{"id":2204,"date":"2010-01-21T19:52:07","date_gmt":"2010-01-22T00:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/2204"},"modified":"2010-01-21T19:52:07","modified_gmt":"2010-01-22T00:52:07","slug":"teaching-physical-science-with-childrens-literature-switch-on-switch-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2010\/01\/21\/teaching-physical-science-with-childrens-literature-switch-on-switch-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Physical Science with Children’s Literature: Switch On, Switch Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Light switches are everywhere!\u00a0 They are in every house: in the kitchen, the bedroom, the office, the bathroom…but are they really<\/em> magic?\u00a0 When it’s time for bed and mom yells “lights out,” is it truly magic within that switch that allows the room to go dark?\u00a0 Switch On, Switch Off<\/em><\/a>, written by Melvin Berger<\/a> and illustrated by Carolyn Croll<\/a>, is an excellent resource for young children to begin exploring the magic within the light switch, or what is better known as electricity!\u00a0 The story begins just this way, with a child heading to bed, curious as to how his light switch operates.\u00a0 This commences the lesson where Berger youthfully explains circuits, generators, light bulbs, and plugs, thus demonstrating how electricity is produced and even used.\u00a0 With the help of Croll’s easy to understand illustrations, children can not only read about electricity, but they can see pictures that enforce how the processes work.\u00a0 The author even offers a live experiment that children can do to create their own electricity using just a magnet, compass, and piece of wire.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nDue to its text-book like specificity and instructional images, Switch On, Switch Off<\/em> is perfect for use in young classrooms.\u00a0 The text is extremely kid-friendly, leaving out any elaborate, overwhelming explanations.\u00a0 For example, in explaining how circuits are split into many other circuits as they enter a house, Berger compares them to small roads coming off of a big highway.\u00a0 In addition, the pictures are all labeled, allowing children to better understand the core elements necessary for the creation of electricity.\u00a0 Berger’s book can be tied to Virginia Standards of Learning 4.3 a, b, c, d and e, which may effectively serve as an introduction to basic information about circuits, conductors and insulators, the transformation of electricity, as well as simple electromagnets.\u00a0 This is a great starting point for children to begin discovering the concept so they can be more familiar in expected later grades.<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n