The Full Lesson Plan
The 30-session plan, ready to print.
Free for parents and teachers.
The 30-session plan, ready to print.
Free for parents and teachers.
In grades 3-4, kids still believe electricity is magic. This course takes the magic and breaks it down into something you can hold in your hand - a circuit they built, that lights up when they want it to and goes off when they decide. No code, no screens: blocks that snap together with a click, wires, and one question that comes back every session - “Why does it work?”
The classroom currency is the chip - a team point in the chart on the board:
At this age, a long explanation loses the class within 90 seconds. So every session follows a fixed four-step path where hands work before words arrive, and the concept comes in after the kids have already seen it happen.
| Time | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 00-06 | Opening Hook - a surprising question or demo from real life. |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo - the instructor builds on screen, one new concept. |
| 13-35 | Building in Teams - the heart of the session. The instructor circulates and asks questions. |
| 35-42 | Stage Moment - each team demos for 30-60 seconds. |
| 42-45 | Wrap-up and Cleanup - a teaser sentence + teardown by the kit map. |
The same kit for 30 weeks in a row bores any kid. So every session has one experiment with real-world materials: a lemon, a balloon, a nail, salt water, aluminum foil. The experiment takes 5-8 minutes, costs almost nothing - and connects the blocks on the table to the real electricity in everyday life. It’s also the moment kids tell their families about.
Even if it takes three minutes and the answer is obvious to you, the block gets pressed by their finger. Success achieved by an adult’s hand doesn’t stick.
45 minutes = one new word. Everything else is practice. If you’re unsure whether to add an explanation, don’t.
Always ask “What will happen?” before connecting. A wrong guess that gets tested is worth more than a correct explanation they only heard.
When something doesn’t work, say out loud “Great, we’ve got a puzzle!” and model it: look → press again → swap one part.
In a team of 5, every kid has a role, and roles rotate every session. That way no kid just watches, and no one takes over.
“What happens if we pull out this wire?” beats “It’s not connected.” They’ll find it - and it will stick.
Every team presents every session, even with a partial result. Always applaud, no exceptions.
The kit is completely safe. Respect for the electricity in the wall is built through clear rules - not scary stories.
3 minutes of teardown at the end of every session, each part in its own slot. A messy kit steals 10 minutes from the next session.
An agreed hand signal = everyone goes quiet and looks at the screen. Practice it in session 1 and use it for all 30 sessions.
The kit runs on batteries only - 3 to 6 volts. There is no danger in it: you can touch any part, and even close a circuit with your fingers (which is exactly what you do in session 14). The safety we teach is about the electricity outside the kit - and that’s a lesson for life.
The kit runs on 3-6V from batteries. You can touch any part, hold the wires, and even close a circuit with your fingers - you feel nothing and there is no danger.
Connecting anything from the kit to a wall outlet · putting objects into an outlet · using the kit near water · opening batteries or heating them.
The motor’s propeller always points up · disconnect the battery before taking things apart · keep water and drinks away from the table · a hot part = disconnect it and tell the instructor.
Magnets are small and easy to swallow - count them at the start and end of the session, and keep them away from cards, watches, and computers.
| Nothing works | Check the batteries first! Then: is every block pressed until it clicks? Lift and re-seat them one by one. |
| The lamp won’t light | Swap in a lamp from another kit. If it works, the old one is burned out. If not, the fault is in the circuit. |
| The LED won’t light | 1) Is there a resistor? 2) Is it facing the right way? Rotate it 180° and try again. |
| Everything is hot and the battery is draining | A short circuit - a wire connects + to − directly. Disconnect immediately and look for it. |
| The motor won’t spin | Is the propeller stuck? Remove it and check. Weak batteries can power a lamp but not a motor. |
| The sensor doesn’t respond | Flickering fluorescent light confuses it. Move next to a window or use a flashlight. |
| The alarm won’t stop | Disconnect the battery. Then: is the magnet too close? Is the sensor accidentally shaded? |
| The capacitor doesn’t “remember” | Polarity! The side marked + must face the battery’s + side. |
This is the page you open when you pick up an unfamiliar part - and it’s also the storage order at the end of every session. The kit has about 60 blocks; the ones shown here are the ones the course uses, in the order they come in.
| # | Session | Today’s Result | Concepts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Path of Electricity | A closed circuit that lights a lamp | Circuit · current · conductor |
| 2 | I Decide When | A circuit with a switch and a button | Switch · open/closed |
| 3 | Who Lets It Through, Who Blocks It | A table of conductors and insulators | Conductor · insulator · hypothesis |
| 4 | Circuit Detectives | Three faulty circuits, fixed | Debugging · short circuit |
| 5 | How Much Power Is Here? | Comparing 3V vs. 6V + a lemon battery | Voltage · volt · terminal |
| 6 | A Chain or Junctions? | A series circuit with two lamps | Series · prediction |
| 7 | Each Gets Its Own Path | An independent parallel circuit | Parallel · junction |
| # | Session | Today’s Result | Concepts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | A Brake for the Current | A brightness ladder of four resistors | Resistor · ohm |
| 9 | Electricity on the Move! | A flying propeller + an electromagnet | Motor · energy · magnet |
| 10 | Electricity Talks | Making sounds with a speaker | Sound · vibration |
| 11 | One Way Only | An LED with a protective resistor | LED · diode · polarity |
| 12 | The Circuit That Sees | An automatic night light | Sensor · threshold · automatic |
| 13 | A Tank of Electricity | An LED that fades slowly | Capacitor · charging · delay |
| 14 | A Switch Without Fingers | A touch detector and a human chain | Transistor · amplification |
| 15 | Magnet Magic | A drawer alarm | Magnetic switch · field |
| 16 | The Circuit Listens | A circuit that responds to a clap | Microphone · signal |
| 17 | Jumping Electricity | Four static electricity experiments | Charge · attraction · discharge |
| # | Session | Today’s Result | Concepts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Our Doorbell | A musical doorbell in a box | Chip · system |
| 19 | A Real Alarm | An alarm with a sensor of your choice | Input · decision · output |
| 20 | Space War | A reaction game with high scores | Reaction time · measurement |
| 21 | Smart Street | A street model with automatic lighting | Automation · integration |
| 22 | Obstacle Course | Five build challenges against the clock | Efficiency · Planning |
| 23 | Making Our Own Electricity | An LED that lights with no battery | Generator · Renewable Energy |
| 24 | Secret Telegraph | Sending a word in Morse code | Communication · Code · Signal |
| 25 | The Steady Hand | A working game made of string and cardboard | Touch · Precision · Prototype |
| 26 | My Electric Home | Safety checklist and an energy-saving survey | High Voltage · Energy Use |
| # | Session | Today’s Result | Concepts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | What Will We Invent? | A signed project sheet + a first component | Specification · Feasibility |
| 28 | Let’s Build It | A prototype that does the job | MVP · Version |
| 29 | The Acceptance Test | A project that passed three tests | Reliability · Feedback |
| 30 | Showcase Night | Parent exhibition + certificates | Presenting · Reflection |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor flicks the classroom lights off and on: “Where does the electricity travel the instant I press?” Collect guesses on the board without correcting anyone. |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | The instructor slowly builds one circuit, then pulls out one wire. The class sees the bulb go out. Put it back and it lights. “That’s the whole secret of today.” |
| 13-33 | Building in Teams | Each team builds the circuit following the five steps. Roles: Builder · Checker · Navigator · Presenter · Kit Manager. |
| 33-40 | Stage Moment | Each team lights its bulb in turn, and the whole class counts down together: “Three, two, one - light!” |
| 40-45 | Wrap-up and Cleanup | Closing question: “What happens if you pull out one wire?” Take everything apart and put each part back in its place in the box. |
The class stands in a circle, everyone holding hands. The instructor “sends” a light squeeze that passes from hand to hand until it comes back to them - that’s current. Now one child lets go: the squeeze stops midway. “That’s an open circuit.” Reconnect, and the squeeze completes the loop again.
The instructor holds two hidden circuits behind their back - one complete and one with a missing wire. They hold them up one at a time, and the class calls out “It lights!” or “It doesn’t!” before the reveal. A team that’s right twice in a row earns a chip.
| Electric circuit | A closed path that electricity travels along without a break |
| Battery | The part that sends electricity on its journey |
| Current | The electricity flowing through the circuit |
| Part Component | Any piece in the kit that does something |
| Conductor | A material that electricity can pass through |
| 1 | Place the Base Board in front of the team, with the printing facing up |
| 2 | Press the battery holder into the corner - you’ll hear a “click” |
| 3 | Wire 3 from the + side of the battery to the bulb |
| 4 | The bulb connects on the other side to another Wire 3 |
| 5 | The last wire goes back to the − side of the battery - it lights! |
| 00-05 | Opening Hook | “Who turned off a light at home today? What did you actually do with your finger?” Together you reach the answer: we broke the path. |
| 05-12 | Projected Demo | The instructor adds a switch to the circuit from the previous session and demonstrates: ON closes it, OFF opens it. Shows the two kinds of switches side by side. |
| 12-33 | Building in Teams | Each team builds with a slide switch, then swaps in a push button and discovers the difference on their own. |
| 33-40 | Stage Moment | Each team demonstrates “Morse code”: three short blinks with the push button. |
| 40-45 | Wrap-up and Cleanup | A chart on the board: where at home you find a slide switch and where a push button (doorbell, keyboard, elevator). |
On a piece of cardboard, attach two metal clips and connect them with a strip of foil that can be lifted. The two flexible snap wires connect the cardboard to the circuit (a paper clip slipped onto the snap button holds the foil): lower the strip and the light is on; lift it and it’s dark. Kids see that a switch isn’t magic - it’s a piece of metal that either touches or doesn’t.
The instructor is the “current” and walks a loop around the room. One child is the switch, and a raised hand = OFF. The instructor must stop immediately. Swap roles fast - anyone caught still walking when the switch is open sits out a round.
| Switch | A part that opens and closes the circuit |
| Open circuit | The path is broken - no current |
| Closed circuit | The path is complete - there is current |
| Push button | A switch that works only while you press it |
| Control | Deciding when a part runs |
| 1 | Start from the Session 1 circuit - you already know it |
| 2 | Pull out one wire and put the slide switch in its place |
| 3 | Slide to ON: light. To OFF: dark |
| 4 | Swap the slide switch for the push button - and compare how they behave |
| 00-05 | Opening Hook | The instructor holds up a real cut electrical wire: “Why is there plastic around the metal here? Who is protecting whom?” |
| 05-11 | Projected Demo | Test two objects together: a key (it lights!) and a plastic ruler (nothing). Define the two words. |
| 11-34 | Team Investigation | Each team gets 8 objects and a chart: coin, scissors, rubber band, pencil (the tip too!), eraser, key, pencil case, aluminum foil. Guess before each test. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | Each team shares one surprising finding. It always comes up: the pencil tip conducts! (carbon) |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Why a wall outlet is covered in plastic - and the course safety rule. |
Two cups: one with tap water, one with water and a lot of salt. Dip the ends of two flexible snap wires (with a paper clip on each end, not touching each other) and connect them to the circuit with the bulb. In plain water - almost nothing. In salt water - the bulb glows. Conclusion: that’s why you must never touch electricity with wet hands - the human body is salty.
60 seconds: each team brings one object from the classroom that they’re sure will conduct. Test them on stage. A team that’s right earns a chip. A team that surprises the class with an unexpected object earns two chips.
| Conductor | A material that carries electricity - mostly metals |
| Insulator | A material that stops electricity - plastic, rubber, wood |
| Insulation | The covering that protects us from the electricity inside |
| Investigation | Test, record, conclude |
| Hypothesis | A reasoned guess before the test |
| 1 | Build a circuit with a bulb - but leave it open |
| 2 | Connect two flexible snap wires to the two ends of the gap |
| 3 | Any object held between the two alligator clips either “closes” the circuit or doesn’t |
| 4 | Record in the chart: guess first, result after |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor tries to light a circuit in front of the class - and it doesn’t work. “Great! We have a bug.” They demonstrate the three steps out loud. |
| 06-12 | The Three-Step Method | 1. Look along the whole path with your finger. 2. Press every connection again. 3. Swap one part at a time. |
| 12-35 | Station Rotation | Teams rotate among three faulty stations the instructor prepared in advance, and write down what they found at each one. |
| 35-41 | Stage Moment | Each team reports on one station: what was broken and how they found it. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | “A short circuit heats up the battery” - check with a finger and remember why we never do this on purpose. |
The instructor demonstrates a working circuit with a bulb, then connects a short wire directly across the bulb. The light goes out - even though the circuit is “complete.” The electricity chose the easy path. After 10 seconds, gently touch the battery holder: it’s warm. “That’s what a short does - it wastes all the power on nothing.”
The instructor prepares a faulty circuit for every team at the same time. On the signal, everyone starts. The first team to light theirs shouts “Light!” But chips go only to a team that also explains correctly what the fault was.
| Fault / bug | Something in the circuit that doesn’t work the way we planned |
| Short circuit | Electricity finds a shortcut and skips the part |
| Debugging | Finding the fault by method, not by guessing |
| Isolating a fault Isolate | Test one part at a time |
| Loose connection | A part that looks connected but didn’t click |
| Station A | A circuit with one wire not pressed in all the way - “looks perfect” |
| Station B | A circuit where the switch is OFF and nobody notices |
| Station C | A circuit where a wire connects + to − directly - a short, and the bulb is off |
| The Rule | At every station: look first, touch after |
| 00-05 | Opening Hook | The instructor shows a picture of a watch battery, an AA battery, and a car battery: “They’re all batteries. How are they different?” |
| 05-12 | Projected Demo | 3V and 6V side by side on the table, shown on screen. The difference in brightness stands out right away. |
| 12-33 | Building in Teams | Half the teams build 3V and half build 6V, then they switch and compare. |
| 33-40 | Stage Moment | Each team reports: “At 3V the bulb was ___, at 6V it was ___.” |
| 40-45 | Wrap-up | Why we don’t connect 4 holders to one bulb - the part simply burns out. The right voltage is like a shoe in the right size. |
Stick a galvanized nail and a piece of copper or a coin into a lemon (or a potato) - without letting them touch. Connect the flexible snap wires (a paper clip on each end grips the nail and the coin) and the LED. One lemon - barely. Three lemons in a chain - the LED lights! A conclusion that amazes kids: a battery isn’t magic, it’s two different metals with something sour in between.
Three teams build circuits at the same time, each with a different number of batteries. The classroom lights go off, and the class ranks which is brightest - without knowing who built what.
| Voltage | The strength of the battery’s push |
| Volt | The unit voltage is measured in |
| In series | Batteries in a chain - the pushes add up |
| Terminal | The + side and the − side of the battery |
| Overload | Too much voltage for a part - it burns out |
| 1 | A circuit with one battery holder (3V) and a bulb - look at the brightness |
| 2 | Add a second holder in series: the + of one to the − of the other |
| 3 | Now it’s 6V - compare brightness with the neighboring team that stayed on 3V |
| 4 | Take one battery out and put it in backward - what happened? |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor tells about an old string of holiday lights where one burned-out bulb turns off the whole string. “Today we’ll find out why.” |
| 06-12 | Predict Before You Test | The instructor builds two bulbs in series and asks before connecting: “Brighter or dimmer?” Kids vote by pointing, then you test. |
| 12-34 | Building in Teams | Each team builds a series circuit with 2 bulbs, then tries 3. Record in the chart: how many bulbs / how bright. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | Each team demonstrates the “moment of disconnect” - pulls out a bulb while the class watches everything go dark. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Where is this good and where is it bad? Good: an alarm that needs everything to be working. Bad: lights in a house. |
The class stands in one line and passes a ball from hand to hand - that’s a series circuit. One kid in the middle folds their arms: the ball gets stuck and no one after them gets it. Now add two “loads” (kids who count to 3 before passing) - the ball arrives much more slowly. That’s exactly why the bulbs are dimmer.
The instructor shows a hidden circuit as a diagram on the screen and asks, “What will happen?” Each team writes an answer on a slip of paper and everyone holds them up at the same time. A correct answer earns a chip. Teams can’t change their answer after seeing their neighbors’.
| Series circuit | All the parts in one chain |
| One path Single path | The current has no choice - it goes through everything |
| Predicting Prediction | Say what will happen - before you test it |
| Brightness | How strongly a part works |
| Dividing up Sharing | The parts split the same push |
| 1 | A circuit with one bulb - remember how bright it is |
| 2 | Add a second bulb in the chain, after the first |
| 3 | Both light up - but dimmer. Why? |
| 4 | Take out one bulb: both go out |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | “When you turn off the light in your room, does the living room light go off too? So why does that happen with a string of holiday lights?” |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | The instructor builds a parallel circuit next to last week’s series circuit. Two circuits side by side - the difference speaks for itself. |
| 13-34 | Building in Teams | Build a parallel circuit, take out a bulb, put it back. Compare the brightness with the series circuit. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | Each team takes out one bulb and announces: “And the other one is still on!” |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Comparison table on the board: series vs. parallel - brightness, independence, use at home. |
The instructor marks two parallel routes in the classroom from the door to the board. Half the class goes in each route. Block one route - the other group still gets through. “That’s exactly how electricity works at home: block one room, the rest keep going.”
Each team builds a “room” with its own bulb and switch. Connect all the teams to one big classroom battery (a real parallel circuit!) and the instructor calls out: “Turn off the kitchen!” - only one team responds. After a few rounds everyone understands why parallel wins.
| Parallel circuit | Every part has its own path to the battery |
| Split point Junction | A point where the path splits |
| Independence Independent | A part that keeps working even if the other one stops |
| Comparing Comparison | Test two setups against each other |
| Takeaway Conclusion | What we learned from the test |
| 1 | From the battery, wires go out to two points - a split |
| 2 | First bulb on the top path |
| 3 | Second bulb on the bottom path |
| 4 | The two paths meet and return to the battery |
| 5 | Take out one bulb - the other keeps going! |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor pours water through a wide funnel and then through a straw: “Same water, same cup. What changed?” - That’s resistance. |
| 06-12 | Projected Demo | Shows four resistors and the color bands on them. Connects them one at a time and shows how the LED dims. |
| 12-34 | Building in Teams | Each team goes through all four resistors and rates them in a brightness table: strong · medium · weak · almost off. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | Turn off the classroom lights. Each team shows its “scale” - four circuits at four levels. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | “Why do we put a resistor before an LED?” Because an LED without a resistor lasts 3 seconds. The resistor is its seatbelt. |
Two kids compete: one drinks water from a cup through a regular straw, the other through a very thin hot-drink straw. Same amount of water, same sucking power - and one finishes way before the other. The thin straw is a big resistor. The two kids get to explain it.
The instructor builds a circuit with a resistor hidden under a cup. The class sees only the brightness and guesses which resistor it is. A team that gets it right earns a chip. After three rounds they become remarkably accurate.
| Resistor | A part that makes it harder for current to pass |
| Resistance | How hard it is for current to pass |
| Ohm | The unit resistance is measured in |
| Protection | The resistor protects delicate parts |
| Scale | Order from smallest to largest |
| 1 | A circuit with an LED - without a resistor it’s in danger! |
| 2 | Put a 100Ω resistor in the chain - the LED lights up safely |
| 3 | Swap in a 1kΩ - dimmer |
| 4 | Swap in a 10kΩ, then a 100kΩ - almost nothing |
| 5 | Record in the table: resistor value vs. brightness |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor spins a small fan by hand: “What makes it spin on its own? There isn’t a single gear in here.” |
| 06-12 | Safety and Demo | Iron rule: the propeller points at the ceiling, never at faces or hair. Demonstrate a controlled liftoff. |
| 12-33 | Building in Teams | Run it, adjust with a resistor, and discover the direction reversal - the most surprising moment. |
| 33-41 | Stage Moment | Liftoff contest: each team launches a propeller, and you measure who got highest (hand on the wall). |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Where are the motors at home? Fan, washing machine, mixer, toys - count how many they found. |
Wrap thin copper wire around a large nail (30-40 turns) and connect it to a battery through a switch - and the nail picks up paper clips! Switch off - everything drops. Now add turns: it picks up more. This is exactly what’s inside the motor, and from here kids understand that a motor is a magnet switched on and off very fast.
Each team launches its propeller from the same line. Measure the landing distance in steps. Second round: you may change one thing in the circuit (take out a resistor, add a battery) - and see if you improved.
| Motor | Turns electricity into spinning motion |
| Energy | The power that passes from one form to another |
| Spinning Rotation | Movement in a circle |
| Direction | Which way the current goes - and which way the motor spins |
| Magnet | What pulls on metal - and drives the motor |
| 1 | A simple circuit: battery, switch, motor |
| 2 | Mount the propeller on the motor shaft - point it up, not forward! |
| 3 | ON - the propeller takes off |
| 4 | Add a resistor: the propeller is slower |
| 5 | Swap the motor’s two connections - the spin reverses |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor asks everyone to put a finger on their throat and say “ahhhh.” “Feel that? That’s a vibration. That’s how every sound in the world is made.” |
| 06-12 | Projected Demo | Connect a speaker and press - click. “The speaker jumped once.” Show the center moving. |
| 12-34 | Building in Teams | Make clicks, add a capacitor and resistors, and discover how the sound changes. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | CHIPS Orchestra: the instructor conducts, each team “plays” a click in turn - and a class rhythm emerges. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | What’s the difference between a speaker and a buzzer? A speaker can make any sound, a buzzer only one. |
Stretch a plastic bag over the mouth of a cup, secure it with a rubber band, and sprinkle grains of rice on top. Bring a working speaker close (or just talk loudly into the cup) - the rice jumps. Invisible vibrations become visible. The kids see sound for the first time.
Each team invents a “code” of three clicks (long-short-long). One team plays behind a divider, and the rest try to copy it exactly. Whoever copies it correctly earns a chip for both teams.
| Speaker | Turns electricity into sound |
| Shaking Vibration | Fast back-and-forth movement |
| Sound | Vibrations that reach our ears |
| Pitch | How high or low the sound is |
| Loudness Volume | How strongly you hear it |
| 1 | Circuit: battery, button, speaker |
| 2 | Every press - a click. That’s one vibration! |
| 3 | Add a capacitor: the click turns into a longer “bwoop” |
| 4 | Swap resistors and listen for the difference |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor draws a one-way street with a sign: “What happens to a car driving the wrong way?” |
| 06-12 | Projected Demo | Lights an LED, flips it, it goes out. Flips it back, it lights up. Does this three times - the class is hooked on the mystery. |
| 12-34 | Building in Teams | Light it, flip it, test a diode. Compare: an ordinary bulb doesn’t care about direction - an LED does. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | “Light Show”: turn off the lights, each team lights an LED - the whole class twinkles. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Why are all the bulbs at home LEDs today? Efficient, cool, and they last for years. |
Build a cardboard “gate” at the classroom entrance that opens in only one direction (a door with a stop). Kids try to pass from both sides: from one side they get through easily; from the other they get stuck. That’s exactly a diode. From that moment the word “diode” means something real.
The instructor gives each team an LED of a different color (red/green) in a closed box. The team builds, lights it and reports only the color - and the class guesses who got what. Mixes fun with a check that the connection is correct.
| LED | A small light that’s efficient and doesn’t get hot |
| Diode | Traffic cop: lets current through in one direction |
| Polarity | A part has a + side and a - side |
| One-way street | Traffic is allowed in one direction only |
| Protection resistor | Keeps the LED from burning out |
| 1 | Circuit: battery, switch, 100Ω resistor, LED |
| 2 | The + side of the LED faces the + side of the battery |
| 3 | It’s on! Now flip the LED 180° |
| 4 | Not lit - even though everything is connected |
| 5 | Add a diode in series and try both directions |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | “Who knows how streetlights know to turn on in the evening? Does someone walk by and flip a switch?” |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | The instructor covers the sensor with a palm - the light turns on. The class asks for it again. And again. |
| 13-34 | Building in Teams | Build the night light. Try it out: a phone flashlight on the sensor, paper, a finger. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | Turn off the classroom lights - all the lamps in the room turn on together. An especially impressive moment. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Where are light sensors? Streetlights, a phone screen that dims, cameras, automatic doors. |
Measure the response: sensor uncovered (full light) ← hand 8 inches (20 cm) away ← hand closer ← fully covered with a cup. At each step record whether the LED is off / dim / bright. Kids discover it’s not “yes or no” but a scale - and that’s where the idea of a “threshold” comes from.
The instructor walks around the room with a flashlight. When the beam lands on a table, that team’s lamp must turn off. A team whose lamp didn’t respond correctly checks its circuit. A game that is really a functionality check.
| Sensor | A part that senses the world |
| Light Sensor Photoresistor | Its resistance changes with light |
| Automatic | Happens on its own, with no one pressing |
| Threshold | The limit where the circuit decides |
| Response | What the circuit does when something changes |
| 1 | Build the LED circuit with the resistor - already familiar |
| 2 | Add the transistor as the circuit’s switch |
| 3 | The light sensor takes the place of the “finger” that presses |
| 4 | Cover it with your hand - the LED turns on. Uncover it - off |
| 5 | Tune the “sensitivity” with a different resistor |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor fills a cup with water and pokes a small hole in the bottom: “It filled up fast, it empties slowly. There’s a part that does exactly this with electricity.” |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | Charges a capacitor, disconnects the battery completely - and the LED stays lit for a few more seconds. “Where is the electricity coming from?!” |
| 13-34 | Building in Teams | Build, measure the fade times of two different capacitors, and record them in a table. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | A “who lasts the longest” contest - with a stopwatch on the screen. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Where are capacitors? A camera with a flash, a remote control, every electrical device in the house. |
Two buckets: one with a big hole and one with a tiny hole. Fill both and time how long each takes to empty. The bucket with the tiny hole = a big capacitor with a big resistor. The time measured with the buckets matches the LED’s fade time exactly - and it ties the idea to something physical: hands and water.
Each team tries to tune its circuit so the LED fades out in exactly 3 seconds - no more, no less. Swapping the capacitor and resistor is allowed. The class counts out loud. The closest team takes the chips.
| Capacitor | A small tank that stores electricity |
| Charging | Filling the tank |
| Discharging | The tank slowly empties |
| Storage | Saving energy for later |
| Delay | Time that passes until something happens |
| 1 | Circuit: battery, push button, 470µF capacitor, resistor, LED |
| 2 | Press for 3 seconds - the capacitor fills up |
| 3 | Let go - the LED keeps fading slowly |
| 4 | Swap in a 100µF capacitor - the fade is faster |
| 5 | Use a stopwatch to time how long each capacitor lasts |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor holds up a phone: “Inside this are more than 10 billion tiny switches. Today we’ll meet one of them.” |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | Touches the two wires - the LED lights up. The class goes wild. “I didn’t press anything - my body was the switch.” |
| 13-34 | Building in Teams | Build the touch detector. Try a dry finger, a damp finger, and two kids touching each other. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | Human chain: the whole team holds hands, only the first and last touch the wires - and the LED lights up through everyone! |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | “A regular switch needs a strong finger. A transistor needs only a hint of electricity.” |
The whole class holds hands in one long chain. The kid at one end holds the red wire, the kid at the other end holds the black one. The LED lights up - through 25 kids. There’s no stronger demonstration that our bodies conduct, and that a transistor responds to a remarkably small current.
Each team measures the LED’s brightness with the touch of each member, and ranks them. Wet or warm hands conduct better. Explain why - and stress that it isn’t “talent,” it’s physics.
| Transistor | An electrical switch with no moving parts |
| Amplification | A small current controls a big current |
| Base | The transistor’s control pin |
| Touch | A finger closes a very weak circuit |
| Chip | Millions of transistors on a tiny surface |
| 1 | LED and resistor circuit - the LED is off |
| 2 | The transistor goes in as a switch in the LED’s path |
| 3 | Two flexible snap wires come out of the control pin |
| 4 | Touch both wires with your fingers - the LED lights up! |
| 5 | Dampen your fingers slightly - it lights up brighter |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor asks: “How does the store know you walked in? How does the alarm know the window was opened?” |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | Moves a magnet toward and away from the camera - the LED turns on and off as if by itself. |
| 13-34 | Building in Teams | Build the circuit, measure the activation distance, and build a real box alarm. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | Each team sets its box on the table. The instructor tries to “steal” - and the class erupts in beeping. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Why is this better than a regular switch on a door? There are no parts to break, and you can’t bypass it by hand. |
Sprinkle iron filings (or small paper clips) on a sheet of paper, and move a magnet underneath. The clips line up - the kids see the magnetic field. Conclusion: the magnet acts through the paper, with no contact. Exactly like on the reed switch inside the block.
One team builds an alarm and hides the magnet. A second team tries to open the box without setting it off (it may use a magnet of its own!). The defending team that manages to stop them gets chips. The attacking team that manages to get around it gets double chips.
| Magnetic Switch Reed switch | Closes when a magnet gets close |
| Magnet | Attracts metal from a distance |
| Field | The area where the magnet has an effect |
| Security | A system that protects something |
| From a Distance Contactless | Works without physical contact |
| 1 | Circuit: battery, magnetic switch, LED, and speaker |
| 2 | Bring a magnet close - the circuit closes |
| 3 | Move it away - it opens |
| 4 | Measure: from what distance does it already work? |
| 5 | Stick the magnet to a box lid - the alarm is ready |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | “How does the voice assistant on your phone know you spoke? What did it actually hear?” |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | The instructor claps - the LED jumps. Whispers - almost nothing. Shouts - a big jump. |
| 13-34 | Building in Teams | Build and calibrate: how hard do you have to clap for it to respond? Move your hand away and test again. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | “The Clap Wave”: the class claps in a wave from one side to the other, and the LEDs light up one after another. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | A microphone and a speaker are exactly the same idea - just in opposite directions. |
Two plastic cups with a taut string between them. One person talks into a cup, the other listens - the vibrations travel through the string. “That’s exactly what the microphone does, except that instead of a string it turns the vibration into electricity.” A classic experiment that always works, and ties sound, vibration, and electricity together in one sentence.
All teams calibrate to maximum sensitivity. Class challenge: keep the LEDs off for a full 30 seconds. The team whose LED lights up first is out. A game that gets laughs and calms a rowdy class at the end of a session.
| Microphone | Turns sound into electricity |
| Signal | Electricity that carries information |
| Sensitivity | How easily the sensor is triggered |
| Voice Activation | A sound that switches a device on |
| Background Noise | Sounds you didn’t mean to pick up |
| 1 | Microphone + amplifier transistor + LED |
| 2 | Speak near the microphone - the LED responds |
| 3 | Clap - a sharp jump |
| 4 | Change the resistor - change the sensitivity |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | “Has anyone ever gotten a little zap from a door handle or a slide?” Everyone raises a hand. “Today we’ll find out why.” |
| 06-12 | Projected Demo | A balloon on a volunteer’s hair - the hair stands up. The class laughs, and then starts asking questions. |
| 12-36 | Four Experiment Stations | Teams rotate through four stations and record on the task sheet what happened at each one. |
| 36-42 | Stage Moment | A “how long does the balloon stay on the wall” contest - with a class-wide count. |
| 42-45 | Wrap-up | Lightning is exactly the same thing - just between a cloud and the ground, and enormous. |
Turn on a faucet to a stream as thin as a thread. Bring over a plastic ruler that’s been rubbed well on hair or wool - the stream bends in midair toward the ruler, with no contact. This is the experiment that makes kids this age gasp. It works best on a dry day.
Each team gets a pile of small paper bits and a balloon. 30 seconds: who picks up the most bits in one go? Teams discover on their own that longer rubbing = more charge.
| Static Electricity | Charges that build up in one place |
| Charge | The “amount of electricity” sitting on an object |
| Attraction | Opposite charges attract |
| Repulsion | Like charges repel |
| Discharge | The moment the charge jumps - a spark |
| A | Balloon rubbed on hair - picks up paper bits |
| B | Balloon on the wall - sticks without glue |
| C | Two charged balloons - they push each other away |
| D | A rubbed ruler bends a thin stream of water from the faucet! |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor plays a doorbell sound from a phone: “There’s a melody stored inside this bell. Where is it stored?” |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | Assembles the chip and shows: “Everything you’ve built so far, someone already built here in miniature - and we just connect it.” |
| 13-34 | Building in Teams | Build the bell, add a blinking LED, and adjust the volume. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | “Bell Orchestra”: each team plays in turn, and then everyone together for three seconds of happy chaos. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Why do we use chips? Because nobody rebuilds what already works. That’s exactly what engineers do. |
Each team puts its circuit inside a shoebox and punches a hole for the button. Suddenly it’s not a “kit on a table” but a product. Add a name and a sticker - and the students treat it completely differently. It’s also the first practice toward the Final Project.
Each team plays, and the class tries to identify the melody or invent a name for it. Then each team demonstrates its own “rhythm” in presses - a short bell, a long one, a double.
| Chip | A complete circuit packed into one part |
| Integrated Circuit | Many parts inside one box |
| Melody | A pre-planned sequence of notes |
| System | Several parts working together for one goal |
| Reuse | Use what has already been designed |
| 1 | Mount the music chip on the board |
| 2 | Connect a battery and speaker as marked |
| 3 | A button starts the melody |
| 4 | Add an LED that blinks with the sound |
| 5 | Try a resistor in series with the speaker - lower volume |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor shows three posters: Input → Decision → Output. “Every smart device in the world is built from these three.” |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | Builds an alarm and demonstrates a break-in. The class calls out: “That’s the input! That’s the output!” |
| 13-35 | Building in Teams | Each team chooses which sensor to use - and that’s their first engineering decision. |
| 35-42 | Stage Moment | “Break-in test”: the instructor walks between the tables and tries to steal an item from each team. |
| 42-45 | Wrap-up | What would happen without a sensor? Without a chip? Every part is essential - that’s a system. |
Stretch a thin string across a classroom aisle and attach the magnet to it. Someone trips on it - moves the magnet - and the alarm screams. An exciting “trap” that shows a sensor is anything that translates a change in the world into an electrical change.
The instructor announces that there’s a “treasure” (a box of candy) on their table. All the teams guard it together with their alarms. One of the kids tries to sneak up while the whole class watches. If the alarm catches them, the whole class earns a chip.
| Alarm | A system that alerts you when something happens |
| System | A sensor, a brain, and an output working together |
| Input | What comes in - what the sensor feels |
| Output | What comes out - sound, light, motion |
| Decision | The brain chooses what to do |
| 1 | Alarm chip + speaker + battery - the base |
| 2 | Choose a sensor: magnetic (door) or light (drawer) |
| 3 | The sensor goes into the power-on input |
| 4 | A red LED adds a visual warning |
| 5 | Test: open it - it screams. Close it - quiet. |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor plays space sounds: “Where do all the sounds in games come from? Does someone record them?” |
| 06-12 | Projected Demo | Triggers the chip with different effects and shows how the button changes the sound. |
| 12-33 | Building in Teams | Each team builds its own reaction game and sets the rules of the game itself. |
| 33-42 | Class Tournament | Each team presents its game, and the class plays. Write the high scores on the board. |
| 42-45 | Wrap-up | What makes a game good? Clear rules, fairness, and a challenge you can get better at. |
One kid holds a ruler vertically, and the other holds open fingers at the bottom. The ruler drops without warning - how many cm go by before it’s caught? The fewer the cm, the faster the reaction. Measure the whole class and draw a simple bar graph - a science and math lesson inside an electricity lesson.
Knockout tournament: two teams, one button for each, and the instructor turns on the LED at a random moment. The first to press advances. The final is on stage in front of the whole class.
| Sound Effect | A sound that creates a feeling |
| Reaction Time | How fast the body responds |
| Measurement | Check with numbers, not with a feeling |
| Record | The best result |
| Fair Play | The same conditions for everyone |
| 1 | Game chip + speaker + button |
| 2 | Add an LED as a “start light” |
| 3 | The LED turns on → press as fast as you can |
| 4 | Add a second button for “two players” |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | A picture of a street at night next to a street during the day: “How many workers would it take to turn on all the streetlights in the city?” |
| 06-12 | Projected Demo | The instructor demonstrates the model and covers the sensor - the street lights up. Talks about saving energy. |
| 12-35 | Building in Teams | Each team builds a street model on cardboard: a road, two lamps, and maybe a house. |
| 35-42 | Stage Moment | “Sunset in the classroom” - dim the lights gradually and all the streets light up together. |
| 42-45 | Wrap-up | What else in a city works on its own? Fountains, doors, traffic lights, irrigation. |
A shoebox with a peephole on one side and a “sun” (flashlight) on the other. Move the flashlight slowly - “sunset” - and watch through the hole for the exact moment the street lights up. Kids discover that there’s a threshold point, not a smooth transition, and that it can be moved.
All the teams attach their cardboard pieces to one big city on a central table. The instructor turns off the classroom light - the whole city lights up at once. A class photo is a must.
| Automation | A system that works on its own |
| Integration | Connecting several parts into one system |
| Saving Energy Efficiency | Not wasting electricity for nothing |
| Model | A small build that imitates something big |
| Infrastructure | The systems that serve everyone |
| 1 | Session 12 base: light sensor + transistor + LED |
| 2 | Add a second LED in parallel - two streetlights |
| 3 | Glue it to cardboard and draw a road |
| 4 | Calibrate the threshold: exactly when does it turn on? |
| 5 | Test: turn off the classroom light - the street lights up |
| 00-05 | Explaining the Rules | Five challenges, 4 minutes each. The team raises a hand when finished - the instructor approves and records the time. |
| 05-37 | Challenge Round | The instructor announces a challenge, starts a timer on the screen, and goes around to approve. Between challenges - 30 seconds to take things apart. |
| 37-43 | Results Chart | Fill in the class chart: how many challenges were completed, and which one was the hardest. |
| 43-45 | Wrap-up | “What helped you be fast?” Lead them to the answer: planning and dividing roles. |
Bonus challenge: one team member closes their eyes and builds using only spoken instructions from teammates. Teams discover how important it is to describe things precisely (“the long blue block to the upper right corner”) - a funny, instructive lesson in engineering communication.
The challenges themselves are the game. Add-on: after each challenge, the fastest team picks another team to “explain the trick” to - and earns an extra chip for teaching.
| Challenge | A task with a goal and a time limit |
| Efficiency | Getting a result with less effort |
| Planning Ahead | Think before you touch |
| Teamwork | Smart division of work |
| Improvement | The next time will be better |
| Challenge 1 | A simple bulb circuit - against the clock |
| Challenge 2 | Two bulbs in parallel, one of which turns off by itself |
| Challenge 3 | An LED with a resistor - without burning it out |
| Challenge 4 | A motor that spins in the direction the instructor calls out |
| Challenge 5 | A faulty circuit - find the fault and fix it |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | “Where does the electricity in the wall outlet come from? Who put it there?” Collect answers, and get to: someone is spinning something big. |
| 06-13 | Projected Demo | The instructor spins a propeller in front of the camera and the LED lights up. “There’s no battery here. None at all.” Does it again, slowly. |
| 13-34 | Building in Teams | Each team makes electricity: with a finger, by blowing, and then with a “fan” (a folded sheet of paper) held by a teammate. |
| 34-41 | Stage Moment | “Strong Wind” contest: who can light the LED the brightest with a single blow. |
| 41-45 | Wrap-up | Energy map: sun · wind · water · coal - which of these are renewable? Mark them together. |
Fold a paper “pinwheel” on a pin, attach it to the motor shaft, and set it in front of a class fan or a hair dryer on the cool setting. The LED stays lit continuously. Kids build a miniature power plant - and understand firsthand why wind farms look the way they do.
Two teams, two motors, two LEDs. On the signal - everyone spins. The team whose LED stays on continuously for 20 seconds wins. Built-in discovery: team members have to take turns - just as a power plant can’t run alone.
| Generator | Turns motion into electricity - the opposite of a motor |
| Renewable Energy | Energy that never runs out: sun, wind, water |
| Conversion | Energy that passes from one form to another |
| Turbine | A wheel that wind or water turns |
| Sustainability | Making things without wrecking the planet |
| 1 | Disconnect the battery completely - it’s not used today! |
| 2 | Connect an LED directly to the two motor terminals |
| 3 | Spin the propeller with a finger - the LED flickers |
| 4 | Spin faster - brighter |
| 5 | Blow hard on the propeller - a wind turbine! |
| 00-07 | Opening Hook | The instructor flashes SOS with a flashlight: ··· --- ···. “Does anyone know what I said?” Presents the story of the telegraph. |
| 07-14 | Learn 8 letters | A projected chart with A E I M O S T and more. Practice together in class: everyone “transmits” with their fingers. |
| 14-36 | Transmission Stations | Teams are paired up. Each pair of teams sends a word and receives a word. Three rounds. |
| 36-43 | Stage Moment | Class broadcast: the instructor sends one word, and the whole class decodes it together in complete silence. |
| 43-45 | Wrap-up | “How do we send a message today? What stays the same?” - still light and electricity, just faster. |
Stretch a long wire (10-15 m) down the hallway or between the two ends of the classroom, and send a real signal from end to end. Kids see the signal travel a distance - and discover on their own that both sides have to agree on the code in advance, or there’s nothing to decode.
Each team invents its own secret code (3 signals = a command). Teams try to “intercept” and decode their neighbors’ code within 3 minutes. Whoever cracks it earns chips. Whoever’s code survives earns double chips.
| Communication | Passing information from place to place |
| Code | Agreed in advance: what each signal means |
| Morse | A language of dots and dashes |
| Signal | The signal that’s sent - light, sound, or electricity |
| Decoding | Turning the code back into a word |
| 1 | Transmission station circuit: battery, button, LED, and speaker together |
| 2 | Short press = dot · long press = dash |
| 3 | Stretch flexible snap wires to a neighbor’s table - a telegraph line! |
| 4 | Get a simple Morse chart with 8 letters |
| 5 | Transmit · Receive · Decode · Confirm |
| 00-06 | Opening Hook | The instructor demonstrates the game and fails on purpose in the first second. The class laughs and wants to try right away. |
| 06-12 | How It Works | “Why does it beep when we touch it?” The class figures it out on its own: the ring and the track close a circuit. What they learned in Session 1 comes back in a big way. |
| 12-36 | Building in Teams | Each team designs its own track: easy, medium, or “impossible.” Decorate it and give it a name. |
| 36-43 | Class Tournament | Each team sets up its game. Rotation: every student tries one game from another team. Time each run. |
| 43-45 | Wrap-up | “What was hard about building it?” Usually: the ring is too big or too small - and that’s exactly an iteration. |
Before the game, a short experiment: each student tries to hold the ring perfectly still for 10 seconds, once after running in place and once after deep breaths. They discover that the body shakes more after exertion. Biology walks into electricity class, and kids learn that the hand is part of the circuit.
A tournament with a leaderboard: who gets through the track fastest with no touches. Three leagues by difficulty level - so even kids with less steady hands find a league that fits.
| Contact | Two conductors touch - the circuit closes |
| Track | The path the ring has to follow |
| Precision | Doing it exactly right, without straying |
| Prototype | The first version of an invention |
| Iteration | A second, better version |
| 1 | Bend thick copper wire into a winding track and push it into the cardboard |
| 2 | A ring made from wire (or a bent paper clip), threaded onto the track |
| 3 | One flexible snap wire to the track, the other to the ring (a paper clip holds the copper wire) |
| 4 | Connect to the speaker and the LED through the battery |
| 5 | Touch = sound + light = you lose! |
| 00-08 | Opening Hook | The instructor holds up a battery holder and a photo of an outlet: “Both are electricity. One I hand to you, the other you must never touch. Why?” |
| 08-16 | The Four Rules | For each rule - a short, real story. Kids act out a scenario: a hair dryer near a bathtub, a frayed cord. |
| 16-34 | Energy Use Survey | Each team gets a list of appliances and ranks them: which uses the most? (AC, oven, fridge vs. phone charger, LED bulb). |
| 34-42 | Stage Moment | Each team presents one “saving tip” for the home - and explains how much it saves. |
| 42-45 | Wrap-up | Each student writes down one task for home: check / switch off / tell a parent. |
Each student gets a sheet with eight pictures of corners of a home (TV on standby, a light on in an empty room, a charger plugged in with no phone, an open fridge). The task: mark where electricity is being wasted and why. Then do the same survey in the real home and report back next session. Learning goes home from the classroom - and parents discover a kid who turns off the lights.
The instructor reads out 12 situations and shows pictures. The class votes: thumbs up (safe) or arms crossed (dangerous). The tricky situations - “touching an outlet with a plastic key” - spark a real discussion.
| High voltage | Wall power - life-threatening |
| Low voltage | Batteries - safe to touch |
| Grounding | A safe path for electricity to escape into the earth |
| Consumption | How much electricity a device uses |
| Saving | Using only what you need |
| Comparison | 3V in the kit vs. 120V in the wall - 40 times more! |
| Rule 1 | Never put anything into an outlet |
| Rule 2 | Never touch electricity with wet hands |
| Rule 3 | Damaged cord = call an adult, don’t fix it |
| Rule 4 | Water and electrical devices never belong in the same place |
Six ready-made projects to choose from in Session 27 - all use parts the kids have already learned, and all meet the feasibility rules. A team with its own idea is welcome to propose it, as long as it meets the rules too.
| 00-08 | The Project Menu | The instructor presents six ready-made projects (on the next page) - and stresses that an original idea is also fine if it follows the rules. |
| 08-16 | Choose and Write | Each team chooses and writes its product sentence. The instructor walks around and signs off with one question: “Which part will you build today?” |
| 16-36 | Sketch and Prototype | Draw the plan and wire up the first part for real - so the session doesn’t end on paper alone. |
| 36-43 | Stage Moment | Each team presents for 30 seconds: “We’re building ___ that helps ___.” |
| 43-45 | Wrap-up | What to bring or prepare for the next session - each team writes it down. |
Each team interviews another team: “Would you use this? What’s missing?” Three questions, two minutes. The ideas improve right away - and this is the moment kids discover that a product is built for someone, not for the teacher.
Each team gets 60 seconds to “advertise” its invention to the class. The rest of the class votes with raised hands for who would use it. No losers - just instant feedback.
| Invention | A new solution to a real problem |
| Specification | What the product does - written in advance |
| Sketch | Drawing a plan before building |
| User | The person who will use what we built |
| Feasibility | Can we build it with what we have? |
| Step 1 | Pick a real-life problem: darkness, theft, forgetting, noise |
| Step 2 | Write the sentence: “Our ___ helps ___ by ___.” |
| Step 3 | Draw: input → decision → output |
| Step 4 | List parts from the kit - up to 4 |
| Step 5 | Divide up roles for the next three sessions |
| 00-05 | Method Reminder | “One part - test. Another part - test.” The instructor writes this on the board and leaves it up. |
| 05-38 | Long Build | The main work time. The instructor circulates, asks questions, and doesn’t touch anything. A stuck team gets a guiding question, not a solution. |
| 38-43 | Stage Moment | Each team demos what does work - even if it’s only partial. Applause for everyone. |
| 43-45 | Wrap-up | Each team says one sentence: “Next session we’ll finish ___.” |
While the circuit is being built, each team makes the product’s “body” from cardboard: a box, holes for the LED and speaker, a product name. Going from “circuit” to “product with a face” boosts motivation, and lets kids who like wiring less find a real role.
Midway through the session, the instructor stops everything: each team sends one representative to another team for 5 minutes of help. They come back with a new idea. Both teams get a chip.
| Prototype | The first version that works |
| Version | A stage in the product’s development |
| Persistence | Keep going even when it’s hard |
| Trade-off | Giving up something to gain something |
| MVP | The smallest version that works comes first |
| 1 | First assemble only the main action |
| 2 | Test that it works - before adding anything |
| 3 | Add one part and test again |
| 4 | Every addition = a test. Never add two at once |
| 5 | Mark on the project sheet what already works |
| 00-06 | Explain the three tests | The instructor deliberately demonstrates failing Test 2: operates a team’s product with no explanation and can’t get it to work. |
| 06-28 | Testing Round | Teams swap and test each other’s projects. Each team fills out a feedback card for the team it tested. |
| 28-38 | Fixes | Each team fixes things based on the feedback it got - this is the part that turns a good project into a great one. |
| 38-43 | Demo Rehearsal | Each team practices its 60 seconds, with a clock. |
| 43-45 | Wrap-up | What to wear, who speaks, what to bring to Showcase Night. |
The instructor plays a “confused parent”: holds the product upside down, asks “What does this do?”, presses the wrong spot. Teams discover they need clear labels and direction - and add arrows, stickers, and names. A product design lesson at eye level.
Each team gets a scoring sheet and rates two other projects on three criteria: works · clear · original. The scores are collected onto the project certificate handed out on Showcase Night.
| Test | Trying to break it so we can fix it |
| Reliability | Works again and again, not just once |
| Feedback | What others think of what we built |
| Polish | The last small improvements |
| Demo | A short show of what the product does |
| Test 1 | The product works three times in a row with no glitch |
| Test 2 | Another team operates it with no explanation from you |
| Test 3 | Survives disconnecting and reconnecting the battery |
| Fix | Every failure = one focused fix and a retest |
| Demo | Write 4 sentences: what · how · challenge · improvement |
| 00-08 | Exhibition Setup | Arrange tables and signs, and test that every product works. Fresh batteries. |
| 08-14 | Dress Rehearsal | Each team demos once for a neighboring team - a warm-up before the audience. |
| 14-34 | Exhibition Open | Parents and students walk around. Each team presents again and again - and that repetition is what locks in the learning. |
| 34-41 | Certificate Ceremony | Each student receives a CHIPS Engineer certificate with their name on it, and each team’s total chips are read aloud. |
| 41-45 | Reflection and Closing | Each student completes the sentence aloud: “The coolest thing I built this year is ___.” |
A classroom wall with 30 sticky notes - one session per note. Each student writes one concept they learned on a note and draws it. Parents read the wall and see the whole journey: from a closed circuit to an alarm system. A powerful visual summary of a whole year.
Each team gives a parent a simple faulty circuit (a loose wire) and times how long it takes to find the problem. The kids are the experts - and they explain the method. A role-reversal moment parents remember for years.
| Exhibition | Showing the audience what we made |
| Presentation | Telling it clearly and proudly |
| Reflection | Looking back and learning |
| Pride | The feeling of “I built this” |
| Engineer | Someone who solves problems by building |
| Before | Every table: product · sign with the project name · project sheet |
| The Sentence | “Our ___ helps ___ by ___” |
| The Demo | Run it in front of the audience - 60 seconds |
| The Question | “Want to try running it yourself?” |
| The Finish | Certificates + class photo |
Eight advanced builds you can pull out at any moment: a team that finished early, a shortened session, a make-up class, or just a class that wants more. All of them use only parts already learned - and none needs advance prep.
A wrap-up quiz on everything learned. The correct answer is highlighted and the explanation is below it - for the instructor only. Project one question at a time; each team writes its answer on a small board, and all teams hold them up together.
A 15-minute class game that practices recognizing components and concepts. Each team draws a 5×5 board and picks 24 items from the list below (plus a free center square). The instructor reads a definition - not a name - and the teams mark it.
The course teaches how things work. These discussions ask what for. Each one takes 10-20 minutes, needs no equipment, and fits a shortened session, a rainy day, or the end of a unit. The only rule: the instructor asks and listens - doesn’t lecture.
Start with examples the kids know: a wheelchair lift, a remote for window blinds, a hearing aid, a talking crosswalk signal for people who are blind. The key question: which part from our kit is inside each one? (motor, speaker, sensor, push button). Then: “What would you build for your grandma?”
Show pictures: a solar panel, a wind turbine, a dam. Remind them of session 23 - a motor that is spun makes electricity. Discuss: what happens when there’s no wind and no sun? (This is where the capacitor comes in - a tank that stores energy for later.) End with: where in the school could we install something like this?
Smoke detector, earthquake alarm, airbag, heart-rate monitor. They all work the same way: sensor → decision → alert - exactly the structure of session 19. Each team invents one new detector and draws it on the board.
A quick round of ideas: 60 seconds per team. The only rule - use at least one sensor and one output. Vote on the idea most worth actually building, and if there’s time left - build it.
An eye-level discussion: are there things we’d rather do ourselves? A washing machine - yes, worth it. But do we want a robot that does our homework? What would we learn and what would we lose? A question that builds critical thinking, not just excitement.
Thirty terms - one per session. Kids don’t memorize them; they meet each one right when they need it. This page is for the instructor, and also for hanging on the classroom wall at the end of the course.
| Electric circuit | A closed path that electricity travels along |
| Current | The electricity flowing through a circuit |
| Voltage | The strength of the battery’s push |
| Volt | The unit of voltage |
| Resistance | How hard it is for current to pass |
| Ohm | The unit of resistance |
| Conductor | A material that lets electricity through |
| Insulator | A material that stops electricity |
| Open circuit | The path is broken - no current |
| Closed circuit | The path is complete - there is current |
| Short circuit | A shortcut that skips the part |
| Series circuit | All the parts in one chain |
| Parallel circuit | Each part gets its own path |
| Polarity | A part has a + side and a - side |
| Battery | Pushes the electricity on its journey |
| Resistor | Slows the current and protects |
| Capacitor | A tiny tank that stores electricity |
| Diode | Lets current through in one direction |
| LED | An efficient, cool-running light |
| Transistor | A switch that opens with a tiny current |
| Sensor | A part that senses the world |
| Chip IC | A whole circuit in one part |
| Generator | Turns motion into electricity |
| Electromagnet | A magnet made from electricity |
| Static electricity | Charges that build up from rubbing |
| Charge | An amount of electricity sitting on an object |
| Input / Output | What goes into the system / what comes out |
| Debugging | Hunting for a fault step by step |
| Prototype | The first version that works |
| Specification | What the product does - written in advance |