In our modern and global world, it is a genuine challenge to consider the response to the question “What would we do without electrical energy?” At recent ‘invitations to learning’ for parents, Grade 3 students explored and navigated the unique and important features of electrical energy at different learning centres.

As thinkers and risk takers, our young scientists expressed excitement at leading a number of practical scientific investigations while engaging their parents in the inquiry process. The conceptual theme of ‘How the world works’ guided students as they experimented with a range of circuits, batteries, wires, putty and other gadgets located in ‘Little Bits’ electricity kit challenges. Students worked diligently to apply their prior knowledge, follow procedural steps, test their theories, gain new insights through trial and error and negotiate meaning. Parents were visibly impressed at these young students’ agility with complex materials and expressed sheer delight at their children’s abilities to make small bulbs light up, motors turn and sounds activate on cue! A number of students also added thoughts to a ‘wonder wall’ posted in the room to further reflect on their experiences.

A focus on the key concepts of form, function and responsibility has supported students in deepening their understanding of electricity as a form of energy. They explored different materials, some of which included cardboard, plastic and aluminum, to apply core aspects of the design cycle. With the aid of construction tools and safety glasses in the makerspace room, students also created prototypes of familiar inventions and then demonstrated how to make them function as simple machines powered by electricity. They also considered what their responsibilities are in terms of conserving energy.

Thank you to our team of grade 3 homeroom teachers, educational assistants and Mr Ben Cooperman, TK’s STEAM Facilitator, for nurturing the students’ curiosity and competencies on this interactive learning journey.

Here are some inspiring quotes from Grade 3 students about their experiences during this unit of inquiry:

Taisei: I learnt that when something works, it’s always moving like a circle so that’s why we call it circuits!

Sharanya: When our circuit stopped working, we figured out the solution by ourselves. In STEAM lessons, we get to use tools by ourselves and learn about them a lot.

Aurum: At first, I thought that energy was not so fun as a unit but then when I started to make stuff and know more about energy, I started to like it! The circuits are cool because our teacher explained that the energy always moves in a circle and that’s why we call it a circuit!

Maithili: When we used the saw and then there was dust flying everywhere, it was exciting because it was the first tool time we ever had in the makerspace room!

Max: We learnt about measurement. We made a wooden plane by putting in a battery pack, a switch, wheels and a motor!

Sophia K.: The hardest part for me was trying to prevent the motor from being a short circuit because the battery and the wire were getting hot!

Zac: At the first class, we were just gathering materials. In the next class, we had to measure a lot and use materials that we hadn’t used before. It took us a lot of effort for us to build our plane! The iPad that we used for STEAM helped us to reflect on our project with the Book Creator app!

Gery: Once I was with my partner Josephine and I was trying to make an LED light with electrical tape and we tried a long, long time but we never got it correct and then we tried turning it over and at last we were the first people to finish!

Hayden: The hardest thing about this unit is the part when we had to make the electromagnetic motor because Ms Hartung said we had to try and make a wire, a magnet and a battery to make the wire spin around the magnet. I tried for days and then at last it worked!

Divit: My partner and I were trying to make an invention but at first it was very hard and then we kept on trying and we connected wires together to make a torch!