Be a Water
Molecule--Three States of Matter / Why Do We Need Electricity?
/ Ring That Doorbell!
Three
Lessons About Energy
I designed these three little lessons a long time ago to support a third-grade
science curriculum (the particular textbook is now lost to us--or in other
words I can't remember the name of it), but they could be used with any
elementary students who are studying energy in science class.
Liquid State / Solid
State / Gaseous State / Discussion
Be a Water Molecule--Three
States of Matter
This is basically a narrative pantomime activity in which students act
the roles of water molecules as they move from a liquid to a solid state,
back to a liquid and then to a gaseous state. However, I do
not tell the students at the beginning that they are water molecules, or
that we are doing a lesson about states of matter. I do tell them
the game will have something to do with science, but I save the specifics
for after the activity.
Liquid
State
I define a specific playing space on the floor, roughly circular, by arranging
desks or chairs, or using an area rug. The space must be considerably
bigger than the group can fill when closely spaced. Then I ask all
of the students to come into the middle of the space, and get as close
together as they can.
I tell the students to move around freely amongst one another, but to
stay in the middle of the space. Depending on the group, I may have
to be proactive in keeping them from pushing and shoving. I
comment on the fluidity of the group, and the way that it seems to stay
in the middle of the room and maintain its size, but change its shape continuously.
Solid State
After they are moving comfortably, I tell them that I am going to begin
to take away energy from the group. As their energy decreases, they
will begin to feel tired, and not move as much or as fast.
As the children continue to slow down, I "remove" even more energy.
Finally I tell them to grab hold of one another and stop moving altogether.
The group congeals into a solid mass, and I move around it, prodding it
gently and commenting on how solid it is, and on the way it holds its shape.
Gaseous State
After the children are finished absorbing this part, I tell them I will
now begin adding energy. They let go of each other and begin to move
around more freely again. I comment on the fact that the group is
once more changing its shape.
Then I tell them I am adding even more energy. As they start moving
faster, I tell them that there is now so much energy that they can't stay
in the center. I tell them they are free to move anywhere in the
defined space, and that if they "bump into" anything (I stress that they
should not really crash) they will bounce off in a new direction.
Presently the group is moving pretty freely all over the defined space.
I comment on the fact that the group has expanded to fill all of the available
space. I point out that once again its shape is constant, but now
it is the "container" that defines the shape. I make a small change
in the shape of the container and comment on the way that changes the shape
of the group.
Discussion
After a minute or two of "high energy," I bring the energy back to the
starting point, and we end the activity. We sit in a circle for a
discussion. I ask the group if they can think of anything in their
Science classes that is sort of like what we've just done. With very
little prodding from me, they realize they have been enacting changing
states of matter. This discovery generally delights them, and leads
to a lively discussion of the ways the two processes--ours in the classroom
and the physics process--are similar and different. Then we repeat
the activity, very briefly.
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Why Do
We Need Electricity?
This is a variation of "No, You Can't Take Me!" It teaches critical
thinking skills while hammering home the idea of just how much we rely
on electricity in modern life.
Each student chooses (but keeps secret) a particular electrical device.
It could be anything from an electric hair dryer or toaster to an electric
cable car or a photocopier.
Each student arranges her or his body to resemble the chosen device.
I survey the room and say, "My, look at all this junk. I don't
need all this junk. I think I'll get rid of some of it." I
then choose a particular student and say, "I think I'll take THIS thing
away."
The student (we've discussed the rules of the game ahead of time) says,
"No, you can't take me!" I reply, "Why not?" The student says, "Because
without me. . ." (Here the student must come up with something bad
that would happen if that particular device were not there. For example,
a toaster might say, "Because without me you'd have to eat squishy soggy
bread all the time." A photocopier might say, "Without me you'd get
writer's cramp copying all those papers by hand." The idea here is
that the students must come up with several real purposes for their objects.
I often don't let them off the hook with only one answer. "Well,
I like soggy squishy bread. I'm still taking you."
I repeat the process with each student.
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Preparation / Ringing
the Bell / Discussion
Ring that Doorbell!
This is a fun little game in which students think a bit about how electricity
works. It is based on a pretty simplistic concept of the physics
involved, but you ought to be able to adjust it if it doesn't square with
the way you teach the concepts.
Preparation
I begin this exercise with a short discussion about electricity and how
it travels through wires. Then we choose one student to be the "Doorbell."
(We audition the best "ringer.") Another student is chosen to be
the "Avon Lady" (brush salesman, or anyone who could be expected to ring
the doorbell, would work just as well) and another to be the "button."
Everyone else is part of the "wire."
The "Doorbell" positions herself at one end of the room, and the "Button"
positions himself at the other, near our imaginary door. The
rest of the class joins hands and forms a "wire" leading from the "Button"
to the "Doorbell."
Ringing the
Bell
The "Avon Lady" walks up to the "door" and pushes the "Button." (She
presses on his head.)
The "Button" squeezes the hand of the next child in the circuit, who
in turn squeezes the next, etc., until at last someone squeezes the hand
of the "Doorbell," who calls out, "Ding Dong!"
We do this several times, in different ways. We try to see how
fast we can make it work, and we discuss the fact that real electricity
would go much faster than we can, but that it does take time, even if it
doesn't seem like it. We try it with our eyes closed, and we experiment
to see what will happen if the wire is broken.
Discussion
Afterwards, we discuss how this is and is not like real electricity.
(The textbook I was using when I wrote this lesson didn't get into positive
and negative, and this game ignores the fact that we really should have
a second wire going back to the button and probably a power source as well.
But with a group sophisticated enough to need these, you could easily add
them, or perhaps even better, don't add them and see if their absence
comes up in the discussion.)
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BACK TO LESSON PLANS
E-mail me! matt_buchanan_88@post.harvard.edu