Virginia SOL 5.4.b

Science5th GradeForce, Motion, and Energy

The Standard

electricity flows through closed circuits

Virginia Standards of Learning for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students connect a battery, wires, and a bulb to make an unbroken path between both battery terminals. They locate breaks and explain how a switch controls the path.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can build a circuit that lights a bulb and fix one that does not work. They can examine a diagram and correctly predict whether the bulb will light.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think one wire between a battery and bulb is enough, or that wires only need to touch the bulb's glass. They may also confuse an open switch with a working path.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Draw a battery, bulb, switch, and wires in a circuit that will light the bulb. Label both battery terminals and the closed switch.

Lesson moves

Give pairs a battery, bulb, holder, switch, and wires; have them light the bulb, then open one connection and record the result.
Ask students to explain why a bulb turns off when a switch opens, using the words path, terminal, and connection.
Run a circuit diagram card sort where students group working and nonworking circuits, then circle each break.
Have students examine a flashlight, sketch its circuit parts, and explain how the power button completes the path.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 5.4.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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