Help me give my students the chance to experience the transfer of energy by being a part of series and parallel circuits and by tracing the path of energy through flashlights.
I teach at a rural, Pre-K to 12th grade school. The community is very small and everyone knows everyone. My students love hands-on, engaging activities and I love providing those activities to them. They participate in a variety of clubs and sports.
I teach approximately 125 students each day.
It is my goal to take my students to a higher level of understanding through science exploration activities that are cross curricular. It is important for me to be a life-long learner; teaching my students to learn through their classroom experiences will be beneficial to them for the rest of their lives.
My Project
The energy balls will play a huge roll in teaching my students about how energy transfers through different mediums. The students, as a conductor, can create a circuit with other students. As they put various items (paperclips, bottle caps, each put a finger in a container of water, etc) between them, they can determine if those objects will allow energy to flow through them (conductor or insulator). Students can become part of a model of series and parallel circuits; breaking the circuit in different spots and determine if the path has been interrupted or if there are other ways for the energy to move. The batteries will allow the students to work with flashlights and trace the flow of energy, focusing on the different forms of energy that occur. They can also test a variety of materials to determine if the energy from the battery will pass through the item.
The students will become part of the experiment using these materials.
They will perform a variety of tests and trials to gain an insight into how energy moves/transfers through different mediums. These experiences will make science "real" for them and they will remember them and refer to them throughout their science education.
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