow of electrons through the circuit from the battery to power the fan, when the switch is turned off the electrons quit flowing and the power stops, in the video you see the fan fly off of the motor. This occurs because it is in motion and and object stays in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force- the force becomes unbalanced when I turn the motor switch off because the electrons quit flowing and stops the energy. The connector pieces, the battery pack, the fan motor, and the switch form the complete circuit which is controlled by the switch that can be slide to signal to the battery pack to begin moving the electrons though the circuit which rotates the fan.