Lesson Plan

Day: M T W T F
Date: 17/02/16 and 18/2/16 Time: 14:00
pm/8:50am
Year: 9 (extension)
Learning Area: Science
Topic: Combination Circuits and
Voltage Drop
Curriculum content description: (from ACARA)
Energy transfer through different mediums can be explained using wave and
particle models (ACSSU182)

Students prior knowledge and experience:

Understanding how the basic components of a circuit interact, the

representative symbols for circuit components and how to connect
them
Prepare diagrams of simple circuits
Understand the concepts of volts, current and resistance and units of
measurement
Cross multiplication/inverse technique
Know the relationship voltage circuits in series and parallel
Calculate total resistance in series and parallel

Learning

purpose:

To give students theoretical experience In

calculating voltage drop, total resistance and current in series and parallel
circuits.

Learning objectives:

On completion of this lesson,

students will be able to:
1. Use knowledge of parallel and
series
circuits
to
predict
voltage and current from a
known source
2. Calculate total resistance, total
current and determine voltage
drop attributed to various
components of a circuit

Evaluation:

1. Students will demonstrate their

ability to predict the effect of
series and parallel circuits on
voltage, current and resistance
by completing the Series and
Parallel Circuits worksheet as
well as in their validation test
(now
rescheduled
to
the
following week)
2. Students will demonstrate their
ability
to
calculate
total
resistance and voltage drop by
a
range
of
pre-prepared
questions (within slides and
prepared on white board) as
well
as
a
pop-quiz
and

worksheet. Students will also

answer questions on these
topics during the validation
test.

Preparation and Resources:

(Detail what resources will be used and what other preparation of the learning environment
will be required)

Students will need

Pencil cases
Writing tools and book
Calculator
Teacher will prepare
Series and parallel worksheets
Power point slides
On board question
Voltage and amperage worksheet
Pop- Quiz

Catering for diversity

(this class contains no learning disabilities or ESL students)

Students who finish early to continue begin revising for the validation
test
Adequate and regular checking of comprehension.
Use mentor and/or prac student to assist with behavior management
or students who are trailing behind.
Ask children to share notes/take photos if they have missed class or
are not able to keep up.

Timi
ng

Learning Experiences
Lesson 5
1. Introduction

5min
s

Move students into the class in an orderly manner and have them
sit in the pre-prepared groups of desks.
2. Sequence of learning experiences:

15
mins

a. Finish of slides relating to Series and Parallel Circuits- starting

with the table discussing series circuits and finishing on
combination circuits in the household.

15
mins
20
min

5
min

b. Worksheet
Hand out Series and Parallel Circuits worksheet
Draw circuits from the worksheet on the board while students
are busy
Work through answers on the board
c. Begin
discussing
Series
and
Parallel
Circuits
Combination
- Refresh formula for total resistance in series and parallel
- Discuss the process of analysing circuits as series and parallel
components, calculating total resistance, finding total current
and last determining the voltage drop over each of the
resistors in the circuit.
- Work through example questions in slides relating to
calculating total resistance in combination circuits, asking the
group to complete each example question before discussing
answers with the class.
d. Lesson conclusion:
- Ask students what components of houses would be setup in
series and parallel and why? Leads to discussion about +ves
and ves of different wiring.
- Remind students that the content is assessable and will be
covered in the upcoming validation test
Lesson # 6
Prepare Circuit on board with one series resistor (5 ohms), two
parallel resistors (pick any small numbers 2, 3 for example) and a
power pack with 6V. Questions:
-

5
mins

What is the total resistance in the circuit?

What is the total current in the circuit?
What is the voltage drop in the circuit?

1. Introduction
Move students into the class in an orderly manner and have them
sit in the pre-prepared groups of desks
2. Sequence of Learning Events

10
mins

a. Hand back marked OHMs law worksheets and discuss major

issues and what was done well especially referring to when
the gradient can be used for calculating resistance and when

15
mins
25
mins
5
mins

it cannot.
b. Complete final example questions in the power-point relating
to combination circuits and voltage drop
c. Pop-quiz covering all of the information to date on the topic
and using the pre-pared question on the board as the final
question.
d. Conclusion
Re-cap everything from learning about OHMs law, graphing,
calculating resistance, voltage drop and the difference
between series and parallel circuits.
Hand out Voltage and Amperage calculations worksheet.
Thanks all of the students for their time, patience and wish
them all the best for the future.

Lesson Evaluation:

During these lessons I feel that I kept calm and involved students well,
particularly asking questions of students who had not previously answered. I
also encouraged students to come up to the board to provide their own
workings for calculations, which took the pressure off me momentarily as
well as involving individuals in the class. I also got the feeling that many of
the students understood what had been taught, evidenced by their ability to
solve the practice problems on the board and when checking for
comprehension. I found that in teaching these sorts of concepts (relating to
circuits and electricity) the focus has to be on what students will be assessed
on the ability to solve calculations and to prepare a circuit, which is
assessed in their model house project. These lessons did just that.
Unfortunately these topics do not allow for many open ended questions and
free ranging discussion.
However, in practice the lesson did not go according to schedule. It took a
lot longer to get through the combination circuit calculations and the
concept of their being a voltage drop over individual components of a circuit.
Because the integration of the last 4 or 5 lessons was captured in this last
section, extra time was taken to ensure complete understanding: many
different examples were used. Consequently, the pop-quiz that I developed
was not used. Having said this, I think an appropriate amount of time was
given to the combination circuit calculations.
Similarly, a worksheet which was initially envisaged as either an in-class
exercise or as homework for these two lessons was also determined to be

too time consuming and more useful to supply to a relief teacher for use the
following week.
Finally, while I come out of these lessons feeling confident in my ability to
plan a lesson and to teach, I think things would be significantly different if I
had to be more aware of adhering to a schedule. Difficult decisions would
have to be made at some point about when to move on and what
lessons/topics/activities could be covered less thoroughly to compensate.
This is especially the case in an extension class where it is expected that the
class will go above an beyond what is dictated by the curriculum.