Getting the Lightbulb to Light Up

Students will learn that heat is a form of energy. The students will learn this by observation of the lightbulb lighting up and touching the lightbulb. Some vocabuary words the students will learn are circuit, energy, and power source.

I am teaching this activity to a class of fourth graders. I am hoping this activity will take one forty minute class period. It may take two periods with the asssessment. It will be a lab. You will need one battery, two wires, and one lightbulb for each pair of two students.

Group the students in pairs. For each group you will need two wires, one battery, and one lightbulb. If you have battery holders that would be great. Before you hand out the materials talk about different ways to generate heat energy. Example: rubbing hands together and burning a substance. When you hand out the materials tell to the students that their goal is to get their lightbulb to light up. Have the students write down or draw what they needed to do to get their lightbulb to light up.

I think the hardest thing for the students will be to have one of the wires touch the wire base on the side and one wire touching the bottom of the base.

At the Elementary Physics Teacher Institute, we got a sheet of different ways to set up a circuit. The students in pairs can check out the different circuits to see which ones light up. This activity is to see if students can complete a circuit using two wires, one battery, and one lightbulb.

For grade 4 it is the Physical Science Strand. The substrand is energy. The students are to understand energy can be transformed within a system. The code is 4.2.3.2.3. Construct a simple electrical circuit.