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Electricity
Pupils should be taught to:
• 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;
• 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;
• recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors.
Y4 Electrical Appliances
Resource Details
Pupils identify a range of common electrical appliances and sort them depending on where in the house they would be most likely to be used. A cut, sort and paste activity.
View ResourceLearning Objectives:
- PoS - identify common appliances that run on electricity
- WS - pupils should gather, record, classify and present data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions
Y4 Making Electricity
Resource Details
Pupils learn that electricity can be made naturally and that it can also be manufactured. They learn that electricity can be made in a variety of natural and manufactured ways including solar, hydro and wind manufactured electricity.
View ResourceLearning Objectives:
- Pos - identify common appliances that run on electricity
- NaG - gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions
Y4 Electricity – Keeping Safe!
Resource Details
Pupils are taught about precautions for working safely with electricity. They think about and identify potential dangers and design a poster to reinforce the need to handle electricity with care.
View ResourceLearning Objectives:
- NaG - Pupils should be taught about precautions for working safely with electricity.
Y4 Electrical Safety
Resource Details
Pupils learn about electrical safety and the dangers that electricity can pose by looking at a series of electrical pictures and identifying the dangers.
View ResourceLearning Objectives:
- NaG - Pupils should be taught about precautions for working safely with electricity.
Y4 Conductor or Insulator?
Resource Details
Using the information provided pupils plan and design and investigation in whether a range of common materials and objects are conductors or insulators. Pupils construct a simple circuit to test their predictions.
Learning Objectives:
- PoS - Pupils 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
- NaG - Pupils should construct simple series circuits
- WS - Pupils might work scientifically by: observing patterns, for example, that bulbs get brighter if more cells are added, that metals tend to be conductors of electricity, and that some materials can and some cannot be used to connect across a gap in a circuit
Y4 Common Appliances
Resource Details
Pupils identify a number of common electrical appliances and group them according to whether they are powered by mains electricity or batteries.
Learning Objectives:
- PoS - identify common appliances that run on electricity
- WS - gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions
Y4 Electricity; Electrical Circuits
Resource Details
A PowerPoint presentation used to introduce pupils to electricity and electrical circuits. The PowerPoint can be used at the beginning of the topic or during it to stimulate scientific discussions, ideas and theories.
View ResourceY4 Will These Circuits Work?
Resource Details
Pupils predict whether they think the bulbs in a number of circuit diagrams will light up. They construct the circuits to investigate their predictions.
Learning Objectives:
- PoS - 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
- NaG - pupils should construct simple series circuits, trying different components, such as bulbs, buzzers and motors, and including switches, and use their circuits to create simple devices
- WS - pupils might work scientifically by: observing patterns, for example that bulbs get brighter if more cells are added
Y4 Wiring a Doll’s House
Resource Details
Pupils have to apply their knowledge and understanding of circuits and switches to successfully wire a number of rooms in a dolls house. They draw the circuits they would construct on a plan of each floor of the dolls house.
Learning Objectives:
- PoS - 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
- NaG - pupils should construct simple series circuits, trying different components, such as bulbs, buzzers and motors, and including switches, and use their circuits to create simple devices
- WS - pupils might work scientifically by: observing patterns, for example that bulbs get brighter if more cells are added
Y4 Doorbell Problem
Resource Details
Pupils apply their understanding of electricity and circuit construction to help solve a real life problem for a elderly lady who has difficulty hearing her door bell.
Learning Objectives:
- PoS - 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
- NaG - pupils should construct simple series circuits, trying different components, such as bulbs, buzzers and motors, and including switches, and use their circuits to create simple devices
- WS - pupils might work scientifically by: observing patterns, for example that bulbs get brighter if more cells are added
Y4 Making Circuits for a Purpose
Resource Details
Pupils use their knowledge of circuits to make a lighthouse and/or a shoe box house light up.
Learning Objectives:
- Pos - 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
- NaG - pupils should construct simple series circuits, trying different components, such as bulbs, buzzers and motors, and including switches, and use their circuits to create simple devices
- WS - pupils might work scientifically by: observing patterns, for example that bulbs get brighter if more cells are added
Y4 Introducing a Switch
Resource Details
Pupils are presented with a range of circuit diagrams and predict which ones will work and illuminate a bulb. Pupils then construct each circuit and test their predictions.
Learning Objectives:
- PoS - recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit and associate this with whether or not a lamp lights in a simple series circuit; 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; construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers
- NaG - pupils should construct simple series circuits, trying different components, for example, bulbs, buzzers and motors, and including switches, and use their circuits to create simple devices
- WS - pupils should observe patterns, e.g. that bulbs get brighter if more cells are added, that metals tend to be conductors of electricity, and that some materials can and some cannot be used to connect across a gap in a circuit
Y4 Investigating Circuits
Resource Details
Pupils look at a range of circuits and predict (guess) whether the bulb will light up! When they have made their predictions, pupils make each circuit to see if their prediction was accurate.
Learning Objectives:
- PoS - 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
- NaG - pupils should construct simple series circuits, trying different components, such as bulbs, buzzers and motors, and including switches, and use their circuits to create simple devices
- WS - pupils might work scientifically by: observing patterns, for example that bulbs get brighter if more cells are added
Y4 Making a Series Circuit
Resource Details
Pupils investigate and make simple electrical circuits using wires, bulbs, bulb holders, cells, clips and switches.
Learning Objectives:
- PoS - construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers
- NaG - pupils should construct simple series circuits, trying different components, such as bulbs, buzzers and motors, and including switches, and use their circuits to create simple devices. Pupils should draw the circuit as a pictorial representation
- WS - pupils should record findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams; ask relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them
Y4 Using Electricity
Resource Details
Pupils learn that many things in our homes use electricity and we call these things electrical appliances. They also learn that electricity can make appliances light up, move, heat up or produce sound. Pupils look at a range of electrical appliances and identify the main thing electricity makes them do and that in some cases electricity may make some appliances do more than one main thing!
View ResourceLearning Objectives:
- PoS - identify common appliances that run on electricity
Y4 Electrical Appliances
Resource Details
Pupils identify items and appliances that need electricity to make them work. The learn that electricity makes different electrical items do different things, including moving, illuminating and heating.
Learning Objectives:
- PoS - identify common appliances that run on electricity
- NaG - pupils should be taught about precautions for working safely with electricity