Build, Test, Present Cards

Overview

In the final lesson of Circuits, Current, and Creativity, students complete and test LED greeting cards in teams. They troubleshoot using evidence from earlier 9V investigations, then present how their 3V circuit works, including conductors, LED polarity, electron flow, and design improvements.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Construct and test a complete circuit using copper tape, a 3V battery, and an LED.
• Explain how polarity, conductors, and connections affect whether a circuit works.
• Use evidence from the 9V investigations to justify a design choice or improvement.
• Present a clear, evidence-based explanation and respond to questions.

Success criteria

• I can show a complete conducting path from one battery terminal, through the LED, and back to the other terminal.
• I can identify the LED’s positive and negative sides and explain why polarity matters.
• I can describe electron flow and explain at least one troubleshooting decision.
• I can present my team’s design clearly and use evidence to support our choices.

Curriculum links

• Science and Engineering Practices — planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing evidence, and communicating information.
• Washington State English Language Arts — collaborative discussion, informative presentation, and evidence-based explanatory writing.
• Number System — interpreting signed quantities and rational-number operations in scientific contexts, including opposite quantities and division where relevant to prior circuit investigations.
• Students use precise technical language, organized reasoning, and evidence to explain a real-world STEM design.

Lesson structure (40 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and success target. Teacher displays a finished card and asks, “If the LED does not light, what evidence could tell us whether the problem is the battery, the LED, or the path?” Open with the circuit mystery hook and success criteria; students make a prediction with a partner and identify one feature a successful presentation must include.

2. 4–9 min · Safety and construction briefing. Teacher reviews the 3V battery, copper-tape conductors, LED polarity, short circuits, and the rule never to connect a 9V battery directly to the LED; students inspect their materials and sketch or point to the intended current path on the card construction and presentation organizer.

3. 9–22 min · Build and test. Teacher assigns teams of three or four, distributes card materials, and circulates using questions such as “Where is the conducting path broken?” and “What evidence supports your next change?” Students construct the card, test it with the 3V battery, and record each problem, test, observation, and improvement on the card construction and presentation organizer.

4. 22–28 min · Troubleshoot and improve. Teacher pauses the class for a quick diagnostic routine: check battery contact, tape overlap, LED polarity, and unwanted gaps or crossings; students revise one design feature and explain how findings from the 9V investigation informed their safer 3V design. Teams may use the circuit symbol and component cards as a visual reference while checking component identities and symbols.

5. 28–37 min · Team presentations. Teacher sets a two-minute limit per team and displays the presentation sequence in the presentation checklist and discussion prompts. Each team presents its card, traces the complete circuit, identifies copper-tape conductors and LED polarity, describes electron flow from the negative terminal through the circuit toward the positive terminal, explains one troubleshooting decision, and connects that decision to evidence from the 9V investigation; classmates record one strength and one question.

6. 37–40 min · Individual exit reflection. Teacher asks students to complete the final prompts on the individual reflection and exit ticket and collects responses before dismissal. Students explain why an LED may fail to light, identify one evidence-based improvement, and state one difference between using the 3V battery and investigating with 9V.

Resources

• the complete circuit card presentation deck
• the card construction and presentation organizer
• Paper greeting cards or cardstock
• Copper tape
• 3V coin-cell batteries and holders, if available
• LEDs
• Scissors, markers, and tape
• Team troubleshooting checklist
• Safety glasses and a battery collection container

Assessment

• During construction, check whether students can trace a complete circuit and correctly orient the LED. Ask each team to explain one test and its result.
• During presentations, use a quick checklist for circuit accuracy, technical vocabulary, evidence from the 9V investigation, clarity, and response to questions.
• Use the individual exit ticket to assess understanding of polarity, electron flow, troubleshooting, and safe battery selection.

Differentiation

• Provide a partially modeled circuit diagram, color-coded battery terminals, sentence starters such as “Our evidence showed…” and “We changed ___ because…,” and a word bank for students who need language or organizational support.
• Assign structured team roles: builder, tester/recorder, materials manager, and presenter. Allow students to point to the circuit while speaking or prerecord a brief explanation if presentation anxiety is a barrier.
• For EAL students, pair visuals with terms such as conductor, terminal, polarity, current path, and evidence; allow rehearsal with a partner before presenting.
• Challenge ready students to compare electron flow with conventional current direction, explain why a short circuit can be a problem, or propose how a resistor could improve the design.