Unit Title Teacher Subject Area Time Frame

Electricity & Electrical Devices C. Heisz General Science 6 Weeks

Enduring Understandings
! What is it we want students to retain beyond this course?

Guiding Questions 1. How can we explain our observations of various electrostatic experiments? 2. How do we make electric circuits and how do they work? 3. How can electrical energy be transformed to other types of energy? 4. How can various forms of energy be transformed into electrical energy? 5. What impact does electricity have on our world?

1. Electrostatic phenomena can be explained using the Law of Electric Charges and the characteristics of materials. 2. Series and parallel circuits involve moving electrons, which carry energy from source to load. 3. Electrical energy can be transformed into other kinds of energy 4. Other forms of energy can be transformed into electrical energy 5. Electrical energy plays a signicant role in society and its production has an impact on the environment.

Assessment
! ! What task(s) will allow students the opportunity to respond to the unit questions? How will students demonstrate evidence of understanding?

ELECTROSTATICS ! DIAGNOSTIC: PhET Balloons and Static Electricity with follow-up questioning ! FORMATIVE: Video Lab Activity Responses ! FORMATIVE: Google Forms Quiz Questions ! SUMMATIVE: Digital Storytelling - Static Electricity Comic/Animation Assignment ! SUMMATIVE: Video Quiz Electrostatics CURRENT ELECTRICITY & DEVICES ! DIAGNOSTIC: Which of these congurations will light the light bulb? with follow-up questioning ! FORMATIVE: GIZMO Circuits ! FORMATIVE: Online Game - Electric Box ! FORMATIVE: PhET Simulation Battery Voltage ! FORMATIVE: PhET Simulation Battery-Resistor Circuit ! FORMATIVE: PhET Simulation Signal Circuit ! FORMATIVE: Online Game Electrocity ! SUMMATIVE: Virtual Field Trip with Google Earth How Electricity is Generated Around the World ! SUMMATIVE: Digital Storytelling How it Works: Electrical Device Edition ! SUMMATIVE: Potato Chip Speaker Build

Content
! ! What knowledge and/or skills (from the course overview) are going to be used to enable the student to respond to the unit question(s)? What stands/skills (McREL Standards and Benchmarks) are to be addressed?

McREL CURRICULUM Grade 6-8 Benchmarks ONTARIO CURRICULUM Grade 6 Electricity and Electrical Devices 2.6 - use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including current, battery, circuit, transform, static, electrostatic, and energy, in oral and written communication 2.3 - use scientic inquiry/experimentation skills to investigate the characteristics of static electricity 3.2 - use the principles of static electricity to explain common electrostatic phenomena (e.g., the attraction of hairs to a comb that has been rubbed on a piece of wool; the attraction of small pieces of paper to a plastic ruler that has been rubbed with a rag; the attraction of pieces of clothing to each other when they come out of a clothes dryer) 3.3 - identify materials that are good conductors of electricity (e.g., copper, gold, silver, aluminum, water [when it has a high mineral content]) and good insulators (e.g., glass, plastic, rubber, ceramics) 3.1 - distinguish between current and static electricity 2.1 - follow established safety procedures for working with electricity (e.g., ensure hands are completely dry when working with electricity; be aware of electrical hazards at home, at school, and in the community) 9.5 - Knows that electrical circuits provide a means of transferring electrical energy to produce heat, light, sound, and chemical changes) 9.10 - Knows the organization of a simple electrical circuit (e.g., battery or generator, wire, a complete loop through which the electrical current can pass) 9.1 - Knows that energy is a property of many substances (e.g., heat energy is in the disorderly motion of molecules and in radiation; chemical energy is in the arrangement of atoms; mechanical energy is in moving bodies or in elastically distorted shapes; electrical energy is in the attraction or repulsion between charges) 3.7 - describe series circuits (components connected in a daisy chain) and parallel circuits (components connected side by side like the rungs of a ladder), and identify where each is used (e.g., some strings of patio lights are in series circuits when one light burns out, the whole string goes out; parallel circuits are used for wiring lighting and electrical outlets in your house when one light burns out, the others keep burning) 3.5 - identify ways in which electrical energy is transformed into other forms of energy (e.g., electrical energy is transformed into heat energy in a toaster, light and sound energy in a television, mechanical energy in a blender 2.5 - use technological problem-solving skills (see page 16) to design, build, and test a device that transforms electrical energy into another form of energy in order to perform a function (e.g., a device that makes a sound, that moves, that lights up) 2.4 - design, build, and test a device that produces electricity (e.g., a battery built from a lemon or potato; a wind turbine) 1.2 - assess opportunities for reducing electricity consumption at home or at school that could a!ect the use of non-renewable resources in a positive way or reduce the impact of electricity generation on the environment 3.4 - describe how various forms of energy can be transformed into electrical energy (e.g., batteries use chemical energy; hydroelectric plants use water power; nuclear generating stations use nuclear energy; wind turbines use wind power; solar panels use energy from the sun; wave power stations use energy from ocean waves)

Learning Experiences
How will students know what is expected of them? Will they see examples, rubrics, templates? How will students acquire the knowledge and practice the skills required for this unit? How will students practice applying these new skills? Do the students have enough prior knowledge? How will we know?

Teaching Strategies
How will we use formative assessment to give students feedback during the unit? What di!erent teaching methodologies will we employ? How are we di!erentiating teaching and learning for all? How have we made provision for those learning in a language other than their mother tongue? How have we considered those with special education needs?

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PhET Simulation Balloons and Static Electricity Electrostatics VIDEO Inquiry Lab + Digital Documentation GIZMO Energy Conversions GIZMO Circuits PhET Simulation Energy Forms & Changes PhET Simulation Battery Voltage PhET Simulation Battery-Resistor Circuit PhET Simulation Signal Circuit Building Electrical Circuits Hands on activity Investigation: Charging Our Devices Potential PBL Questions: - How can we build a simple device that transforms electrical energy into another form of energy? - Make a battery that creates as much voltage as possible using only fruit. - How can we build a simple device that transforms electrical energy into another form of energy?

Formative Assessments: 1. Classroom discussions and observations 2. Monitoring group work, inquiry and game-based learning 3. Interactive Simulation assessments 4. Video Lab responses 5. Google Forms quiz responses Teaching Methods: " Direct Instruction " Inquiry-based lab assignment " Interactive Simulations " Group-based assignments & inquiry " Game-based learning " Problem-based learning " Project-based learning EAL Vocabulary: electrostatics, static, charging, contact, friction, induction, neutral, positive, negative, electron, proton, attract, repel, conductor, insulator, circuit, source, load, resistance, voltage, current, volts, amperes, ohms, watts, battery, series, parallel

Resources
What resources are available to us? How will our classroom environment and/or the community be used to facilitate the students experiences during the unit?

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Water Flow Analogy of Circuits Scientica Textbook (Year 7) YouTube Unit Playlist Explore Learning (GIZMOS) Interactive Simulations PhET Learning Simulations Vernier Sensor Voltage Probes & Conductivity Probes Google Earth ElectroCity Electric Box