For the first time ever, lesson number 8 in the electricity unit (which is an experiment) worked! Well I'll be dog gone.
This is the third year I have taught electricity. I was bound and determined this year that it would work. To make the lesson participatory, I had the students tell ME the steps I had to do in order to conduct the experiment. (I don't think that is why it worked this year, but it was funny that this is the ONLY time it HAS worked.)
The lesson is on making a filament light up.
We use two D batteries and hook them up to 2 wires, which are bent at a 90* angle through a lump of clay. Then nichrome wire is wrapped around the two open ends. This wire becomes the "filament" and gets hot and glows.
The kids read through the experiment so they knew it should glow. I also informed them it would get hot and smoke, which is why I was the only one doing the experiment.
We were all set. I was getting ready to plug the last wire into the clip and I paused. Then I said, "Right now would be a good time to review the fire drill procedures."
One girl caught it right away and let out a "HA." About 30 seconds later, another girl yells out, "Oh, I get it," and started laughing. Then the others started to get it and we were all just rolling laughing.
And as great as that was, it wasn't near as good as seeing that filament get hot and glow! The kids were absolutely amazed! At that moment I could have given them 5 pages of homework and they still would have thought I was a genius and they loved me :) hehe
So we all oohed and aahhed and took turns walking by it.
It was so absolutely terrific. Way better than the other years when we dim the lights in anticipation and nothing. And then I say, "Well, it was supposed to work." And we all go back to doing boring things like vocabulary. Talk about a major let down. It's like going to see the guy get shot out of a cannon and he has to crawl out 20 minutes later cause it won't fire.
It was a pretty eventful day in the classroom today. (see my photo blog for other interesting sights)
I love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything - well, maybe teaching scuba in the islands but that's about it. Remind me I said that when report card time comes.
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