Lesson Plan

By Brittanni Ruck-Jessome

Grade: 6
Unit: Electricity
Time Required: 50 minutes

Curriculum Outcomes:

 303-23 compare a variety of electrical pathways by constructing simple circuits

 300-20 compare the conductivity of a variety of solids and liquids

Purpose/Objective:

In the previous class, students were introduced to circuit diagrams. They then used their
knowledge from the previous classes to conduct their own simple circuits with a battery, wire
and light bulb. In this lesson, students will be building on their knowledge of simple circuits by
testing different materials for conductivity through a lab exercise.

Student Learning Outcomes:

 I can describe how charge flows in an electrical circuit.

 I can compare a variety of electrical pathways by constructing simple circuits

Student Preconceptions:

 Before beginning this lab, students may have preconceptions about what materials will
conduct electricity and what materials will not.

Materials:

 Class set of wires

 Class set of light bulbs
 Class set of D cell batteries
 500ml beaker with 1 tsp of salt dissolved in fresh water (each pair will get a beaker)

 500 ml beaker with 1tsp of sugar dissolved in fresh water (each pair will get a beaker)
  500ml beaker filled with vinegar
 500 ml beaker will with Coca cola
 500ml beaker filled with distilled water
 Enough paper clips, pennies, plastic spoons, marbles and pencils for each pair to get one
of each.

Preparation:

Make sure all required solutions and materials are prepared before the class begins the lab.

Activities:

Teacher Does Student Does Time

Regular housekeeping Students sit quietly 1 minute
activities. Take attendance.
Brief recap of last class. Tell Students sit and listen quietly 2 minutes
students that in the previous
class we focused on
constructing simple circuits
with a battery, wire and
lightbulb. Tell students that
we will be building on this
knowledge to test the
conductivity of certain
objects and solutions. This
lab will take the whole class
and students will be handing
in their lab reports at the end
of class.
Instruct students to find their Students find their lab 2 minutes
lab partner. Once students are partner, and each get a copy
in pairs, hand out a copy of of the lab report.
the “testing conductivity” lab
to each student. Although
students are in pairs, each
student is required to do the
lab report. Briefly remind
students of lab safety. Do not
drink any of the solutions.
Have each pair take the Students take the materials 2 minutes
required materials from the from the front of the class
front of the class.
State the objectives of the lab. Students listen and ask 3 minutes
Tell students that they will be questions if they have any.
testing the conductivity of the
variety of materials that are in
front of them. Remind
students of what conductors
and insulators are.
Conductors allow electric
current to flow freely in a
circuit. Insulators have a
high resistance to the flow
of electrons and will not
allow for the flow of
current.
Allow students to go through Students will construct simple 35 minutes
the steps of the lab to test circuits, including the item
their predictions of what that is the insulator or
materials will be conductors conductor in the circuit to
and insulators. Supervise the make predictions to whether
class and make sure every the object will allow for the
pair is on the right track. flow of electrons in the
Make sure students set up circuit.
their circuits properly.
Clean up and students will Students will clean up the 5 minutes
pass in labs. If you find that classroom and pass in labs if
most students do not have finished.
their labs done, allow for time
in the next class for students
to finish their labs.
Testing Materials for Conductivity Lab

Name: _____________________________________
Partner(s): __________________________________

Purpose: Using what was learned from last class, you will be testing if materials are conductors
or insulators. Will changing the type material in a circuit affect current (the flow of electrons)?

Hypothesis:
If a material is added to the circuit that is a conductor, the flow of electrons will
_________________.
If a material is added to the circuit that is an insulator, the flow of electrons will
__________________.
Other predictions:
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Materials:
-1 light bulb
-3 wires
-1 battery
-Tape
-Beaker of tap water, sugar water, distilled water, vinegar, and Coca cola
-Paper clip, plastic spoon, marble, pencil, penny

Procedure (how did you set up your simple circuit?):

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Draw your simple circuit:

Observations:

Material Prediction Observation

Conductor Insulator Conductor Insulator
Tap water

Sugar water

Distilled water

Vinegar

Coca Cola

Material Prediction Observation

Conductor Insulator Conductor Insulator
Paper clip

Plastic spoon

Marble

Pencil

Penny

Conclusion
What materials were conductors? What materials were insulators? Looking at the results
from this experiment, what can you conclude about conductors and insulators? Were you
surprised by any of the results? What else did you observe?
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