Overview:

My grade one class just finished creating LED Christmas Cards. They followed a tutorial that taught them how to make a basic circuit and switch inside of a card template. The students learned a lot about how electricity and circuits work. It was also a great opportunity to observe their problem solving and critical thinking skills in action.

Process:

The structure of the tutorial allowed them to explore the process of making a circuit independently. Students worked in small groups; they watched the video on an iPad and then worked together to make their LED card. The lesson went very smooth; everyone was able to get his or her light to turn on with minimal teacher support.

Observations:

The video tutorial allowed me to circulate the room offering support and making observations of the student’s learning. The problem solving that took place during the lesson blew me away. They quickly discovered what techniques worked and what types of errors caused the circuit to break. An example of this was a conversation I observed between two students. They had both made their card light up; the students successfully connected the battery to the LED with copper tape. They then started tapping the battery to the card. One student noticed that her light stopped working after tapping the battery down, but her friend’s still worked. They quickly realized that the difference between the two circuits was one of the batteries was completely covered with tape, and one only taped the battery on the sides. They were able to independently conclude that the tape was interfering with the flow of energy back to the battery. The room was filled with students offering ideas and solutions to each other’s circuits.

Take Aways:

LED circuits are surprisingly simple and easy to use. Copper tape allows you to add an element of technology to projects with very little effort or cost. They put the science of circuitry into the hands of the students. This introduction lesson has given students the foundation they need to use circuits independently; my class is already starting to make their own LED cards and applying LEDs into their Maker Space projects (see samples below). I encourage teachers of any age group or subject to try an LED project with their class.

Beyond the lesson – Maker Space samples: