This interactive Flash tutorial will give your students a good model for exploring electron flow through a simple circuit. It tackles a complex idea in a simple way, helping kids to build accurate concepts of what happens at the atomic level when current flows through a circuit.  (Open Website)

A simulation that illustrates the "water-flow" model of electricity. The water pump represents a battery in a circuit; coiled water pipe represents a resistor. Students control the rate of flow through the pipe. EDITOR'S NOTE: This model helps students understand some very basic ideas about current flow, but is has limitations. Try using it with the resource directly above from "The Electricity Book".  (Open Website)

This high-quality interactive simulation can be easily adapted for both middle school and high school. Students build a virtual DC circuit, using "click and drag" to attach wires, batteries, switches, and resistors.  This particular simulation has received excellent reviews in extensive field testing, especially when done in conjunction with a hands-on lab.  (Open Website)

This item is a lesson plan featuring the neon bulb, an object that can be lighted either by electric current or by static electricity.  Accompanied by detailed background information, this lesson promotes conceptual understanding of  electron transfer.  (Open Website)

One way to charge an object is through the process of induction, in which a charged object is brought near, but not touched to, a neutral conducting object.  This animation does a nice job of depicting the induction process, accompanied by text written for the beginner.  (Open Website)

This is a simple simulation appropriate for physical science or beginning physics, but which could be extended for more complex exploration.  It shows five moveable charges and their attractive/repelling interactions.  Students figure out whether the charges are negative or positive and relative sizes of each.  (Open Website)

This lesson was created specifically to go with the PhET DC Circuit simulator, and has received glowing reviews from teacher-users. It includes lesson plan, warm-up questions, and a detailed student guide on how to use the simulation. We highly recommend this as a way to let your students explore circuits, learn from mistakes, and be better prepared to participate in the hands-on circuit lab.  (Open Website)

This one-day lab is a great way for students to investigate factors causing short circuits.  Reproducible prediction charts help students learn by gauging their preconceived ideas against observed outcomes in the lab.  Materials are readily accessible and inexpensive to obtain.  (Open Website)

This high-quality interactive simulation is a good choice for beginning high school physics or physical science.  Students build a virtual DC circuit, using the mouse to attach wires, batteries, switches, and resistors.  This particular simulation has received excellent reviews in extensive field testing, especially when done in conjunction with a hands-on lab. See Lesson Plans above for a recommended lesson developed specifically for use with this simulation.  (Open Website)

For the novice with little prior experience in circuit construction, this item offers well-organized step-by-step directions for setting up series and parallel circuit labs.  (Scroll to bottom for cost-free materials.)  (Open Website)

A collection of 8 experiments designed to introduce important concepts of electricity to beginning students. Each lab is accompanied by instructional tips to help students form a solid basis for a future study of resistance, Ohm's Law, and potential difference.  (Open Website)

Good jumping-off point for students with little background in electricity. This is Chapter 1 of free online textbook, All About Circuits. With entertaining language and detailed diagrams, the author helps students form accurate concepts of electron transfer and charge interaction so they can successfully apply the knowledge in a lab.  (Open Website)

This animated tutorial does a great job to promote understanding of current: what it is, how it is produced, and how it moves. The animations show students the difference between DC and AC current flow, and explain how and AC generator works. Especially recommended for classes where Internet technology is limited: the tutorial is delivered in HTML format.  (Open Website)

This is a simple simulation appropriate for beginning students, but could be extended for more complex exploration.  It shows five moveable charges and their attractive/repelling interactions.  The task is to figure out relative sign and size of the charges.  More advanced students can explore the Coulomb force vectors on each charge.  (Open Website)

Middle school students need time to explore very simple circuits, if they are to build a foundation for future study of Ohm's Law, resistance, and potential difference. This set of 8 classroom experiments was designed to help them gain conceptual understanding by exploring simple circuits, diagnosing faulty circuits, and using voltmeters and ammeters.  (Open Website)

This is a set of 5 creative labs on different types of batteries/electric cells. Two of them would be excellent choices for middle school. One lab replicates Alessandro Volta's historic experiments to construct the world's first electric battery: the voltaic pile. This experiment can be easily done in the classroom. The lemon cell is another good choice, using the acid from a lemon to increase conductivity between two metal strips.  (Open Website)

Want to brush up on the basics of electricity and circuits? This free web-based textbook is one of the best we've found that presents key ideas in the language of a non-physicist. Topics include electrostatics, conductors and insulators, simple and parallel circuits, resistance, voltage, and current. Highly recommended.  (Open Website)

This interactive Flash tutorial will give your students a good model for exploring electron flow through a simple circuit. It tackles a complex idea in a simple way, helping kids to build accurate concepts of what happens at the atomic level when current flows through a circuit.  (Open Website)

A very effective lab for reinforcing the importance of circuit continuity. A lamp is connected to a battery with jumper wires. After measuring normal voltages in a functioning circuit, students break the circuit at each of the four connecting points, then measure again. Editor's Note: For additional practice in measuring voltage, see "Voltmeter Usage" activity below.  (Open Website)

A collection of 8 experiments designed to introduce important concepts of electricity to beginning students. Each lab is accompanied by instructional tips to help students form a solid basis for a future study of resistance, Ohm's Law, and potential difference.  (Open Website)

A very good introduction to the multimeter, an electronic instrument that measures voltage, current, and resistance. It will help students become comfortable using either a digital or analog multimeter with batteries, an LED, and a simple "hobby" motor.  (Open Website)

This is a companion lab to the resource directly above, "Voltmeter Usage". It helps students get practice in using the ammeter function of a multimeter to measure current -- the rate of electron flow in a circuit. Detailed instructions and photos make set-up easy.  (Open Website)

In this Java simulation, your students play with a replication of Coulomb's historic torsion balance: a device used to measure electric force between charges. Coulomb's methodical measuring laid the foundation for Coulomb's Law, a fundamental principle of electricity and magnetism.  (Open Website)

It sometimes helps students with concept formation if they can see how early scientists made momentous discoveries. In this tutorial, students play with a simulation of the voltaic pile device invented in 1800 by Volta -- commonly known as the world's first battery. Battery cells can still be assembled using this "recipe". SEE ITEM DIRECTLY BELOW for a lab to construct the voltaic pile device in the classroom.  (Open Website)

If you'd like your students to replicate Volta's groundbreaking experiment with the voltaic pile device (the world's first battery), here is a lesson plan (scroll down to Page 2 of the document). They will construct their own voltaic pile batteries and get a better understanding of how electrochemical reactions work. No harsh chemicals or safety hazards.  (Open Website)

In this excellent set of 50+ short biographies, kids can read about the challenges of early inventors AND follow links to simulations of the devices they invented. For example, the Coulomb biography offers a simulation of the torsion balance; the Volta biography has a simulated voltaic pile battery.  (Open Website)

In the 18th-century, Italian scientist Alessandro Volta proposed the theory that electrical current is generated by contact between different metals. His experimental work resulted in the "voltaic pile" battery, the first known source of sustainable electric current. For a simulation of the voltaic pile device, see "Activities" above.  (Open Website)

This is a short biography of Charles Augustin de Coulomb, the 18th-century scientist whose experiments with a torsion balance gave rise to Coulomb's Law -- a fundamental principle of physics that defines the electrical force between two charged particles as a predictable mathematical relationship. For a simulation of Coulomb's torsion balance, see "Activities" above.  (Open Website)

German physicist Georg Ohm was different, and his fellows at the time were not too supportive. This early giant in the field of electricity took a mathematical approach to electric current, at a time when his peers relied almost exclusively on lab experimentation. His perseverance resulted in Ohm's Law, which clarified the relationship between electrical current, resistance, and voltage. This is his biography.  (Open Website)