School House Rock! Science Rock presents seven educational games that introduce students to a broad range of science concepts (electricity, force of motion, light, sound, the solar system, genetics, and body systems) and skills (hypothesis-making, observation, and experimentation). This lesson is an introductory lesson to the study of electricity. It focuses on a specific form of electricity, static electricity. The unit, which begins with this lesson, is for fourth grade but could also be used with students above and below fourth grade.

I choose this piece of software because it integrates with the fourth grade science curriculum and also aligns with State and National Science Standards. This program offers a multimodality approach to teaching science concepts and skills and also provides additional reinforcement. It can be used with the whole class, partners, and individuals. Most importantly, it demonstrates the use of computers as a powerful learning tool.

Since I have only one computer in my classroom, it is important for me to ensure that students and I make good, educational use of it. Fortunately I have some access to a LCD panel and overhead projector, so I can use the computer effectively with my entire class.

The activities in this unit encourage students to make and test predictions and practice the skills introduced in the game, "Haywire House" (logical analysis, pattern matching. and deductive reasoning). This lesson extends concepts presented in the music video, Electricity, Electricity, by having students generate and then analyze the energy associated with static electricity.

• Describe current electricity as electricity in motion. Current electricity moves or flows through a circuit (a circle, in a sense) like water moves through a hose.
• Explain that in a house, current electricity moves through metal wires of different kinds and thicknesses. For an appliance to work (or a light bulb to light up), the electrical circuit (or circle) must be complete. The two main ways to make a circuit complete are to plug something into an electrical outlet or turn something on (like a lamp) that is already plugged into an electrical outlet.
• Point out that it’s only been about 200 years since people learned how to make current electricity. Encourage students to think and talk about what life was probably like (e.g., no TV’s, no telephone, no refrigerators) before this great discovery. If time allows, ask volunteers to describe a specific time (due to an accident, bad weather, or routine maintenance) when the power to their house had been off and how they coped with it.

• Describe static electricity as electricity that is still or standing. People have known about static electricity for centuries (point out that lightning is a form of static electricity), but it was only around 1600 that scientists first began to understand how it works.
• Point out that everyone has experienced the effects of static electricity at one time or another. Call on individual students to describe what has happened to them on a dry day when they’ve run a comb through their hair, put on certain clothes, or touched a metal doorknob after shuffling their feet across the carpet.
• Explain that when an object becomes charged with static electricity, it has the power to move things without even touching them. For example, a comb charged with static electricity can actually move hair without even touching it.

1. Divide students into two-person teams. Provide each team with a copy of the song lyrics. As team members to underline all the examples of static electricity that they hear as the music video plays.
2. Play Electricity, Electricity, preferably on a large screen, using a LCD panel and projector.
3. Have students remain in their teams as you call for reaction and comments. Use guided questioning to ensure that students can verbally distinguish between current and static electricity.

Off the computer:

If possible, conduct this activity on a dry day. Water conducts electricity better than air, so if there’s moisture in the air, electrons won’t build up as easily and the experiments won’t work as well. If the day is excessively dry, have students stand on newspaper to make sure that they don’t inadvertently create static electricity on their own by simply walking on the classroom carpet or rubbing against a teammate’s clothing.

1. Tell students that they will be working with everyday objects to investigate some common effects of static electricity.
2. Distribute all the supplies students will need to conduct their investigation.
3. Divide the class into three-person teams, and hand out copies of the blackline master, Magic in the Air (one per team). Carefully review the activity directions. Emphasize the importance of teamwork and, in particular, its value in scientific study.
4. Allow students about 20 minutes to conduct their experiments and finish their activity sheets.
5. Set aside time for students to debrief after their investigation. Encourage them to share their observations, make generalizations and draw conclusions, and ask any lingering questions. As they report on their investigations, help them relate the scientific process to the steps they actually took. As much as possible, encourage the use of appropriate scientific terms.
6. Extend the activity in one or both of the following ways: