Circuits Teaching Resources

Power your science lesson planning with printable electric circuit worksheets, activities, and Google Slide templates created by teachers for elementary science teachers like you.

This curated collection of electric energy teaching resources covers key vocabulary like voltage and power source and includes printable and digital versions of our most popular activities. Each resource has undergone rigorous review by a Teach Starter teacher team member to ensure it's ready to be used in your classroom. You'll find NGSS-aligned resources, editable options and resources already differentiated for you to make science lesson planning easier!

Looking to get started on teaching about electric circuits, or just need more ways to make this science topic more engaging in your classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including an explanation of what a circuit is, how circuit diagrams are used and more!

What Is an Electric Circuit? A Kid-Friendly Definition

Looking for a simple way to define an electrical circuit for your students? Let's start with a kid-friendly definition from our teacher team.

An electrical circuit is like a path that allows electricity to flow from one place to another. It's kind of like a road that cars can drive on.

How Does an Electrical Circuit Work?

In a circuit, the electricity travels from a power source (like a battery) through wires or other materials and then back to the power source.

To explain this to your students, you can ask them to imagine that they're gathered in a circle playing a game of hot potato by passing a potato around while music plays. When the music stops, whoever is holding the potato is out.

In an electrical circuit, the electricity is like the hot potato, and the components in the circuit are like the people passing the potato.

The electricity flows from a power source (like a battery) through wires or other materials (like metal or water). Then it returns to the power source in a loop, just like the circle in the game of hot potato.

When it reaches a component, like a light bulb, the component uses some of the electricity to do its job, like making light. Then the electricity continues on its path back to the power source.

If there's a break in the circuit, like a wire that's been cut or a switch that's been turned off, the electricity can't flow anymore.

This is a lot like when the game of hot potato stops because someone drops the potato or the music stops playing!

What Are the Different Types of Circuits?

There are three main types of electrical circuits and they all have different uses from powering the lights in the classroom to powering our classroom devices like tablets and computers.

Let's break down all three!

Series Circuits

In a series circuit, components like light bulbs, resistors, or other devices are connected in a single path. The same current flows through each component in the circuit, and the voltage is divided among the components.

If one component in a series circuit fails, the circuit is broken, and none of the other components will work.

Students are likely to find series circuits in some types of flashlights. They're easy to design, so this type of circuit is perfect for classroom experiments!

Parallel Circuits

In a parallel circuit, the components are connected in separate branches. The voltage is the same across each component, but the current is divided among the branches. If one component fails, the other components will continue to work because they are connected in separate branches.

Students are most likely to find parallel circuits in homes and buildings where they are used to power multiple appliances and devices at the same time.

Series-Parallel Circuits

In a series-parallel circuit, the components are arranged in both series and parallel paths. This type of circuit allows for more flexibility in designing circuits that have multiple loads and require different voltages. That's why it is often used in more complex items like cars and computers!

Electrical Circuit Activities for the Classroom

Looking for some fun ways to engage your students and get them excited about circuitry? You can explore this collection printables and digital activities, and try these ideas from our teacher team for more inspiration!