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ConductsWhat Conducts Lesson Plan.docx
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Junior Gadgeteers Lesson Plan
What Conducts?
Age level: 3 and up
Subjects: Electronics
Duration: 30 minutes
Group Size: 25 students
Setting: Performance Gallery or Making Space – tables
Key Terms: conductor, insulator, circuit, hypothesis (optional)
Materials:
 1 CR-2032 battery per child
 2 wires per child
 1 LED per child
 1 What Conducts? Chart per
child
 Electrical or Scotch tape
 Safety scissors
 Materials bag with: aluminum foil,
penny, quarter, soap, paper clip,
popsicle stick, plastic bag, glass
bottle, and wet and dry soil
 Teachers station bag prepped
with: paper, one or more #2 (pref.
#2B) pencils, 9V battery, and 2
test clips
 Tables for stations
 Energy ball
Overview and Learner Outcomes
Students develop an understanding of electric circuits and electric conduction by
building a continuity tester and using it to investigate the conductivity of common
materials.
Students will…
 Be able to describe a circuit as a loop in which electricity flows.
 Be able to identify conductors and insulators.
 Be able to keep a record of their experimental progress (a yes/no chart).
Standards
Science Standards
ETS1.A A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as
a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have
many acceptable solutions.
K-PS2-2 Analyze data from tests of an object or tool to determine if it works as
intended.
K-PS3-1 Make observations (firsthand or from media) to collect data that can be
used to make comparisons.

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K-PS3-2 Use tools and materials provided to design and build a device that
solves a specific problem or a solution to a specific problem.
K-LS1-1 Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns in the
natural world in order to answer scientific questions.
Engagement (5 minutes)
Electricity travels in a loop
1. Introduce the energy ball: tell the children that it contains a battery that
“makes” electricity, a metal contact where the electricity exits the ball, and
another contact where the electricity re-enters the ball.
2. Explain that the group will “be” the circuit (you can introduce the term at this
point). Have the group stand in a circle, touching fingertip to fingertip. Your
finger should be on one contact and the person to the right of you should
have their finger on the other. The ball will light up and make noise.
3. Break the loop a few times to demonstrate that electricity has to have a
complete loop (circuit) in order to flow.
Building the “Device” (5 minutes)
Introduction
1. Explain that electricity has to come from somewhere (the battery) and go
somewhere (the battery) in a closed loop in order to flow.
2. This loop is usually made of metal (wire), but there are other materials that
work well, too.
Build the device
You will need to help the child and adult “assistant” to build the “testing device”
(actually a continuity tester).
1. Attach one wire to each face of the battery.
2. Twist the wire attached to the battery’s (+) face around the long metal leg
(“lead”) of the LED.
3. Use the unattached lead and wire for testing.
1. The child and adult partner will be experimenting with different materials and
recording their results on the yes/no “What Conducts?” chart.
Using the “Device” (15 minutes)
3V Stations (Common Materials)
2. You will need to help the child and adult “assistant” to build the “scientific
testing device” (actually a continuity tester):

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a. Attach one wire to each face of the battery.
b. Twist the wire attached to the (+) face around the long metal leg (“lead”) of
the LED.
c. Use the unattached lead and wire for testing.
d. The child should make a guess in the left column before testing the
material.
e. The child should record their result in the right column after testing the
material.
9V Stations (Graphite Circuit)
1. At the last station, demonstrate that circuits can be drawn on ordinary paper
with a #2 pencil and allow the child and partner to create their own circuits in
pencil. Lines don’t need to be dark but should be thick, and they shouldn’t
cross.
2. Allow the child to try his/her 3V apparatus first, then the 9V apparatus, which
stays at the station.
3. The 3V battery will not work, but the 9V will. Ask why. (This is the ONLY part
of the experiment where the 9V will be used. It is ordinarily too powerful for
an LED, but since the pencil’s graphite has such high resistance, it’s just
enough “juice” to work here.)
Closure (5 minutes)
Discussion
Recap the concepts presented in the lesson:
1. Electricity must travel in a loop (a circuit) or it won’t flow
2. Electricity flows through some materials but not others. If electricity flows
through a material, the material is called a conductor; if it doesn’t, it is called
an insulator.
You will also want to make sure each adult gets a copy of the survey and the Pair
Up and Play handout.
Key Terms
Conductor. Any material that permits electricity to move through it. A conductor
does not need to be made of metal: water, graphite (pencil lead),
electrolytes (salts), and plasmas are conductors, too.
Insulator. A material that does not permit electricity to move through it. Glass,
paper, Teflon, many ceramics, and rubber are good insulators.
Circuit. A loop through which electricity (or magnetism – a so-called magnetic
circuit) flows. Electricity needs a complete loop in order to flow. If this

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loop is broken, we say it is an open circuit; if it is complete, we say it is a
closed circuit.
Hypothesis (optional). A proposed explanation for an observation. A hypothesis
is the basis for a prediction. For example, we hypothesized that aluminum
foil is a conductor, so we predicted that our LED would light up when we
sent electricity through the foil.