Prep
- ✓ Parts: green LED, 100-ohm resistor, 1k-ohm resistor, motor, fan, press switch, slide switch, battery holder, and blue wires.
- ✓ Build one LED comparison and one motor circuit before class.
- ✓ Choose the status-and-motion build that matches your kit inventory.
Deck map
Day 6: slides 28-33. Leave slide 33 projected.
Day 7: slides 34-38. Leave slide 38 projected.
Teacher moves
- LED: check the plus mark and direction before deciding a part is broken.
- Resistors: compare 100 ohms and 1k using the same LED circuit. More resistance should make the LED dimmer.
- Motor: reverse the connection and observe direction. Keep hands, hair, and faces clear of the fan.
- Trace the status system as user input → electrical path/process → visible or moving output.
Answers + watch-fors
An LED is directional. A resistor limits current. Reversing motor polarity changes direction. A switch is an input/control, not the output.
The water analogy can introduce resistance, but electricity is not water in a wire. Return to the circuit evidence quickly.
If time is tight
Teacher-demo the resistor comparison, but preserve student hands-on work with LED direction and motor direction. The final status-system diagram can replace a second combined build.