Mathematics Grade Prototype Curriculum Guide

Organizing Topic — Investigating Electricity

Standards of Learning

4.1 The student will plan and conduct investigations in which

a) distinctions are made among observations, conclusions, inferences, and predictions;

b) hypotheses are formulated based on cause-and-effect relationships;

c) variables that must be held constant in an experimental situation are defined;

d) appropriate instruments are selected to measure linear distance, volume, mass, and temperature;

e) appropriate metric measures are used to collect, record, and report data;

f) data are displayed using bar and basic line graphs;

g) numerical data that are contradictory or unusual in experimental results are recognized; and

h) predictions are made based on data from picture graphs, bar graphs, and basic line graphs.

4.3 The student will investigate and understand the characteristics of electricity. Key concepts include

a) conductors and insulators;

b) basic circuits (open/closed, parallel/series);

c) static electricity;

d) the ability of electrical energy to be transformed into heat, light, and mechanical energy;

e) simple electromagnets and magnetism; and

f) historical contributions in understanding electricity.

Essential Understandings, Correlation to Textbooks and

Knowledge, and Skills Other Instructional Materials

The students should be able to

apply the terms insulators, conductors, open and closed in describing electrical circuits;

differentiate between an open and closed electric circuit;

use the dry cell symbols (–) and (+);

create and diagram a functioning series circuit, using dry cells, wires, switches, bulbs, and bulb holders;

create and diagram a functioning parallel circuit, using dry cells, wires, switches, bulbs, and bulb holders;

differentiate between a parallel and series circuit;

create a diagram of a magnetic field, using a magnet;

compare and contrast a permanent magnet and an electromagnet;

explain how electricity is generated by a moving magnetic field;

design an investigation using static electricity to attract or repel a variety of materials;

explain how static electricity is created and occurs in nature;

construct a simple electromagnet, using a wire, nail, or other iron-bearing object, and a dry cell;

design and perform an investigation to determine the strength of an electromagnet. (The manipulated variable could be the number of coils of wire and the responding variable could be the number of paperclips the magnet can attract.);

describe the contributions of Ben Franklin, Michael Faraday, and Thomas Edison to the understanding and harnessing of electricity.

Inventors

Organizing Topic Investigating Electricity

Overview Students research the contributions of Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Michael Faraday to the understanding of electricity.

Related Standards of Learning 4.3f

Objectives

The students should be able to

• 
  describe the contributions of Ben Franklin, Michael Faraday, and Thomas Edison to the understanding and harnessing of electricity.
  

Materials needed

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  Research resources, such as Internet and books
  
• 
  Attached worksheet
  

Instructional activity

Content/Teacher Notes

This activity may be done as an introduction to the electricity unit or as a culminating activity to the unit. Students should access library resources, classroom books, and the Internet to do research on each inventor. The resource section at the end of this lesson has some Web sites listed that may be useful. After finding the information, students should write a brief newspaper article about each inventor.

Procedure

1. Provide students with access to research materials, and encourage them to focus on the inventions that are directly related to electricity.

2. Direct students to use the attached worksheet to complete a newspaper article with some important facts about each inventor. The English Standards of Learning Enhanced Scope and Sequence for Grades K–5 provides writing strategies for students, starting on page 232. See: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/EnhancedSandS/englishK-5.doc

Sample Assessment

• 
  Have students write a story for your local newspaper, giving specific information (who, what, where, when, and why) about each inventor and his contribution to electricity. Assess completed articles.
  

Follow-up/extension

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  Have students look at the timeline as to when each discovery was invented, and discuss why it is relevant.
  

Resources

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  Benjamin Franklin: Glimpses of the Man. The Franklin Institute Online. http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/.
  
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  “The Case of the Electrical Mystery.” NASA SciFiles. http://scifiles.larc.nasa.gov/educators/index.html. Click “Episodes” and “2001–2002 Season.”
  
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  Connections: Connecting Books to the Virginia SOLs. Fairfax County Public Schools and The College of William and Mary. http://www.fcps.edu/cpsapps/connections. Presents a database of more than 1,000 works of children’s literature and their connection to the Virginia Standards of Learning.
  
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  Electrified Ben. http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/scientst/electric.html. Presents information on Benjamin Franklin.
  
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  Franklin’s Kite. http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/kite.html.
  
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  Michael Faraday. http://pmi.itmonline.com/netnotes/Big%20Questions%20Net%20Notes/Michael%20Faraday%20-%20Bio.htm.
  
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  Michael Faraday. http://www.scienceshorts.com/mfarada.htm.
  
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  Michael Faraday. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Faraday.html.
  
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  Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). http://www.nsta.org/ostbc.
  
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  Search for Literature: Literature for Science and Mathematics. California Department of Education. http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/ll/ap/searchlist.asp. Offers a searchable database.
  
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  Thomas Alva Edison. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edbiohm.html.
  
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  Thomas Edison: American Inventor. http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96feb/edison.html.
  
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  The Wizard of Menlo Park. http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/inventor/edison.html. Presents information on Thomas Edison.
  

Circuits, Batteries, and Bulbs

Organizing Topic Investigating Electricity

Overview Students investigate properties of a circuit.

Related Standards of Learning 4.3