Practicing scientists in 4th grade have an opportunity to attend two exciting and illuminating field trips at the MIT Edgerton Center that directly connect with the CPS Circuits and Pathways curriculum. Teachers may choose to have students build a flashlight during one field trip and come back again to create a Quizboard. In the classroom, students investigate creating a circuit, test and record data about conductors and insulators and differentiate between parallel and series circuits.
At the Edgerton center students approach building a flashlight from the design engineering perspective. They begin by taking apart simple flashlights, drawing and labeling the components and tracing the complete circuit. They also learn more ab out circuitry concepts, such as current as the flow of electricity, voltage as the force that causes the flow of energy and what resistance is and how resisters work. Fourth graders translate their diagram of a flashlight into a schematic representation using electrical symbols for wire, battery, switch, and light bulb! In small groups, closely supervised, and wearing safety goggles they spend time in the soldering room soldering and covering exposed wires with electrical to completing this part of their flashlight. They also apply their creative skills to making the body of their flashlight — with no step-by-step directions! Students figure out how to arrange their completed circuit so that they have access to the switch and place for the light bulb using a paper tube, reflective paper, colored cellophane, glue, and tape.
Quizboards also introduces students to the concepts of open and closed circuits as well as some electrical components they may have only heard about such as LEDs. Students design the quiz questions (and answers), which can be either related to science, math, or social studies. They learn how to cut and strip wire to make electronic connections. They also solder the electrical connections together and wire the board together. After building their Quizboards and flashlights students bring them back to school and home. This fall and winter the Peabody, King, Baldwin, Cambridgeport, Haggerty, and Morse schools have all participated in this free field trip and have designed and made flashlights or built Quizboards. Ask a 4th grader if you can check out their designs and science products to see what new ideas they have to share!