Throughout a recent Circuits unit, Fifth Grade students investigated circuits, the pathways through which electricity flows. Students worked with a variety of components - D-cells, lightbulbs, motors, switches, and wires, while exploring conductors and insulators. A favorite part of the unit was "reinventing" a telegraph and sending signals to other telegraphs in the classroom! Sending Morse Code messages made the students feel like members of the Mysterious Benedict Society, a read aloud book from at the beginning of the year!
Further, students connected this newfound understanding to circuits they have at home, never realizing such items were circuits before! Some noted that they had heard terms like "short circuiting" before, but now they are able tie that terminology into what they're learning and what is actually happening in the circuit.