Electricity
Year 4
Unit Overview
In the Electrical Circuits and Conductors project, your child will learn about the importance of electricity to our daily lives and the two sources, mains electricity and cells or batteries. They will discuss the dangers of mains electricity and safety measures. They will learn about a range of electrical components, such as cells, batteries, wires, lamps, buzzers and motors, and use them to construct series circuits, exploring the effect of adding and removing different components. Your child will learn to recognise the difference between a complete and incomplete circuit and examine ways of fixing incomplete circuits. They will also learn about conductivity and investigate various materials to discover which are conductive or non-conductive. Your child will learn about electrical conductors and insulators and use this knowledge to make switches and examine plugs, identifying their parts, materials and safety features.
❇ MEMORABLE MOMENT
Creating circuits and using conductors and insulators in the circuits.
️✏️ WRITING OPPORTUNITIES
Children will write up full investigations in detail. This will include equipment list, method, labelled diagram, results and conclusion..
🌳 LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
Children will go into the playground and make a human circuit to explore the question, "What happens if the circuit breaks?"
Unit Sequence: Learning Intentions
Which common appliances use electricity? Identify common appliances that run on electricity.
What is a series circuit? Construct a series circuit, identifying and naming basic parts of a series circuit, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers.
Why would a series circuit not work? 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.
What materials are conductors or insulators of electricity and is there a pattern? Recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors. Working scientifically − Asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them.
What materials are conductors or insulators of electricity and is there a pattern? Working scientifically − Using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions.
Scientific Enquiry: Investigations
How do plugs work?
Objectives
Objectives
What conducts electricity?
Objectives
Objectives
Can you make a circuit from dough?
Objectives
Objectives
🏁 BIG FINISH
Children will complete an investigation.
📖 FOCUS TEXT(S)
The children will explore a variety of high quality texts, which link to electricity.