Electricity

National curriculum content

• Associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit
• Compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches
• Use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram

Lesson objectives

1. Explain the importance of the major discoveries in electricity
2. Create a circuit diagram using the correct symbols
3. Describe how we can change the brightness of a bulb or the loudness of a buzzer
4. Demonstrate how we can alter the current in a circuit
5. Create a game that uses an electrical circuit
6. Create a game that uses an electrical circuit
7. Generate an explanation text

What we want children to know

• How to represent a simple circuit in a diagram using recognised symbols
• Which symbols represent each component in a circuit diagram
• How voltage affects the brightness of a bulb or the volume of a buzzer
• Key events and inventions in the history of electricity
• That current is the flow of electricity around a circuit

What skills we want children to develop

• Plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions
• Construct simple series circuits
• Take measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision
• Use test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests
• Report and present findings from enquiries
• Identify scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments

 Vocabulary

Battery, blow, cell, circuit, complete, component, current, electrons, filament, fuse, resistor, symbol, variable