When water falls over a waterfall, down the current of a river or through a dam, it can be collected in something called a turbine. These turbines have big blades in them and when they spin, they generate power we can turn into electricity.

Electricity is the flow of electrical charges. An electric circuit is a combination of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected together by conductive wires through which electric current can flow.

The battery pushes the electricity along the wires from the positive terminal, through the bulb and back to the negative terminal. This creates a circuit. To turn out the light, the circuit needs to be broken by adding a switch. When the bulb gets old, the filament breaks and this breaks the circuit.

Electricity is simply the flow of electrons. It takes two things to make the electrons flow, something to push the electrons and a path for the electrons to travel along. The force that pushes electrons is called voltage and is measured in volts.

Electric current can be thought of as ‘flowing in’ from one terminal and ‘flowing out’ from the other. If the tip of the metal cap and the base of the zinc can are connected by a metal wire, current will flow through it.

An electric circuit is a path along which electricity can flow. A simple electric circuit consist of a cell, torch bulb and two pieces of wire (called connecting wires). (6) The wires and bulb form a continuous path between the two terminals of the cell for electricity to flow through.

FREE Resource! This Science Year 6 unit will teach your class about Electricity, helping KS2 students to create quality scientific work that shows progression in skills. Children will have the opportunity to explore and learn more about the world around them with the lesson overviews included.

Outstanding Science Year 6 – Electricity | OS6E007. Children learn about the appearance and function of different electrical components, including switches, bulbs, buzzers, motors, cells and wires. They match pictures of each component to their electrical symbols. They cut and paste descriptions of how each component functions, or write their own.

Electrical components. Children learn about the appearance and function of different electrical components, including switches, bulbs, buzzers, motors, cells and wires. They match pictures of each component to their electrical symbols. They cut and paste descriptions of how each component functions, or write their own.

Starters for science provides the key learning, key vocabulary and 4 easy to run activities for each topic in Y6. These sheets may be sent home, so children can carry on learning science whilst self-isolating, or they can be used in class. There are further sheets for other year groups here.