Lighting the Bulb

Engage
While observing this Grade 4 science lesson, I immediately noticed how the teacher used curiosity rather than directions to launch learning. The lesson began with a flashlight that would not turn on. A student tried to make it work, and when it didn’t, the teacher asked the class what they thought could be done. Students eagerly shared ideas and predictions, using language to explain their thinking before being told anything about circuits or energy.

Explore
During the Explore phase, students were given a challenge: figure out how to get energy from a battery to a light bulb. Working in partner pairs, students were provided materials but no directions on how to use them. As I observed, students experimented through trial and error, talked through ideas, and adjusted their designs based on what they noticed. Some attempts worked, others didn’t, but students stayed engaged and continued testing.

Once students successfully lit the bulb, they were asked to draw a picture of what they thought was happening. This moment stood out to me because students were asked to slow down and represent their thinking visually, using evidence from what they had just experienced.

After this, the teacher introduced a new challenge by giving students a second wire, and later a small circuit, again without providing directions. Students were encouraged to experiment, test ideas, and figure out how the energy and light were working together. From my perspective, this allowed students to build understanding through investigation rather than instruction.

Explain
During the Explain portion, students shared what they tried and why they thought it worked. As an observer, I noticed students referencing their drawings and hands-on experiences to explain how energy moved from the battery to the light bulb. Sentence stems such as “The ___ energy is converted to ___ energy” supported students in using academic language while still focusing on the science.

What stood out was that students were using evidence from their experiments to justify their explanations. They weren’t repeating information from the teacher; they were explaining what they observed and how their thinking changed as new materials were introduced.

Elaborate
Students extended their thinking by adding more materials and refining their designs. The addition of the second wire and the small circuit pushed students to think more deeply about how connections mattered. I observed students revising their ideas, trying new configurations, and explaining how changes affected whether the bulb lit up. This extension reinforced the idea that scientific understanding develops through testing, evidence, and revision.

Evaluate
To evaluate understanding, students were asked to brainstorm a device they knew that converts energy from one form to another and explain how it works. This task required students to apply what they learned and support their ideas using evidence from the lesson. Many students used the language and concepts they had practiced throughout the investigation to explain their thinking.

Reflection
Observing this lesson helped me clearly see what beyond basic literacy looks like in a science classroom. Students were not given step-by-step directions. Instead, they were encouraged to experiment, draw models, discuss ideas, and use evidence from their investigations to explain how energy and light worked. From what I observed, these strategies supported deeper understanding and gave students multiple ways to communicate their thinking. This lesson reinforced the importance of allowing students time, space, and patience to engage in disciplinary literacy through exploration and sense-making.