Description
In these STEM Challenges on circuit electricity, students will create paper circuits using copper tape. Students will use STEM engineering skills while creating all types of conductive tape circuits using copper tape, coin batteries, and LED diodes to complete the challenges. This set has ten paper circuit challenges, directions, templates, troubleshooting tips, photos of finished projects, and hints. This set also includes an article on electrical circuits and follow-up pages to provide background information.
Great for science lessons on current electricity, STEM camps, and after school STEM programs. Each STEM challenge can be done independently, though they do build in complexity.
This unit goes especially well with the following standards:
NGSS 4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and
electric currents.
NGSS 4-PS3-4. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another
NGSS 3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify
aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
Also aligned with Utah SEEd
Utah SEEd 4.2.3
Plan and carry out an investigation to gather evidence from observations that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electrical currents. Examples could include sound causing objects to vibrate and electric currents being used to produce moon or light.
Utah SEEd 4.2.4
Apply scientific ideas to design a solution that converts energy from one form to another. Define the problem, identify criteria and constraints, develop a prototype for iterative testing, analyze data from testing, and propose modifications for optimizing the solution.
You will need the following inexpensive materials:
Conductive copper tape, paper, LED diodes, coin batteries, clear tape, scissors
Challenges Include:
Simple Circuit
Parallel Circuit
Series Circuit
Light Up Robot
Light Up Tree
Light Up Snowman
Laser Sword Light
Parallel Circuit With Corners
Your Own Design With Light
Four Different Kinds of Switches
Through these challenges, students will learn about:
Closed and open circuits
Electrical switches
Parallel circuits
Series circuits
Design thinking
Engineering
And terms: load, path, source
Want to see some examples of Copper Tape Paper Circuit Stem Challenges?
If you have questions about my resources please contact me at lywilliams1@gmail.com
