Classroom of the Week: Greg Hazell’s fifth-grade science class at Riverdale

After introducing his students to the concept of static electricity in one science class, Greg Hazell turned to a “neat” and “very, very powerful” e-clicker program to begin the next.

Using an interactive whiteboard, Hazell asked his class eight questions reviewing protons, electrons and neutrons and how they work. The fifth-grade students focused on the screen, pointing and clicking their responses. When their teacher gave an answer, many students who got it right whispered “Yes!”

For question 2, Hazell asked what causes a buildup of static electricity. An overwhelming majority chose B, “electrons moving from one surface to another.”

“Remember, the electrons are the only thing that can move,” Hazell said. “Protons can’t move, and neutrons can’t move.”

On the whiteboard he drew a circular diagram, showing how an atom can lose electrons.

Question 3 concerned the hazards of static electricity. Hazell said lightning is the result of static electricity, and almost all the students raised their hands to say they knew that static electricity from a computer can be dangerous.

“It’s wicked dangerous to use a computer during a lightning strike,” Matt Rogers said.

“Yes, that’s right. Because you’ll fry the computer,” Hazell affirmed.

More students struggled with question 6 – “When does an atom carry a positive charge?” – which about half of the class did not answer correctly. When there is such a discrepancy, Hazell said, he can stop and use the moment to teach them.

The class did better on question 7, and better still on question 8, as Hazell reviewed positive and negative charges.

Unlike with a paper quiz that would take at least a day to grade and give back, with the whiteboard program, “the answers come right up. So what it does for me is I can see right away whether the kids get it or not,” Hazell said. “It’s so efficient for me as a teacher.”

Hazell said that when he began using the tool his students did cheat a little, looking at other kids’ answers as they clicked – but now they understand that doesn’t help, and that it is best if they learn the material themselves.

“I don’t have to worry about these kids looking at anyone else’s clicker,” he said.

After reviewing static electricity last Monday, Hazell moved on to a new topic, current electricity, and a related activity on circuits. He told his students about the different components of a light bulb, drawing on an image of the bulb by placing his finger against the screen.

Hazell explained how electrons make a circuit to light the bulb – entering through the “button” at the bottom, going up through the filament, back down, and exiting into a battery that has positive and negative terminals.

Hazell said the filament is a resistor, so when the fast-moving electrons run into it, it’s like they’re hitting mud.

But in a short circuit, electricity bypasses the bulb and goes directly back into the battery – causing friction, heat and finally fire, Hazell said.

“If you set up these circuits incorrectly, you can burn yourself. So if that light doesn’t go on, don’t keep holding those wires there,” Hazell said, adding that the students would not burn up like the “Fantastic Four” superhero the Human Torch.

The students were given a battery, light bulb and small copper wire. Working in pairs, they tried out different arrangements drawn on a handout to see which ones lit the bulb. Debbie Konstantinidis, 11, held a light bulb as Dylan Leonard, 10, connected a wire to it and a battery.

“Stupid,” Leonard said in frustration. “Why won’t you light?”

They tried another variation, with Konstantinidis holding the light atop the battery, and Leonard connecting the wire from the bottom of the battery to the button of the bulb. It worked, and they uttered a heavenly sound effect in celebration.

“We’re on a stranded island, and we got light,” Konstantinidis said.

Dedham Transcript staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.