LED Circuit

In this step-by-step lesson, you'll learn about LED lights and how to build a basic LED circuit. You'll understand the importance of the direction of electricity flow, prepare a base grid, insert batteries, and place various components like the battery holder, wire block, LED light block, and press switch block. You'll also experiment with the LED direction and explore creating different circuits.

Learning Goals Learning Outcomes Teacher Notes

Warning: Your screen size is quite small for viewing this. Rotate your device into landscape mode if you can.

1 Introduction
2 Prepare the Base Grid
3 Inserting Batteries
4 Place the battery holder (B1)
5 Place wire block (3)
6 Place the red LED light block (D1)
7 Place the press switch block (S2)
8 Lighting Up the Circuit
9 Experiment with LED Direction
10 Exploration and Conclusion

1 - Introduction

Today, we are going to learn about LED lights and they only work when the electricity is going the correct way.

Explain to your students that today we will be using the red LED block (D1). This block has a red LED light on it and it will only work if we make the electricity go through it in the correct direction, if we make electricity go through it in the wrong direction it will not light up.

Our goal is to understand how to build a basic LED circuit and learn about the direction of electricity flow.

2 - Prepare the Base Grid

Instruct your students to place the base grid on a flat, stable surface. Make sure each group has enough space to work comfortably. This is an important step to ensure the stability of the snap circuits they will build.

3 - Inserting Batteries

At this stage, we need to ensure that the batteries are in the battery holder. If they are not already there, please insert them now. Each Snap Circuits set you are using will need its own set of batteries. So, if you are using multiple sets, make sure each one has its batteries properly inserted in the battery holder. This is crucial for the functioning of the circuits we will be building.

Snap Circuits: How to insert the batteries

To power your Snap Circuits you will need to put two AA batteries into the battery holder. To do this you will need a small Phillips head screwdriver.

First, unscrew the battery holder (B1) using the screwdriver. Next, insert the two AA batteries into the holder, making sure to follow the direction (positive and negative) indicated inside the holder.

Once the batteries are properly placed, screw the battery holder back together. Remember, safety first! Always handle batteries and tools carefully.

4 - Place the battery holder (B1)

Now, let's place the battery holder on our base grid. Tell your students to find the spot marked as C4 on the grid, this is where we will place the battery holder (B1).

Once they have placed the battery holder correctly, they should press it gently to snap it into place.

5 - Place wire block (3)

Now let's put in the number 3 wire. Instruct your students to find the number 3 wire block. They need to connect one end of the wire block to the point C2 on the grid and the other end to E2. Make sure the wire block snaps into place securely.

Unlock the Full Learning Experience

Get ready to embark on an incredible learning journey! Get access to this lesson and hundreds more in our Digital Skills Curriculum.

Get started