I know this thread has been buried for a while, but just incase anyone will read this: this is what I've decided I might do. It's just an idea, but my partner for the assignment thinks it will work. This is how electricity works as simplified as humanly possible. This is my lesson outline:
So the lesson is pretty much teaching three basic ideas. It’s all about atoms/electricity, but the main ideas are
1) When electrons move, they create heat, and when they create enough heat, they create light
2) Electrons can only make electricity if they are able to move all the way through; if their pathway is cut off, nothing happens
3) Electrons are attracted to protons – we won’t go into details about what actually happens when they get attracted, we’ll just tell them this fact so they know why the electrical currents in the plasma ball all go toward your hand when you put your hand on the ball.
[to begin, we'll have a picture of the basic idea of an atom, so they have a visual of what we're explaining.]
Everything in the whole universe is made up of atoms. They are so tiny that you could fit millions in the tip of your pencil. They make up the stars, trees, water, and even you.
The little balls floating around the outside of the center are called Electrons. The electrons are able to move easily through metal. When the electrons move, they create heat, and when they create enough heat, they will eventually create light.
[here I was thinking i'd do the potato-lightbulb thing but I've tried it and it didn't quite work, and I don't want to take my chances and have it not work once I get there, so I'm going on the safe side and using a battery instead]
In the battery, there are chemicals that have a lot of electrons. When you attach the wire to both sides, the electrons move through the metal easily. [at this point, it's not actually attached to the lightbulb yet] They pass through the metal, but nothing happens because they have nowhere to go. When you put the wire to the lightbulb, the electrons move and create enough heat that it lights up. The wire outside the light bulb doesn’t heat up fast enough, so it will not create light, but the metal inside the light bulb heats up fast enough to light up.
The reason you need to attach them to both sides is because it can’t be cut off anywhere. Electrons only create electricity if they can move all the way through something. If it’s cut off, they’ll stop and nothing will happen.
[at this point, I have one of those energy balls, where you can have everyone in the room holding hands or touching shoulders or something, when everyone is connected the ball lights up, but when one person lets go, nothing happens. It demonstrates how in order for electrons to move, they can't be cut off, they need a full circuit to move through]
Electrons move through humans too. The electrons in the energy ball don’t have anywhere to go because they’re just sitting there. If you hold onto the ball, it creates a pathway, which makes them move so they can create electricity. They only light up the ball when everyone is connected.
Plasma Ball
In the picture, we showed what Electrons are. But atoms are made up of something else also. Some of the little balls floating around the center aren’t electrons, but something called protons.
(ok, I know this example sounds really stupid, but it’s like a perfect metaphor that would help the kids understand)
Boys and Girls are opposites, they’re different from each other. But they are both attracted to each other. (in most cases please note I'm not trying to be prejudice, it's only an example I'm giving to fourth grade kenyan kids) It’s the same idea with electrons and protons. They’re two different things that are completely opposite, but they’re attracted to each other.
Since humans are made up of atoms, this means we have protons inside of us. The electrons in the ball are attracted to the protons in your hand. When you put your hand on the plastic, they all follow because they’re attracted to your hand.
so I left out a ton of crap, but this is just the basic ideas, not the "why"s or "how"s, just the basics. This is probably going to be something pretty new to them, and it would be bad if they had no clue what in the world I was talking about So, does this sound decent? I thought it would be fun, because I could do the battery thing, the energy ball, and then even leave the plasma ball for them to have in their classroom.
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