Session 1 · VOICE: Observe
Conductor or insulator?
- 10 minBuild a tester: battery, bulb and two leads with a gap. Predict which of 12 objects will light the bulb.
- 25 minTest: coin, foil, plastic ruler, pencil lead, rubber, key, wooden peg, paper clip, glass, tap water, salty water, a leaf. Record prediction and result.
- 15 minSort into conductors and insulators. What do most conductors have in common? Why are wires copper inside and plastic outside?
Session 2 · VOICE: Investigate
Symbols and first circuits
- 10 minLearn the symbols: cell, battery, bulb, switch, wire, resistor, LED. Draw them from memory.
- 20 minBuild three circuits from diagram cards. Check each against its diagram before you connect the battery.
- 15 minLearn the multimeter: volts across a bulb, milliamps through the circuit. Record both for a one-bulb circuit.
- 5 minKōkako asks one question about your circuit diagram. Improve one label.
Getting started
Use the symbol cards and build from a photo of a finished circuit before trying from a diagram alone.
Stretch
Test whether salty water conducts better than tap water, and explain why that makes water and electricity so dangerous together.
Checkpoint
Each student can draw a correct circuit diagram of a battery, switch and bulb.
Activities for this week
- Conductor detective: Which everyday materials let electricity through?
- Squishy circuits: Can playdough carry electricity?
Useful this week
- Static electricity and electrical charge ↗ How rubbing moves electrons and makes objects attract or repel.
- Balloons and Static Electricity ↗ See the charges move when you rub a balloon on a jersey.
- Electricity – electrons, insulators and conductors ↗ Why metals conduct and plastics do not.
- Circuit Construction Kit: DC ↗ Build series and parallel circuits on screen and measure current and voltage.