Lesson Plan Template

Teacher: Karen Cragwall
Grade/Subject: 6­8 Library
Course Unit: No unit
Lesson Title: Introduction to Squishy Circuits

LESSON  Summary of the task, challenge, investigation, career­related scenario, 
OVERVIEW problem, or community link
Students will view an “in a nutshell” presentation from the invention of the
lightbulb until the U.S. began building the electrical grid whose basic
principles are still used today.
They will study a graphic from PBS that describes how both positive and
negative charges are needed to create a successful electrical current.
As a problem-solving/hands-on activity students will work in small groups
using Squishy Circuits that are included in the school’s Makerspace and
homemade play dough to create sculptures that can be lit with multicolored
LED bulbs.

STANDARDS Identify what you want to teach. Reference State, Common Core, ACT 
College Readiness Standards and/or State Competencies.
GLE 0707.Inq.3 Synthesize information to determine cause and effect
relationships between evidence and explanations.
GLE 0707.Inq.5 Communicate scientific understanding using
descriptions, explanations, and models.
90707 Inq.1 Design and conduct an open-ended scientific investigation
to answer a question that includes a control and appropriate variables.

OBJECTIVE Clear, Specific, and Measurable – NOT ACTIVITIES
Student­friendly
Students will gain basic knowledge about how the electrical grid in the
United States evolved from the invention of the lightbulb to the modern
electricity delivery system. By focusing in on exactly how electrical currents
work they will create a current using Squishy Circuits and homemade play
dough that have conductive materials and insulators to light up a soft
sculpture they have designed.

INTRODUCTION Should Include: Any prior knowledge that the students need to complete 
the lesson, approximately how long the lesson is predicted to take (Ex. 1 
Day or 2 Days), and a short summary of the entire lesson plan.

Students will need to be able to read and interpret printed instructions,

manipulate playdough and understand how to use a battery.
The lesson will take 70 minutes to complete.
After watching two short videos on Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla students
will participate in an ActivBoard/PowerPoint presentation about how those 2
men along with George Westinghouse helped to create the system of
electricity delivery we use in the United States today.
Following this activity students will study a graphic of how an electric current
needs both positive and negative charges to be successful. All students will
have access to a Squishy Circuits Kit and will be given a demonstration of
how the kit, along with a battery, can be used to light LED bulbs.
After this demonstration students will use different colors of homemade
playdough created with both positive and negative conductors to construct
soft sculptures that can be lit with different colors of LED bulbs using the
Squishy Circuits.

MATERIALS  A bullet list of materials.
The materials need to be specific and include quantities
LIST
Squishy Circuit kits (enough for several small groups)
9 volt batteries for each kit
Teacher computer
1 LCD projector
Interactive Board
Conductive dough
Insulating dough
Plastic knives to use for cutting/shaping dough

RESOURCES Should Include: A bullet list of any links to videos, names of worksheets, 
names of projects, names of PowerPoints, links to online articles, links to 
interactive websites, names of reading materials, etc (All worksheets, 
PowerPoints, projects, and reading materials should be attached to the back 
of the lesson plan). 
Specify whether they will be used before, during, or after the lesson.

1. Video about Edison:

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-the-war-of-the-
currents
2. Video about Tesla:
http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/nikola-tesla/videos/nikola-
tesla-fast-facts
3. Recipes for Conductive/Insulating dough
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-conductive-play-dough/
4. Making squishy circuits with play-dough
http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/apthomas/SquishyCircuits/howTo.htm
All these resources are needed for this lesson. All other citations I used to
construct the lesson are in the Citations sections.

ACTIVATING  Motivator / Hook
An Essential Question encourages students to put forth more effort when 
STRATEGY
faced with complex, open­ended, challenging, meaningful and authentic 
questions.
The first hook will be when students are told by their classroom teacher they
will be coming to the library to work with resources in the Makerspace. The
Essential Question for this lesson will be: “How do we get electricity?” As
with many things students all the time they have no idea where they
originate. (One of my students was actually surprised to learn bacon was
made from a pig.) What sounds like a simplistic question will probably be
something none of the students has ever really asked.
INSTRUCTION Step­By­Step Procedures – Sequence
Discover / Explain – Direct Instruction
Modeling Expectations – “I Do”
Questioning / Encourages Higher Order Thinking
Grouping Strategies
Differentiated Instructional Strategies to Provide Intervention & Extension

When students enter the Library I will direct them to tables in front of the
Interactive Board. After giving them a very brief summary of my experience
with the RET program I attended at UT during Summer, 2016, I will highlight
our Essential Question: “How do we get electricity?” After students are given
the opportunity to express any prior knowledge they may have, the will be
introduced to 2 of the men who are were integral in the creation of our
electrical delivery system; Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. Students will
view 2 video clips from the History Channel which give brief introductions
about who these men were and how they influenced our current electrical
grid and delivery system. (links to these resources are listed in Resources
and Citations)
The next activity will be to view a PowerPoint presentation that further
explains how Edison and Tesla along with George Westinghouse worked with
competing systems to create the U. S. electrical grid. After this presentation
we will have a question/discussion time that relates back to our essential
question.
To introduce our activity with the Squishy Circuits students will view a
graphic from PBS that explains how both positive and negative charges are
needed to make a successful circuit. To make that happen the electrical
charge must also have conductive material to flow through and insulative
material to keep the charge from going where it isn’t needed. Here I will
show students the different colors of homemade play dough and explain that
some colors are conductors and some insulators. I will have the different
bags labeled for students to make the process go smoother. I will take this
opportunity to tell students that their creations need to be simple because of
time constraints, but make sure I mention these resources are available to
use on individual/small group basis in the Makerspace.
Students will be put in small groups by the collaborating teacher and put at
tables with all materials needed to complete the activity. They will also have
directions that come with the Squishy Circuit kits to help with hooking up
wires.
As students progress through the activity the Librarian and collaborating
teacher will be circulating through the groups to assess how each group is
able to work through the process of interpreting directions, creating their
sculptures, and use the conductive and insulative doughs to make the circuit
connection.
As the class begins coming to an end we will have groups share out their
creations and show us they were able to make a successful circuit. We will
have students put dough back in bags and replace all wires before leaving.
GUIDED &  “We Do” – “ You Do”
Encourage Higher Order Thinking & Problem Solving
INDEPENDENT
Relevance
PRACTICE Differentiated Strategies for Practice to Provide Intervention & Extension

As the facilitators of this class the Librarian and collaborating teacher will
lead the students to a basic understanding of the U.S. electrical grid’s
history, introducing its genesis and then giving them the opportunity to take
electricity and manipulate it themselves.
While we will give students directions, printed and verbal, they will need to
work together to come up with a project that is creative and works. Skills will
include working cooperatively, giving group members specific tasks, and
bringing everyone’s work together to complete the activity successfully.
As groups are working both the Librarian and collaborating teacher will be
circulating though the groups to encourage those who are having immediate
success, those who need some initial help and any groups that are overly
challenged with the activity. This situation also works well with keeping
behavioral issues to a minimum.
Extension activities for the Library will be to hopefully bring the collaborating
teacher back in to use the Makerspace resources again and engage those
students who are interested in exploring, creating, designing opportunities
the Makerspace affords during students’ free time or after school.

CLOSURE Reflection / Wrap­Up
Summarizing, Reminding, Reflecting, Restating, Connecting

As students clean-up we will, once again, revisit our original question of

“How do we get electricity?.” This questioning is intended to show that when
thinking about electricity there is a big picture, the electrical grid, but show
students they have the ability to use this resource on a smaller scale to learn
more about electrical properties.
I also think this will be a good opportunity to question groups about how
working together helped/hindered in getting the activity completed.

CROSS­CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

This lesson works well with an art class, introducing them to think about
different ways artists use resources besides paint, paper, etc. to create.
Learning about the history and delivery of electricity can be used in Science,
Math, Health and Social Studies.

ASSESSMENT / Students show evidence of proficiency through a variety of assessments. 
Aligned with the Lesson Objective
 EVALUATION
Formative / Summative
Performance­Based / Rubric
Formal / Informal

All assessments in the Library will be informal and formative. As we ask our
essential question at the beginning of the lesson the lack of knowledge will
be easily assessed. After the videos and PowerPoint presentation ends, the
questioning will ascertain how much the proficiency level has grown.
90707.Inq.1 Design and conduct an open-ended scientific investigation to
answer a question that includes a control and appropriate variables. This
standard accurately describes exactly what the Squishy Circuits activity
does.
With the final restating of the essential question, assessment can be done
again to see if students understand that science is both understood on an
intellectual level while delving further into individual interests by doing
hands-on projects to prove or disprove theories.

CITATIONS Any websites/books that were used to gather information.
http://beam.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/docs/Squishy_Circuits.pdf

http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/apthomas/SquishyCircuits/index.htm

http://create.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/squishy-circuits-projects-and-teaching-
tools/

http://www.discovere.org/sites/default/files/DiscoverE_Build_A_Glow_Stick.pdf

http://www.emilydaniels.com/2011/04/lcrc-squishy-circuit-workshop/

Jonnes, Jill. Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to
Electrify the World. New York: Random House, 2003. Print.

http://fablearn.stanford.edu/fellows/blog/rethinking-squishy-circuits

Fontichiaro, Kristin, and AnnMarie P. Thomas. Squishy Circuits. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
Print.

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-the-war-of-the-currents

http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/nikola-tesla/videos/nikola-tesla-fast-
facts

Honey, Margaret, and David Kanter. Design, Make, Play: Growing the next
Generation of STEM Innovators. New York, NY: Routledge, 2013. Print.

http://makezine.com/2012/01/17/squishy-circuits-sylvias-mini-maker-show/

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.mfe.zcircuit/explor
ing-conductivity-kid-circuits/

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.mfw.lightning/light
ning/

http://squishycircuitsstore.com/kits.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/annmarie_thomas_squishy_circuits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyQfrzBfnDU

NOTES: Tips & Tricks that may help

A separate document accompanies this lesson plan with all notes including
costs, where to purchase, tip, tricks, etc.