Author: Glenna Bentley
Planning Unit: Lewis County CES
Major Program: 4-H Science, Engineering, and Technology Core Curriculum
Plan of Work: Unrelated to a specified County Plan of Work
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
In a collaborative effort with Garrison Elementary the 4-H agent teamed up with the science teacher for third and fourth grade, to teach students about electricity. The goal was to have students understand transfer of energy and apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another. Students were to make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric current. In the past achieving this goal was difficult because there was no equipment to help teach the concept. The 4-H program provided 12 Junior Snap Circuit kits and worked with the teacher to help participants learn and understand how electricity works. There were 30 third and 43 fourth grade students for a total of 73 participants that participated in the program. Participants were put in groups of two and participated in 6 hours of lecture and working through the snap circuit exercises. The teacher assigned specific exercises to each team and before they could move to another exercise they had to complete the assigned ones in order. At the end of the program the teacher reported back to the 4-H agent the results of the program. 100 % of the 4th grade students enjoyed exploring and creating the ideas listed in the snap circuit booklet. Students found learning about electricity was fun and so all 73 participants were completely engaged. Students were able to correctly use the science terms and explain in detail how energy was converted in each activity. By utilizing the Snap Circuits, students were able to design, build and have a realistic understanding of energy changes in electricity. By the end of the series of lessons, all students had achieved the goal of the teacher. Every student understood the transfer of energy and applied ideas to design, test and refine a device that converted energy form one form to another. Many students were at the point where they wanted to take the knowledge they had gained and design their own project. On a post exam all students from the lowest performing to the highest performing were able to create a circuit using an energy source, resistor, and wire. They were able to label all parts and show which way the energy was flowing.
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