PLAN Primary Science - Year 6 Electricity with Julie

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PLAN Primary Science is a set of resources produced to enable teachers to have a clearer understanding of National Curriculum expectations for meeting the standard. Annotated collections of children’s work provide examples of what working at the expected standard for primary science might look like for the knowledge and conceptual understanding statements of the programmes of study (POS).

It is not the intention of these resources to specifically exemplify the working scientifically statements. However, aspects of working scientifically have been shown as an integral part of the teaching and learning of the knowledge and concepts.

The resources provided have been cross moderated multiple times before publishing so that they can be used with confidence by teachers and subject leaders.

Each collection of work shows one example of how a pupil has met National Curriculum statements for a particular area of content but these are not intended to be the definitive way of teaching these statements.

PLAN Primary Science - Supporting Assessment

Key Learning Possible Evidence

Secure Show understanding of a concept by using scientific vocabulary correctly

Overview paragraph describing curriculum Key vocabulary – list of words

Possible ways to demonstrate key learning, particularly correct usage of vocabulary

Apply knowledge in familiar related contexts

Suggestions of contexts to use. Possible ways to demonstrate that a pupil has gone beyond recall of facts and can apply the key learning, for example using the vocabulary and basic principles to produce explanations, usually within Working Scientifically contexts.

Each resource contains the relevant National Curriculum statements for the unit of work and prior learning, a planning matrix, annotated work and a summary sheet. The matrix provides an interpretation of the key learning of the National Curriculum statements, and suggestions of key vocabulary. In order to be meet the expectations pupils must firstly understand the key concept and then be provided with opportunities to apply that knowledge. This is a key planning tool.

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Structure of the resources

Please note: The NC statements for each topic area for the relevant year group are stated on the slide. Only the statements in bold on that slide have been exemplified. In these cases the teachers have chosen to split the statements within the topic area to teach at different times.

The prior NC statements relevant to the topic area are also stated and use to determine pupils knowledge at the start of the unit.

Each slide has been annotated with coloured text. Please see key below:

Red Commentary to explain how evidence meets/does not meet NC statements

Blue Commentary to highlight features of working scientifically

Green Pupil Speak

Grey Other relevant information eg. vocabulary used

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Contents of the materials

Pupils should be taught to: • identify common appliances that run on electricity • construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic

parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers • identify whether or not a lamp will light in a simple series circuit, based on

whether or not the lamp is part of a complete loop with a battery • recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit and associate this with

whether or not a lamp lights in a simple series circuit • recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate

metals with being good conductors.

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Year 4 Statements – Prior learning

Pupils should be taught to: • associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the

number and voltage of cells used in the circuit • compare and give reasons for variations in how components function,

including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches

• use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.

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Year 6 Statements

Assessment guidance

Key learning Evidence

Shows understanding of a concept using scientific vocabulary correctly

Adding more cells to a complete circuit will make a bulb brighter, a motor spin faster or a buzzer make a louder sound. If you use a battery with a higher voltage, the same thing happens. Adding more bulbs to a circuit will make each bulb less bright. Using more motors or buzzers, each motor will spin more slowly and each buzzer will be quieter. Turning a switch off (open) breaks a circuit so the circuit is not complete and electricity cannot flow. Any bulbs, motors or buzzers will then turn off as well. You can use recognised circuit symbols to draw simple circuit diagrams. Key Vocabulary Circuit, complete circuit, circuit diagram, circuit symbol, cell, battery, bulb, buzzer, motor, switch, voltage NB Children do not need to understand what voltage is but will use volts and voltage to describe different batteries. The words cells and batteries are now used interchangeably

Can make electric circuits and demonstrate how variation in the working of particular components, such as the brightness of bulbs can be changed by increasing or decreasing the number of cells or using cells of different voltages Can draw circuit diagrams of a range of simple series circuits using recognised symbols

Applying knowledge in familiar related contexts, including a range of enquiries

Explain how a circuit operates to achieve particular operations, such as control the light for a torch with different brightnesses or make a motor go faster or slower Make circuits to solve particular problems such as a quiet and a loud burglar alarm Carry out fair tests exploring changes in circuits Make circuits that can be controlled as part of a D&T project

Can incorporate a switch into a circuit to turn it on and off Can change cells and components in a circuit to achieve a specific effect Can communicate structures of circuits using circuit diagrams with recognised symbols Can devise ways to measure brightness of bulbs, speed of motors, volume of a buzzer during a fair test Can predict results and answer questions by drawing on evidence gathered

Before starting the topic the children were given some equipment to explore. The challenge was to light a bulb using only one wire. This was an opportunity for children to engage their previous learning and for the teacher to ensure that all children were able to make a complete circuit. 8

Making circuits and drawing circuit diagrams • use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.

The children were given pictures of circuits which they then made. They were then given the standard symbols and shown how to draw a circuit diagram correctly

Julie was able to make the circuits shown in the pictorial diagrams showing that she is secure on two of the year 4 objectives. She was also able to correctly draw these two circuit diagrams. This is not sufficient evidence for her to be secure with this skill.

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Making circuits and drawing circuit diagrams • use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.

The children were given further pictorial diagrams and asked to predict whether the circuits would work or not based on their knowledge from year 4. They were then also asked to draw circuit diagrams for each of the circuits Julie was able to use her subject knowledge from year 4 to correctly predict which circuits would or would not work giving reasons why. This is evidence that she is secure on all the year 4 objectives. She also draws the circuit diagrams although the incorrect symbol for the open switch is used. Julie is using the terms cathode and anode for the terminals of the battery (beyond KS2), to explain why the circuit does not work.

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Making circuits and drawing circuit diagrams • associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and

voltage of cells used in the circuit • compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the

brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches

The children discussed the concept cartoon. Following on from this the children were asked to take one of the statements and gather evidence to support or refute it.

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brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches Julie chose to investigate adding more bulbs to the circuit. The children were given a datalogger and asked to use this to gather evidence for their chosen question.

Julie was successfully able to take measurements of the light given out by the light bulbs. She controlled the distance the datalogger was from each bulb and placed the bulb in a toilet roll holder to block out other light.

Julie observed that as the number of bulbs in the circuit increased the brightness of each bulb decreased. She has shown again that she can correctly draw circuit diagrams, now using a ruler. 12




Julie extended this work to explore adding more cells to a circuit.

Julie observed that as the number of cells in the circuit increased the brightness of each bulb increased. She has shown again that she can correctly draw circuit diagrams.

The use of the word voltage is slightly incorrect here

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The children were asked to take measurements whilst exploring how the motor varied when additional cells were added to the circuit. Julie chose to use the datalogger to measure the sound produced. Julie observed that as the number of cells in the circuit increased the amount of sound the motor produced increased. She has shown again that she can correctly draw circuit diagrams.

Julie uses the words cell and battery interchangeably 14

‘Cells can have different voltages. When the cell has a higher voltage the bulb is brighter.’




Finally Julie explored using cells with different voltages (referred to as bigger cells on the concept cartoon) to see the effect of this on a light bulb.

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Julie has shown consistently that she is able to change circuits stating the cause and effect. She has demonstrated that she is secure on these statements.

Secure

Julie is able to make a basic circuit and use a switch to control it. She was then able to adapt the circuit to make the bulbs brighter or dimmer. She used a datalogger to gather evidence to show how the brightness of a bulb can be changed. She has shown consistently that she is able to draw clear circuit diagrams using the standard circuit symbols.

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Overall Summary

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Acknowledgements

Slide 11 Concept Cartoon, Millgate Education, ASE