Magic of Electricity Curriculum

Curriculum Introduction

We depend on electricity for almost everything in our daily lives. However, we rarely think about electricity…until the power goes out. The Magic of Electricity Book 1 (available from Shop 4-H), “sparks” interest in electricity through hands-on activities. Youth build different circuits, explore electromagnetism, and even build a working motor.

 

The resources on this site include facilitator tools, videos, games, and extension ideas. Some resources, like the extension activities, may need extra materials beyond those listed on page 8 of the book. 

The resources presented here are intended to support, not replace, the Magic of Electricity curriculum. The pages on this site match the chapters in the book. Each page contains materials for three to four lessons that correspond to the activities in the book.

Standards Alignment

Next Generation Science Standards

3-PS2-3: Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.

MS-PS3-2: Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system

North Carolina Essential Science Standards 

• 4.P.1.1 Explain how magnets interact with all things made of iron and with other magnets to produce motion without touching them. 
• 4.P.1.2 Explain how electrically charged objects push or pull on other electrically charged objects and produce motion.
• 4.P.3.1 Recognize the basic forms of energy (light, sound, heat, electrical, and magnetic) as the ability to cause motion or create change.
• 6.P.1.2 Explain the relationship among visible light, the electromagnetic spectrum, and sight.
• 6.P.2.1 Recognize that all matter is made up of atoms and atoms of the same element are all alike, but are different from the atoms of other elements
• 6.P.3.2 Explain the effects of electromagnetic waves on various materials to include absorption, scattering, and change in temperature.
• 6.P.3.3 Explain the suitability of materials for use in technological design based on a response to heat (to include conduction, expansion, and contraction) and electrical energy (conductors and insulators)