Learning about series and parallel circuits is a major part of a science curriculum for many elementary schools. Most 5th grade science classes teach series and parallel circuits, but some districts cover it in 4th or 6th grade instead. There are several interesting lesson plans and activities online for educators looking to teach students all about circuits. The focus of these plans is to
. explain the differences between the two circuits, which is that a series circuit utilizes one loop of energy, while a parallel circuit has branches of energy. Brookhaven National Laboratory, online at http://www.bnl.gov/education/program.asp?q=151, offers an entire program for students from fourth to sixth grades. The program teaches them how to construct and recognize both series and parallel circuits. It utilizes real world examples to help students learn how the circuits work and why they are used. Discovery Education, online at http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/earths-energy.cfm, has a free lesson plan for teachers teaching about circuits. The plan's objective is to have students build simple, series and parallel circuits. It lists the materials needed for this exercise, including D cell batteries, light bulbs and sockets. The students are then split into groups to build a simple circuit, which gives them an idea of how a circuit works. Then, by adding extra lights and wires they construct a series circuit, and then a parallel one. Along the way, they answer questions about each type of circuit, and hypothesize about how altering the placement of wires and bulbs may change the entire circuit. The lesson plan was created to meet certain standards and benchmarks listed by the National Academy of Science and the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, so teachers can use this plan knowing that it meets national content standards for science for grades fourth, fifth and sixth. It also includes a grading and evaluation rubric for teachers to utilize for the experiment, plus a list of vocabulary words. http://www.bnl.gov/education/program.asp?q=151 or http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/earths-energy.cfm
