Teaching about the Fascinating World of Electricity

Electricity is such a fascinating topic to study. Most of us don’t realize how often we use it until we have a power outage! If you are going to teach your kids about electricity, here is a collection of ideas and resources that will help you with your studies.

Fun Ideas to Learn About the World of Electricity

Try Living Without Electricity for a Day

One way to show your kids how much we use electricity is to try living without it for a day! Explain when electricity was invented and what people used before. This will require some thinking ahead of time and brainstorming what you will do without it!

Discover Electricity at Home

Teach your kids about electricity by showing them your electrical panel or fuse box in your house and explain how they work. Look here for information on electrical panels to learn first if you don’t know about it already. Look here for information about how fuse boxes work! Or if you happen to live off-grid, show your kids how you do that! If you are on-grid, show your kids your electric meter outside your house and explain how it works. Some resources for learning more about electric meters are Electricity and Gas Meters from The Government of Canada and What is a Smart Meter and How does it Work by Energyrates.ca

Field Trips

Transmission Towers

A neat field trip idea to teach your kids about electricity would be to take a field trip to view an area that contains transmission towers and discuss what they are and how they work.

Science Centers or Science and Technology Museums

Another idea to help teach your kids about electricity would be to see what is available in your community. Do you have a science center or similar center near you? Perhaps they have an exhibit on electricity or maybe they could run a program for your homeschool group. The Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa offers field trips for learning about electricity.

Hydroelectric Dams and Windmills

Teach your kids about the different sources of electricity in Canada. Research their pros and cons and how they create electricity. Is there a hydroelectric dam in your community? Go and have a look at it from a safe distance and discover how it works. What about windmills- are there any in your community? Go and view some and see what you think! Some online places to research about windmills include Wind Energy from the Government of Canada and How do Wind Turbines Work by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Research about Electricians

One engaging way to learn more about electricity would be to watch videos about electricians or try to connect with one in your community. Perhaps there is an electrician you know in your community, immediate or extended family or homeschool group. You could ask them if they’d do an information interview about their career or show you a few things about electricity! Below is a video called Day in the Life of an Electrician.

Experiments

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Doing science experiments is always a fun and engaging way to learn more about science. Here are some that you could do to learn about electricity:

Ready-Made Kits to Buy

You could also get a science kit already made, such as this one called Easy Electric Circuits. This snap circuits one is also really neat: Elenco Snap Circuits Jr.

Book Recommendations for Learning About Electricity

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There are many excellent books out there for learning about electricity. Here are a few:

Amazing Makerspace Electricity
Author: Kristina A. Holzweiss
Age Range: 8-10

This book includes many cool projects and ideas!

DK Eyewitness Books: Electricity
Author: Steve Parker
Age Range: 8-14

DK Eyewitness books are jam-packed with information. If you have a child who is very interested in the world of electricity then this book will be sure to engage and interest them!

Online Resources for Learning about Electricity

Lesson Plans

There are many lesson plans already available online that you can download and use in your study of electricity. Here are some that we found:

Lapbooks and Worksheets

Using lapbooks and worksheets can be a great way to record some of your learning.

Videos

Videos are always helpful to add in a different form of learning.

Final Thoughts

I hope this gives you lots of ideas to learn more about the fascinating world of electricity! Science is such an important subject and can be presented in fun and engaging ways with the many incredible resources that exist!

This post was updated in 2024.

Alaina is a busy mom of 4 with 14 years of homeschooling experience. She joined The Canadian Homeschooler team in 2020.