Circuits and Conductors

#TheCompleteSeries5lessons

Children will then look at how to make simple circuits, learning the names of different components and how each of these work. Children will investigate insulators and conductors and use this knowledge to make a switch. Finally, challenge children to make their very own electrical devices.

This ready-to-use circuits and conductors KS2 lesson pack comes complete with detailed lesson planning, slides for input and printable resources.

#Lesson1WhatisElectricity

What is electricity? Where does electricity come from? How do we use electricity? Discuss and explore the answers to these questions in this fully resourced and ready-to-teach lesson which will kick start your Electricity Year 4 unit.

In this lesson your Year 4 class will investigate what we use electricity for by sorting and identifying common devices and appliances that use electricity.

This lesson comes with a detailed lesson plan, differentiated activities as well as PDF lesson slides and accompanying printable resources.

#Lesson2ElectricalSafety

In this Electrical Safety KS2 lesson your Year 4 class will learn about the dangers that electrical currents can pose to us. The children will look out for potential hazards and learn about how we can stay safe when working with electricity.

The engaging PDF lesson slides guide your class discussions around how electricity can be dangerous if we don't use it sensibly. The children have the opportunity to spot and suggest fixes for hazards or create safety posters to be placed in areas where others need to be reminded of the dangers.

Everything you need to teach your class about electrical safety is included in this handy download, including lesson plan, differentiated activity ideas and accompanying printable resources as well as lesson slides to guide your input.

#Lesson3MakingSimpleCircuits

In this Electricity Year 4 lesson your class will begin to explore circuits and the components that make them. They will learn what is needed to create a complete circuit and the names for the different components, including bulbs, cells, buzzers, switches and motors. Children will look at the mechanism of a switch and how they work to connect or disconnect the flow of electricity.

Allow your class to explore how to make circuits work and make simple observations about the circuits they create. The provided challenge cards and worksheets provide your class with a simple structure to record their observations from the lesson.

This lesson comes with a complete lesson plan and differentiated activity ideas, as well as PDF lesson slides and printable resources. All you need is the physical circuits resources!

#Lesson4ConductorsandInsulators

In this Year 4 electricity lesson the children will investigate electrical conductors and insulators and how they are used in different devices. They will conduct a fair test to see if different items and materials are electrical conductors.

Challenge your class to use what they find out about conductors and insulators to make their own switch that they can use as a buzzer in a fun general quiz game.

This lesson comes with all the printable resources you will need to support the children in their investigation. The included lesson slides help guide your input and the differentiated activity ideas in the lesson plan give you a ready-to-use lesson on insulators and conductors.

#Lesson5MakingaSimpleDevice

This final lesson brings your class's learning to a conclusion as they create a simple device which uses a circuit to work. They will use switches, bulbs and buzzers in their device to create a wire buzzer game or a simple quiz game.

The included lesson slides give a quick recap of the different skills they will need in the lesson and provide opportunities for discussion about the different components.

As well as lesson slides, this lesson comes with a lesson plan, differentiated activities and accompanying printable resources.

Free Overview (Medium-Term Plan)

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Free Assessment Grid

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Curriculum Objectives covered

• setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests
• making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers
• gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions
• reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions
• using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions
• identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes

• identify common appliances that run on electricity
• construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers (editor delete )
• identify whether or not a lamp will light in a simple series circuit, based on whether or not the lamp is part of a complete loop with a battery
• recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit and associate this with whether or not a lamp lights in a simple series circuit (edit ordelete )
• recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors