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This is preview content for the 2026-27 academic year. Your feedback will help us improve these units.
Learning objective
- To build an electrical circuit with a bulb and toggle switch.
Success criteria
- I can make and test a toggle switch
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National curriculum
Design and technology
Make
Pupils
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Cross-curricular links
Before the lesson
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Lesson plan
Recap and recall
Hand out whiteboards and pens. Show the Presentation: What am I?
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Adaptive teaching
Pupils needing extra support:
- Could use the Resource: Building a toggle switch to guide the children through the steps and reduce the need to remember them.
- Could use the Knowledge organiser to help them with key vocabulary when describing how their switch and circuits work during the Main event.
- Could record their sentences in the Main event using a device so they can listen back and reinforce how the switch controls the circuit.
Pupils working at greater depth:
- Should suggest potential problems with the simple toggle switches they have built, such as the paper clip moving too easily.
- Should suggest ways to improve the design.
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Assessing progress and understanding
Pupils with secure understanding can:
- Name some reasons why switches are helpful when
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Vocabulary definitions
-
conductor
A material that lets electrical charge pass through it quickly.
-
insulator
A material that does not let electrical charge pass through it easily.
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In this unit
Maintained by: Kapow Primary team
Last update: 8th May, 2026
Lesson 3: Switching on and off
Exploring how switches work and why they are useful through an electrical circuit game.
Lesson 4: Investigating electrical conductors and insulators
Writing a method for an enquiry to investigate which materials are good electrical conductors and...
Lesson 2: Building circuits
Learning how to represent electrical components and circuits and testing if they work or not.
Lesson 6: Practical circuits
Exploring different ways to use switches and designing a circuit with a switch to solve...
