K-Tip Lesson Plan Format
Discovery Instruction Model

Name:  Regina Devers     Date:  February 6, 2003     Age/Grade: fourth

Subject:   Science         # Students:  Twenty            #IEP Students:  none

Major Content:  _electricity    Unit Title:  Static Electricity

Objective(s):

 Given a baggie full of specific items, some salt, and some pepper the student
                             will participate in a classroom experiment of static electricity by trying to
                              separate the salt and pepper after the student has mixed them together by only
                              by using the items in the bag.

Connections:

Kentucky’s Learning Goals and Expectations
(Goal 2):
Students shall develop their abilities to apply core concepts and principles from mathematics, the science, the arts, the humanities, social studies, practical living studies, and vocational studies to what they will encounter throughout their lives.

(Expectation 2.3)
Students identify and analyze systems and the ways their components work together or affect each other.

Program of Studies:
Conceptual Understandings 2.2-2.6

• Students will understand that magnets attract and repel each other as well as certain kinds of other materials.

Core Content for Assessment:
 

Context:

This lesson is about static electricity and how easy it is to make static electricity.  Static electricity can be used to introduce the student to the concept of electricity and its effects.

Resources:

•  The History of Electricity coloring and activity book for each student.

• What is Static Electricity? By Science Made Simple

• Bag for each student that contains a feather, a pipe cleaner, a balloon, a comb, and some other items

Procedures:

•  Initiation:

a. Start the lesson off by gaining the student’s interest by introducing the lesson as a hands on activity in which the teacher tells the story about a neighborhood and the two different families which live there.  One family is black, the pepper and the other family is white, the salt.  Then, you have the student to mix the salt and pepper together because the families move into the same house.
 
• Explore:      Instruct the student to separate the salt and pepper using the articles from the baggie because the families decided to separate and live in separate homes again.

•  Explain:

 Everything is made up of tiny little parts called atoms.  These atoms are made of even smaller parts.  They are different from each other and one way is that they have charges.  Some are positive and some are negative.  If two things have different charges then they attract.  This is what we use to determine how to separate the salt and the pepper from each other again.  The student needs to use static electricity such as by combing his or her hair and then allowing the pepper to draw to the comb.

• Expand:

 The second activity that the student will do is called Bending Water:

What you need:

A hard rubber or plastic comb, or a balloon
A sink and a water faucet

What to do:

          Take the students to the sink to allow the student to view this process close up.
          Turn on the faucet so that the water runs out in a small, steady stream, about 1/8 inch thick.

Charge the comb by running it through long, dry hair several times or rub it vigorously on a sweater.
Slowly bring the comb near the water and watch the water “bend.”
This project can also be done using a balloon.

What happened:

The neutral water was attracted to the charged comb, and moved toward it.

Closure:

This lesson on static electricity has allowed the student to see some effects of charges and attractions of different items.  This lesson can be used to guide the student into a longer and more detailed unit on atoms.

Student Assessment:

Tool:  Check list for students in classroom

Criteria: Each student that participates in the experiments will receive a check and the students that choose not to actively participate in the experiments will receive a check minus on the check list.

Reflection/Analysis of Teaching and Learning (Completed only if taught lesson)

Lesson has not been taught

Lesson Extensions/Follow-Up (Completed only if taught lesson)

Lesson has not been taught

Bibliography:

Kentucky Department of Education (1999).  Core content for assessment.
       Frankfort, KY:  Author.

Kentucky Department of Education (1998).  Program of studies.  Frankfort, KY:  Author.