Exploring a new unit on electricity
At Wells International School, Bangna campus, the Grade 2 and 3 students have been exploring a new unit on electricity, and recently had an inquiry based lesson on building their own electrical circuits.
Before we started the students excitement was palpable. “I can’t wait to try this new activity,” said Sam, grade 2. “This is going to be very fun and amazing,” mentioned Edward, grade 2.
As the students observed the tools we would be using, Brilliant, grade 2 student, remarked “This is the greatest unit of my whole life.”
Two brothers from our school teamed up to demonstrate how to hold the battery and light bulb correctly. They had the opportunity to practice with the tools on the previous day to this hands-on lesson. By showing the class how to handle the tools, some of the fears of electric shock diminished, while the spark of their curiosity increased.
The students were quite excited as we prepared to start the experiments with new materials, which included batteries, light bulbs, copper wire, metal conductors and other various tools. “I think making circuits will be very interesting,” said Alisa, grade 2.
After the lesson, the student’s shared their thoughts about creating circuits in real life.
“Making a circuit can be very difficult because the battery might not work. It feels good when the battery is working,” said Jason, grade 2.
“This class was challenging because sometimes the light would not go on and the battery had low power”, mentioned Jayvinn and Alex from grade 3.
“Using the tools like wires, batteries, light bulbs and paperclips was an awesome way to learn about electricity,” said Annie and Kanade from grade 3.
“I tried many ways to light the bulb but not every system worked,” said June from grade 3.
“I learned that electricity can be formidable,” said Seungmin from grade 3.
To follow up with this lesson, the teachers will conduct hands- on electrical experiments with these students. The students are invited to brainstorm other methods of creating circuits and generators with magnets in the weeks ahead.
