“are you switched on to switching off?”

Lesson 2.12 - Power Station to Plug

“Are You Switched on to Switching Off?”

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Key Question:

“ Are You Switched on to Switching Off?” Learning ObjectiveTo understand that electricity is generated by a variety of means

but that it reaches all of our homes in very similar ways.

Success Criteria• All children will be able to list three

different ways that electricity is generated.

• Most children will be able to explain how

electricity reaches our homes and schools.

Key Knowledge For Teachers• Electricity is mainly generated in power stations. In the UK, most

electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil

and natural gas. They are burned to heat large quantities of

water to produce steam. The steam drives turbines and generates

electricity. Electricity is also generated at nuclear power stations

where heat produced from nuclear reactions heats water, creating

steam. The steam drives turbines and generates electricity.

• In hydroelectric power stations, fast flowing water turns the

turbines and generates electricity.

• Increasingly electricity is being generated from renewable

sources such as wind, solar, wave and tidal power.

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I have used a range of electrical components to help to make a variety of circuits for differing purposes. I can represent my circuit using symbols and describe the transfer of energy around the circuit.SCN 2-09a

Science – Electricity: Compare and give reasons why components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches.

Pupils should be taught about precautions for working safely with electricity.

Lesson 2.12 - Continued

• In wind farms, the wind turns the blades of the turbine which is

connected to a generator.

• In solar panels (photovoltaic cells), the cells absorb sunlight and

the material of the panel releases electrons which are captured

to produce an electric current.

• Wave and tidal power are yet to be exploited but technologies

are being developed to harness their power in Scotland. Wave

power harnesses the energy transferred from the wind to the

waves. To generate tidal power, a turbine under the sea is

turned by the tides to generate electricity.

• However electricity is generated, it is transmitted on power

lines carried on large pylons at extra-high voltage so it can be

moved long distances.

• The electricity transmission network is like a motorway network

for power.

• Extra-high voltage power lines carried on pylons feed in

to large substations. Transformers in substations reduce the

strength, or the voltage, of the electricity. Power lines or

underground cables leaving the substation carry electricity at

a lower voltage. As the journey of electricity continues, the

distribution network feeds towns with many smaller, lower

voltage power lines carried on wooden poles, underground

cables and substations - like the ‘B’ roads of the power network!

• Electricity is distributed through a series of substations, each time

reducing its voltage until it is suitable for the customer to use.

• Smaller substations can either be small metal boxes mounted on

wooden poles in rural areas or small buildings in most communities.

• Substations near our homes and schools generally ensure that

the electricity we are supplied is 230 volts. These substations

can look very different; some are small brick buildings, some

are plastic and some just have metal fences around a metal

box. (They are safe if they are locked and we leave them alone

but we must never go inside one or poke anything into one).

• Electricity is supplied to our homes by underground cable or

overhead power line at 230 volts. The electric supply cable

enters your home through a meter (which records how much

electricity you are using) and then a consumer unit (or fusebox)

where your main switch and residual current

devices (RCDs) are located.

• Finally, your internal wiring

distributes electricity to lights

and sockets in your home.


• N.B. the yellow and black ‘Danger of Death’ warning sign will

be on all of the equipment on the electricity network to warn

people of the danger posed by the apparatus.

You plug an electrical appliance into the socket

and away you go - electricity has been on a

journey of hundreds of miles, just so you can

dry your hair/play on your games console or

make some toast!

Key Safety Information to Relay• Power lines are carried on wooden poles or pylons. If you live

in a town or city you might not see them until you drive into the

countryside. You know they are power lines if they have the

yellow and black ‘Danger of Death’ sign on them.

• Children should be extremely careful when flying kites and

carrying fishing rods near power lines. Always look up and look

out for power lines before starting an activity.

• Substations help to get the electricity to our homes and schools.

They can look very different; some are small brick buildings,

some are plastic and some just have metal fences around a

metal box. They are safe if they are locked and we leave them

alone but we must never go inside one or poke anything into

one. Children should tell a grown up if they are concerned

about a substation.

• Everyone should take extra special care when they see the

yellow and black ‘Danger of Death’ warning sign because that

means that there is dangerous electricity close by.

• Even when electricity has reached the sockets in your house, it

still has enough power to hurt and even kill you so always treat

electricity with respect.

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Lesson StarterAsk the class to identify how many electrical items there are in

the room. They should include the interactive whiteboard,

computers, lights, in fact everything and anything that uses

electricity should be counted. Once complete, this number should

be multiplied by the number of classrooms in the school and then

the class should estimate how many other electrical items there

are around the school such as the kitchen, the hall and so on.

Once a rough figure has been calculated, ask the class what they

think would happen if all of these items were used at the same

time. Would the school explode? Would all the machines break

down? Would there be a power cut?

Explain that, although all the machines would work and there

wouldn’t be a major problem in the school, the school would face

a huge electricity bill due to the enormous amount of electricity

being used.

Key Questions• Why do we have to pay for electricity?

• Why would the bill be so big if all of the items were on at the

same time?

• Who provides us with electricity and how do they do it?

• Where does electricity come from?

Main SessionNow that the children have started to think about the production

of electricity, find a socket in the classroom. Plug an electrical item

into it and then switch it on. Does the electricity magically appear or

does it have to get there? If it has to travel there, then just how

exactly is that done?

Give the class a couple of minutes to think about this with their

talk partners and then list their answers on the board. Once

discussed, highlight on the interactive whiteboard some sources of

electricity. These could include wind farms, hydro power, wave

turbines, solar panels and good old fashioned coal, oil or gas

burning power stations. Ask the class what they think they are.

Explain each one and then tell the class that every time they

switch on an electrical item anywhere in the classroom or at home,

they’re using electricity which has been generated from one of

these sources.

Using the ‘Key Knowledge for Teachers’ above, explain how the

electricity gets from source to plug. Explain to the children they

should take notes as they will be creating an electrical timeline of

their own. Once explained, take the children outside or into the

hall to complete a physical explanation.


ActivityUsing children as different parts of the process, position them

around the hall. Use ribbon/string to illustrate the electricity

moving from the source, across land to the first substation and so

on. As the electricity splits out across the town, use more ribbon

to demonstrate the different directions the electricity travels

in. The voltage is best illustrated using different colours of

ribbon/string. As the voltage gets lower the colour should

get lighter.

Ask the children to complete their own electrical timeline in

fold out books. On the front of the book children should have

the energy source of choice, (wind, wave, hydro, coal – they

can research different sources on the internet to help them).

However, from this point, the means of transferring the

electricity remains the same. Once completed, children should

open out their books to demonstrate the journey. The books

can be complemented with poems called ‘Journey of Power’.

After watching the last animation, return to the learning objectives

on the board and the success criteria. In order to assess the learning,

split the class into two teams and hold a pop quiz where you name

a piece of apparatus on the electricity network. The children

should say where it fits in and what its role is. You may also want

to demonstrate the pull-out books and listen to some poems.

Plenary

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“are you switched on to switching off?”

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