South Dakota Science 4-PS3-4

Science4th GradePhysical Science

The Standard

Design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS3.B, PS3.D, ETS1.A; CCC: Energy/Matter) Alignment my include 3-5-ETS1-1

South Dakota Science Standards (2024) · Energy

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do: Students build a device that changes energy from one form to another, such as a battery-powered light. They test how well it works, change one part, and test again.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can build a light that illuminates a page 20 cm away. They record a test result, adjust the reflector, and retest at the same distance. They can explain that the LED changes electrical energy into light.
Common Misconceptions: Some students think an LED will light without a complete circuit or with its connections reversed. Others think the LED creates energy rather than changing electrical energy into light.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Sketch your first and revised reading lights. Label the energy change, then write what you observed when each light shone on a page 20 cm away.

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

Give pairs an AA battery pack, clip leads, an LED, a paper cup, and foil to build a reading light and reshape its reflector.
Ask: Where does the battery's energy go when the LED lights, and how could you tell whether a foil reflector helps?
Play circuit repair: give pairs diagrams with an open circuit, a reversed LED, or a loose clip, and have them fix each one.
Show a battery-powered bike light and have students sketch where electrical energy becomes light and why its reflector points forward.

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