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1. Electricity
Using Hands-on Technology to “Energize” Elementary Teachers’ Physics Instruction
August 2, 2017
Presented by Dr. Dena Harshbarger & Dr. Mariana Lazarova
Funded by Grant received from Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education (CCPE)

2. When the best and the brightest come together, the possibilities
are endless.
We are so glad you are here!

3. What grade(s) do you teach?
4th Other5th

4. Do you typically teach electricity?
Yes NoSome

5. Do you typically teach the laws of motion?
Yes NoSome

6. Do you typically teach light and refraction?
Yes NoSome

7. How do you feel about teaching science?
Love it!
It makes me
nervous
and/or
it’s not my
favorite.
It’s Okay.

8. Would you rather, Learn by….
Hands-on
“Doing”
Talking
“Discussion”
Writing
and/or
Drawing

9. Overview of the grant project
1) Tuesday, August 2nd: Workshop #1 Electricity
On-line Module 1: Electricity
1. Teach electricity and/or use technological tools from today’s workshop in your classroom
2. Submit your reflection about the experience
2) Tuesday, November 2: Workshop #2 Laws of Motion
On-line Module 2: Laws of Motion
1. Teach Laws of Motion and/or use technological tools from today’s workshop in your classroom
2. Submit your reflection about the experience
3) Tuesday, February ___: Workshop #3 Light/Optics

10. Goals OF THE WORKSHOP
SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE
Increase your knowledge of electrical concepts
● Electrical discharge
● Series and parallel Circuits
● Conductors and insulators
● Transfer of energy
● Current, Resistance, Voltage...

11. pedagogical knowledge
Teaching practices that enhance science instruction
1) Incorporate hands-on investigations
● Snap Circuit Kits
● Bulbs, batteries, and wires
2) Incorporate technology
● Plickers
● Kahoot
● PhET simulations
● Apps
3) Actively engage students in collaborative learning
● Move to Side of Room
● Stand-Up, Hand-Up, Pair Up
● Walk and Talk
● Numbered Heads Together

12. Most importantly...
Enjoy the Learning Experience
● Take comfort breaks as needed
● Ask questions
● Share ideas
● Share answers. Don’t be afraid of
being “wrong”.

13. Qualtrix Survey
https://goo.gl/xhPy8R

14. Electricity
“Plicker” Pre-Assessment
Keep in mind…It’s okay not to know the answers☺

15. Science logs/journals
● develop learners’ scientific process skills (i.e., predicting,
inferring, observing, recording and analyzing data/results,
and communicating)
● help students process & recall information
● serve as study guides and/or student resources
● can be used to assess students’ understanding
***Please use your science log throughout the day and
consider how you can use journals with your students.

16. Physics
review

17. Safety precautions:
Avoid placing materials near your mouth or eyes.
Electrical outlets are off-limits.
Disconnect wires when not in use.
Let go of the battery if you feel it getting warm.
Be aware of sharp objects such as wires.
Use materials appropriately.

18. Challenge: Light the bulb
How can you make the bulb light using
only a bulb, a D-cell battery, and a wire?
• Record/draw your attempts in your
science log.
• If time allows, find more than one way.

19. Table talk
• Share your discoveries at your Table
*brightest colored shirt shares first
• How do your responses compare?

20. Which circuits will light the bulb?
Based upon your previous experience, predict
which circuits will light.
Draw a star by the circuits you predict will light the bulb.

21. Kahoot:
Which circuits will light the bulb?
Based upon your previous experience, predict
which circuits will light.
• Go to Kahoot It! https://kahoot.it/#/
• Enter PIN NUMBER: ____________

22. Now, try it: Which circuits light the bulb?
In Pairs: Use materials to test your predictions.
Record the results. Color the bulb yellow if it lit up.

23. Categorize: Which circuits will light the bulb?
Sort the circuits into those that light the bulb and those that
don’t light the bulb.
● What do the circuits that light the bulb have in common?
● How could you fix the others so they would light the
bulb?
Light
the
bulb
Do not
light the
bulb

24. Table talk
• Share your discoveries at your Table
*tallest person shares first
• How do your responses compare?
• Are there any discrepancies? If so, why
do you think you got different results?

25. Static and Current electricity
Physics
review

26. Electric charge
Objects are made of atoms –
and those have positive and
negative charges
Objects can be
0 electrically neutral (zero
charge)
+ positively charged, or
- negatively charged
• Like charges repel
• Opposite charges attract
Niels Bohr
model of the
atom
electrons (-) are 2000x
more massive than
protons (+)
Physics
review

27. How do you charge an object? – PHET Simulations Demo
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/balloons-and-static-electricity/latest/balloons-and-static-electricity_en.html
CHARGING BY CONDUCTION (direct contact)
1) Rubbing materials together TRANSFERS ELECTRONS
from the atoms of one object to the other object
• Example: the balloon acquires electron from the sweater
when rubbed and becomes negatively charged
2) Touching a charged object to a neutral object
makes them share charges equally
• Example: Touching negatively charged rod to
neural metal sphere transfers half the extra
electrons to the sphere
Physics
review

28. How do you charge an object?
3) CHARGING BY POLARIZATION (no contact!)
Bringing a charged object close to a neutral object
REDISTRIBUTES the ELECTRONS inside the neutral
object.
The neutral object is still electrically neutral.
• Example: charge a balloon by rubbing it on your hair
and see how it sticks to the wall – why?
wall
-
-
-
+
+
+
NOT
touching!
Physics
review

29. Electricity
Electricity = Charge flow
Current is the flow of charge,
“pressured” into motion by voltage and
hampered by resistance.
Physics
review

30. Think about it….
Walk and talk
➔ Why would
charges flow?
*whoever woke up earliest
shares first

31. • Draw the circuit
diagram for this
simple circuit in
your notebook using
the electrical
symbols (slide 11)
• Compare with your
neighbor; discuss
differences
Let’s build some circuits!

32. Snap circuit kits
Take some time to explore one of your kits☺
You will each receive 5 kits to keep and use in your
classroom.

34. The Collection

35. The Collection

36. Law of Conservation of Energy
energy is never created or destroyed,
only converted from type to another
Gravitational
Potential
Energy
Electric
Potential
Energy
Kinetic
energy
(i.e., motion)
Kinetic
energy
(i.e., motion)
Physics
review

37. WATER FLOW analogy for ELECTRICITY
What flows? What flows?
Current is the flow of charge, “pressured” into motion by voltage and hampered by resistance.
Identify the
analogy for
Voltage,
Current,
Resistance
here!
Discuss with
your
neighbor.
Physics
review

38. FOOD FOR
THOUGHT
What carries the
energy that makes the
light bulb turn on?
A) The voltage
B) The current
C) The electrons
D) The electric field
How do we USE electricity?
Hint: Energy!
Physics
review

39. Think about it….
Stand-up, hand-up, pair-up
How does Project #1 compare to Project #2?
-Similarities
-Differences

40. Think about it…
Stand up, hand up, pair up
➔ Predict what will
happen to the
brightness of the bulb
if we add another
bulb to the circuit.
➔ Draw & explain your
prediction.

41. Build series circuits
1. Create a series circuit with 2 light bulbs. Assess
the brightness of the bulbs.
2. Create a series circuit with 3 light bulbs. Assess
the brightness of the bulbs.
3. What happens if you remove a bulb from a series
circuit?
• Record/draw your attempts in your science log.

42. RECALL: Circuits in Series & in Parallel
Series:
• Current is the same
• Resistance adds
• Voltages add to battery
voltage
Parallel:
• Current splits
• Resistance adds in complex way
• Voltages are the same
Water analogy:
Current => Water flow
Voltage => Height
Resistance => Wheels
Physics
review

43. Circuits in Parallel
• Voltage is the same
• Current splits up
• Height is the same
• Water flow splits up into two pipes
Water analogy
Physics
review

44. Think about it….
➔ Predict what will
happen to the
brightness of the
bulb in a series
circuit if we add a
fan from our kit.
➔ Draw and explain
your prediction.

45. think-pair -share
• Share your discoveries with your partner
*shortest hair shares first
• How do your responses compare?

46. The Collection

47. Current => Water flow
Voltage => Height
Resistance => Wheels
Explain to your neighbor
the Fan + Light circuit
using the water flow analogy!
Physics
review

48. Use the SerialBulbsLite app to build series circuits.
*Record/draw your attempts in your science log.

49. Project 7:Light emitting diode
With and without resistor (p. 11)

50. What is a Resistor?
(Discover that you already know!)
(ANSWER INTUITIVE)
1. What does the word resistance mean to you?
2. Give an example of resistance from everyday life.
3. How would a resistor with HIGH resistance compare to one with
LOW resistance?
4. Explain HIGH and LOW resistance with the water flow analogy!
Physics
review

51. think-pair -share
Can you conclude what an electrical resistor
does in a circuit?
• Share your thoughts with your partner
*longest hair shares first

52. What does Resistance depend on?
Answer with example: Do wires have Resistance?
Circle:
1. The resistance of a THICK / THIN wire is HIGH / LOW.
2. The resistance of a LONG / SHORT wire is HIGH / LOW.
3. The resistance of a DENSE / LOW-DENSITY wire is HIGH / LOW.
4. The resistance of a HOT / COLD wire is HIGH / LOW.
Physics
review

53. Project 8:One direction for LED (p. 11)

54. LEDs are semiconductor light sources
What does that mean?!
Let’s figure it out by recalling what we already know:
• What is a Conductor? (Hint: Why don’t we make wires from
plastic?)
• What is a Superconductor? (A lot of hype about them! Why?)
• What is a Semiconductor? (Put it all together)
LED = Light Emitting Diode
Physics
review

55. Conductor vs. Insulator
If all things are made of
atoms, why do some
materials conduct electricity
and others do not?
The electrons in the atoms of
insulators are not free to move!
Conductors have free (or
loosely-bound) electrons that can
move!
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±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
Physics
review

56. Project 9:
Conductor
detection

57. Predict which objects will complete the circuit.
1. Move to a side of the room to show your
prediction about each item in Mystery Bag.
2. Take turns testing each Mystery Bag item.
3. Record the results in your science log.
Completes Circuit Does Not Complete Circuit

58. think-pair -share
• What do the items that complete the circuit
have in common?
• What do the items that do not complete the
circuit have in common?
*lightest colored hair shares first

59. Think about it….
Walk and talk
What does the word
“parallel” mean?
➔ What do you think
a Parallel Circuit
would look like?

60. Build a parallel circuit
Build parallel circuits using 2 bulbs, 4 wires,
and a battery.

61. Parallel circuits
What happens when you remove a bulb from a
parallel circuit?
Assess the brightness of the bulbs. What do
you notice?
How does a parallel circuit compare to a series
circuit?
Record/draw your attempts in your science log.

62. RECALL:
Circuits in Series & in Parallel
Series:
• Current is the same
• Resistance adds
• Voltages add to batter
voltage
Parallel:
• Current splits
• Resistance adds in complex way
• Voltages is the same
Water analogy:
Current => Water flow
Voltage => Height
Resistance => Wheels
Physics
review

63. Circuits in Parallel
• Voltage is the same
• Current splits up
• Height is the same
• Water flow splits up into two pipes
Water analogy
Physics
review

64. The Collection

65. Use the Building Parallel Circuits app to build
series circuits.
*Record/draw your attempts in your science log.

66. Project 11: Flying saucer (p. 13)

67. Project 12: Decreasing saucer lift (p. 13)

68. What makes a passenger airplane take off?
TRY THIS! – Hold two sheets of paper vertically parallel to
each other and blow between them. What happens?
Explain.
Physics
review

69. Fun with
Reality:
Lightning
Physics
review

70. Electricity
“Plicker” Post-Assessment

71. What would be some safety/classroom
management considerations you will need to
make when using the circuit kits in your
classroom?
Collaborative Google Doc:
http://tinyurl.com/ycm8kk76

72. Module 1:
electricity
Before Next Workshop…. Post your responses to the following:
1. Did the workshop help you better understand and learn electrical
concepts and how to teach them? Explain.
2. What aspects of the workshop were most helpful to you?
3. What suggestions (if any) do you have for future workshops?
4. Select and implement 2+ of the technology tools introduced during
Workshop #1 to teach electrical or other scientific concepts in your
classroom (i.e., Plickers, iPad apps, PHeT simulations, Snap Circuit
Kits, hands-on materials).
a. Describe how you used the activity/technology and what scientific
concept you taught in your classroom.
b. How successful would you consider the instruction/materials in
teaching students the scientific concept in your classroom? How do
you know? Provide evidence of student learning (i.e., students’
responses, assessment data, etc…)
c. What adjustments/suggestions would you make for future
instruction?
d. What is your personal goal for future science instruction and what
support do you need to meet your goal?