Eliciting and Responding to Students Initial Thinking

Anchoring Activity
Revised Rehearsal Protocol
Name: Heidi Kwon
Intended Audience
Cycle 2, secondary 4 students at Vincent Massey Collegiate for their
Science class
Topic/unit and position in instruction
Electricity and Magnetism (Static- and Dynamic- electricity
Electromagnetism) The Material World
Electrical- charges, fields
Charging an object conduction, induction, friction
Dynamic electricity current, power, circuits
Magnetism fields, objects, electromagnetism

Big Idea
All material in the universe is made of very small particles (Harlen et
al., 2010 p.21)3
If my students understood the relationship between electrical charges
and conductivity and insulation, they would really be able to reason
about or with electricity, current, circuits, resistance and magnetism
because they will be able to explain the flow of the electrically charged
particles in various objectives in their own terms.
If students are able to understand the composition of matters in
regards to their electrical charges, meaning protons, neutrons, and
electrons, along with how conducting and insulating matters permit or
impede the flow of these electrical charges, they will be able to step
further in acknowledging the concept of electrical fields, current, power
and circuits. With properly built linkages between concepts, they will
also be able to understand charging of objects through direct (friction,
conduction) or indirect (induction) contacts as well as magnetism at
the end.
Anchoring Activity
Students will pair up and each pair will be provided with a box filled
with various objects. From the years previous to the secondary 4,
students are expected to have knowledge of how to build a simple
circuit with a battery, light bulb, and wire. Therefore, I would set up the

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

simple light-bulb circuits with a space for objects prior to the lesson in
an attempt to avoid repetition. However, it would be preferable to ask
students regarding their background knowledge in simple circuit to
refresh their memories. I might say something like Weve seen circuits
before in sec 3 science. If you look at the circuit in front of you, what
elements does it have? What element is missing if there is any? and
Will the light bulb light up as it? What do you need to do to make the
light bulb light up? Even if the students are unable to answer the
questions posed to them, keep encouraging them by praising their
efforts. Reassure them with more lessons to come they will get to know
what is happening in the circuit system.
Then, students will test the objects in the box to see which materials
complete the circuit with guiding questions from the teacher who will
be walking around. Once everyone is done, teacher will divide the
board into two sections, one section corresponding to materials that
can complete the circuit and another section for those that cant.
Students will aid the teacher to locate each object into the right
section. One student will be brought up to the front to reflect their
peers observation. Either magnets with pictures or names of the
objects or index card with tag will be provided for the student to align
them physically on the board. With divided lists of objects in front of
them, students are to make comments about the common
characteristics for each section and to link their everyday experience
to the pattern of their observation and model to extract the factors
that contributes to complete circuit.
Source of the activity:
https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/images/conductorsinsulators.jpg

Driving Question
Why cant we use elastic band or wooden strip to charge our cell phone
instead of copper wire?

Show your model

Students should understand that not all materials can be used to make
electric current to flow through trials to complete the circuit and their
observations. The reason why different objects have different
conductivity is because the electrons of different atoms have varying
degrees of freedom to move around. In materials like metals, the
outermost electrons in the atom are loosely bound that they can
EDTL 625 Winter 2016

practically move around between atoms and conduct electricity easily.

Even within the category of the metal, the tendency for each atoms of
metal to loose of gain electron vary depending on their location on the
periodic table which illustrates electron shell configurations for each
element. In metal objects, electrons are being bumped and transferred
in between adjacent atoms, enabling electron flows to be possible.
Thereby, students model should have objects with metallic properties
on the side that complete the circuit. In contrast to the metals, other
types of materials like glass and plastic, the electrons in the atoms
have little freedom, giving these materials less conductivity (highly
insulating ability). The atoms of these insulators hold tightly to their
electrons and thus hinder the electrons to go through the material. If
charges are transferred to an insulator at a given location, the excess
charge will remain at the initial location of charging. The particles of
the insulators do not permit the free flow of electrons. In students
models, electrons from the connecting wire will try to go through these
insulators, but without electron transfers within the objects, the
electron transfer will be cut at the location of the object. This is why
some materials in students boxes dont complete the circuit. In other
words, these objects are said to have higher resistance compare to the
materials that do allow electrons to move across them.

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

Instructional/Science Goals
A. Science understanding / goals:
In this activity, I want to develop students understanding that all
materials that we use every day have varying degree of capacity to
transfer electrons. Students will hopefully be able to see why a certain
materials are used for a specific object or why certain electrical
phenomena occur more often depending on the materials in proximity.

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

For example, why we are exposed to more static with wool clothes or
why we are restricted to few options when it comes to making
batteries. Through this instruction, I want students to be able to reason
why some materials can transfer electrons better than others and to
explain what that means in the system of circuits (in bigger picture
electrical appliances). With this lesson as a start, students will be able
to develop how the flow of electrons between atoms in an object can
cause electrical fields, current, power and its relation to the magnetism
during the additional lessons. Along with the above science-specific
instructional goals, more general academic goal I attempt to achieve
here is to empower students to think critically even for a topic that is
so familiar to them after all. Students will also be gaining practices on
model-building and group work skills through collaboration.
B. Science Skills:
These skills will be accomplished by asking facilitating questions
throughout the lesson. If students are having difficulty, I will
incorporate the everyday examples to guide them in answering the
questions.
Develop critical thinking skills by reasoning why certain objects
completed the circuit while others couldnt
Make representation of their skills through modeling
Use evidence from the experiment to support their thinking
process
Use knowledge from everyday life to think scientifically
Principles of Ambitious Teaching
Children are sense-makers
o In this lesson, I designed the activity which partially
requires students to reflect on their everyday life to
identify the characteristics of materials. In doing so, I want
my students to position themselves to make sense of the
world around them with scientific knowledge that they had
obtained from secondary 3 (circuit) in connection with the
lessons to come.

Ambitious instruction require clear instructional goals

o The driving question will be posed at the beginning of the
lesson as casual teacher-students interaction takes place.
This driving question will be presented on the board to
constantly stimulate students and myself to work towards
answering it with intention. As students are working in
pairs, Ill walk around to ask them guiding questions. As
students are presenting their ideas, encouragement and

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

more specific questions to keep their thinking process

working.
Practices of Ambitious Teaching
Constructing a Big Idea
o After a thorough analysis of the lessons to come in this
chapter, I went back to the 10 Big Ideas of and about
science to see if the topic fit into any of ideas suggested. I
want to make sure that I have a bigger theme in teaching
any topics to deliver the contents to students with both
macroscopic and microscopic views. Although for this
lesson, I found a big idea that had been already proposed,
but if there werent any, I wouldve created a big idea on
my own.
Eliciting students initial and unfolding ideas to adapt instruction
o Through engaging activity and group participation
o I would pose the driving questions to the students as the
introduction and let them share their personal experiences
regarding the topic to get them thinking.
I would comment on students experience and ask
them details about it to enlighten them there are
more to be discovered.
Pressing students for evidence-based models and explanation
o By facilitating questions aimed at bringing students
everyday knowledge about the conducting materials into
classroom learning goals, the evidences of their
observation can be more effectively taught. By asking
them questions directly related to their experience,
students will be pressure to rethink and about the concept
at a microscopic level.
o The empty model that will be provided to the students
force students to discuss with their partner about what is
really happening within the circuit regarding two different
outcomes (complete vs. incomplete). They are asked to
imagine and draw what is happening in the wire at
different locations which requires critical thinking skills as
well as imagination.
Anticipated alternative understandings or difficulties:
Students may wonder why human body cannot be the part of a
circuit considering their experiences such as getting statics from the
door knob or their hair rising on a slide. This is because students
havent learned the charging of electrons between different objects
through friction, induction and conduction. Students may also have
difficulty understanding how the elections are being moved or blocked

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

within an object. Some common misconceptions in regards to the

electric conductors and insulators are;
The charge in the circuit originates from the wires of the circuit.
At rest, without power, charge moves very slowly.
The rate or the speed of charge flow in a circuit is the same
everywhere.
Another confusion that can rise is regarding the semi-conductors. It is
more challenging to understand than the conductors and insulators as
it seats in the middle and may vary depending on the situation.
Source: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circuits/Lesson2/Common-Misconceptions-Regarding-Electric-Circuits
Anticipated everyday experiences or language related to this
phenomenon:
Students may discuss about why do they move around the charger line
when its connection is not good due to usage? What makes them to
believe that doing so may resolve the problem? Can they replace the
copper line with some other material and still make the charger
function the same way? Why? Why not? The plugs of all electronic
devices are made of metal. Why cant it be made of wood instead?
Students may describe the suggested phenomena in relation to the
connection instead of conductors or insulators. They may also use
the words such as something completes/ incompletes the electronic
system or moves / dont move electrons within an object.

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

What to do (Teachers Thinking)

Part I: Launching the Activity and Eliciting Initial Thinking
Instructional and Science Goals of Part 1:
Motivate students about the topic
Encourage students participation as pairs and provide
opportunity at a personal level
Elicit student initial thinking
o To create a connection between the scientific topic
and the students life in order to make science
relevant and interesting.
Introduce the activity
I will say something like
To begin todays lesson; I want to hear from you why we cannot use
elastic band or wooden strip to charge our cell phone instead of copper
wire? Or why your parents told you not to plug shiny and hard
materials like metal in to the electrical outlet holes? Lets discuss about
this as our lesson will be highly related to our discussion.
Managing student participation:
Feel free to add on to what your peers say. It is okay to say what you
want in your own language if you dont know; Ill try my best to help
you. When your peers are participating pay full attention. Remember!
Give and take. If you give them your respect, you will get it back.
In the process of sharing, if I hear someone sharing their experience
that is in close relation to the anticipated topic, Ill ask general yet
detailed, open-ended questions for students to think about. Ill be
writing down some of the vocabularies students are using to lead them
naturally into the topic of the chapter.
After discussion
Very good. I think you guys will excel this chapter hearing from all of
your experiences. Now, I have prepared some exciting activity for you
to perform in pair. Form a pair and each pair will grab a mystery box
and a simple circuit from the front.
Hand out the worksheet with the models to the students.
Eliciting Observations
Show students the simple circuit. Call their attention to what are inside
the box and have them observe the objects inside the box.
Demonstrate the correct way of putting an object in a circuit. Ask the
students to first predict what is going to happening to the bulb and the
circuit system if you place different objects in the circuit. Take some of

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

the general information and write it down on the board/ computer for
projection. Elaborate students claims and questions to widen their
window of thoughts. Then, ask them to observe which objects from
their boxes complete or incomplete the circuit. Give the students
about 10 minutes to actually go through all the objects in the boxes
and discuss with their peer what causes this discrepancy. As well, the
students are expected to try to fill in the model that had been provided
creatively, but with enough thoughts put into it. As they are doing the
experiment, Ill divide the board into two sections (complete circuit vs.
incomplete circuit) and then I will put the magnets (or index cards with
tags) with names/pictures of different objects in random order. I will
ask for a volunteer and have him/her put up the magnets into different
sections on the board based on observations from the other students
as the class discusses what happened in their experiment.
Ill have another student volunteer to write down the distinguishing
characteristics of objects in each section as a public record of student
thinking. I will toss a question for them to discuss regarding the
common and opposing characteristic as shown below.
I will ask_____________

What will happen to the bulb, battery, and the wire if you place
an object at an appropriate location?
Why do you think is causing some to light up when others dont?
What about these objects caused the circuit to complete?/
incomplete?
Okay, so even with the same objects some people had a
complete circuit while other didnt. What could have contributed
to this discrepancy?
What do you think is going on inside of these objects?
Have you seen something that resembles this circuit in a real
life?
Who disagrees with the location of an object on the board?, How
is your data different from what we have?
Who can add to that description? Reasoning?
Can anyone remember any components of an atom?
Given what we have learned about electricity, do you have any
ideas about what might be going on here?

I will have these examples ready_________________

How will you start recording their ideas, i.e., make a public
record?
o With the help of students who volunteered, we should have

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

a public record of students experiments in the front. The

two categories of objects which complete and incomplete
the circuit should be easily seen and most of the
characteristics that distinguishes them will be written
down.
Show what your whiteboard or other public record might look
like now.

Part 2: Pressing students Thinking and developing their

models
Goals :
Eliciting hypotheses about what might be going on
using models

Will you have them work alone or in pairs or groups to produce

their model? Why?
Students will work in pair, with the same person who they did their
observation with. I believe that students can talk and learn at the same
time. However, bigger groups of more than three people can become
rather disturbing and can easily fly out of control. Ill have the students
draw what they think is happening at 3 different locations in a circuit,
one near the power source (before the object), one at the object and
another one near the light bulb (after the object) in a normally
functioning circuit . I will be walking around to ask them different
questing depending on what they had drawn. Then, for scenario A (an
object completes the circuit and light is on, therefore conducts
electricity) and B (an object doesnt complete the circuit and the light

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

10

stays off, therefore insulators), I will announce that I want everyone to

think in a microscopic manner to imagine what is going on in both
cases considering their results are different. Ill explain to them that
this is often how scientist approaches an interesting problem. What the
students are doing is modeling the phenomena to represent what they
understand so far. Students are asked to think of the difference
between the complete and incomplete circuits and how this is possible
in a microscopic area.
To get them started making causal models or explanation, I will say
something like__________
Considering the location of power source, light bulb and an
object, in which direction is the electricity travelling?
What is everything made up of?
Among the components of the atom which one do you think is
traveling along the circuit?
The object should permit the electrons to travel if the circuit is to
be completed, what do you think is happening to the objects that
do not let it go through?
Try creating models for complete circuit with an object and
another one regarding incomplete model.
While circulating, I will say something like____________

How are the scenario A and B different microscopically?

o What do you think is happening inside the object?
Think about how electricity travels at a microscopic level. What
might be happening here?
What happens as electrons move across?
If electrons are not travelling all the way through for some of the
objects, why do you think they are not?

Part 3: Sharing and Consolidating Models

Instructional and Science Goals of Part 3:
Pressing for possible explanations (causal hypotheses)
From the previous part, as students are initially discussing what is
going on at a microscopic level, Ill be walking around to facilitate and
help their though process. Ill ask certain groups to present their
models to the class if I think their model is interesting, so that
everyone can share different perspective of their classmates. I will

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

11

have 2 or 3 groups present what they had drawn to the class and take
bits of their information into drawing my model on the board. Ill also
ask the rest of the groups if they want to add or remove from the
representative model on the board and revise accordingly. This way,
students can get the feeling of contribution and appreciation. This is
also a way of creating a public record of student thinking.
I will ask the following questions as students share and compare
models____________

Do you guys see anything I should put up on the board from this
model (after a presentation of a pair)? Why? Why not?
What made you think that what you drew is what is happening?
How are your models similar?
How are they different?

I will ask/say the following to summarize the agreed upon points from
the models_________

So, going back to our initial question, Why cant we use elastic
band or wooden strip to charge our cell phone instead of copper
wire?, can anyone collectively form patterns identified and
expand on the initial explanation we had a class?
Nicely done. However, I do have more scientific reasons
behind these questions, so by the end of the chapter you will
be able answer more confidently!
[I am building on the driving question.]
If you have many unanswered questions, thats great. With the
information you will get for the next few classes you will be able
to answer them on your own or with my help! Questions show
that you guys care!

Once I summarize the points of agreements, disagreements and

questions arising, students would be left with more senses regarding
the topic you are going to learn in this chapter. As we go along, they
should constantly come back to their model, Ill ask students if they
have any questions or anything to share with the class. Then, after
answering questions, Ill know that Im done with the enactment. Ill
have the public student record on the board and take a picture of it
after the class to post it on the schoology. Ill be not be marking them
since there is no black or white answer to any of the questions that I
had asked them considering their experiments and models. They do
not have to be correct, as long as students show effort.
Consideration:
EDTL 625 Winter 2016

12

Students are not being marked, so they may lose focus and
divert away from the topic, constantly ask those challenging
questions and have them discuss actively.
Ill have to constantly try to make an effort to keep my answers
and questions neutral and open-ended

(Show what your public record might look like at this point)

EDTL 625 Winter 2016

13