Electricity and Integration

The study of electricity in science can link well to other areas of the curriculum, particularly SESE.   In history for instance children could study the ways homes were heated and lit in Ireland before the availability of electrical energy. They might also examine how food was prepared and cooked and how farming practices were carried out in the past for example milking. Some interviews with older people would allow the children to collect oral evidence. They could also examine how many superstitious beliefs and folklore developed at a time when long evenings of darkness were common in the winter due to the lack of public lighting.

Examining old photographs and finding out about pastimes in the evening prior to electricity.

Children might also research an inventor or a scientist who helped to discover electricity or to use it in an invention.
 

Geography:

1. Science and Agriculture- Data collection and research: What ways does a modern farm use electricity?

2. Occupations: Examining the work of an electrician.   Interviewing an electrician. Safety.

3   Examining plans of a building. How are electric points and wires indicated?

4 Public transport-find out about transport which uses electricity rather than fossil fuel.

5. Our divided world: Examining maps of the world. Finding information.

Do all countries of the word have access to electricity?   What countries consume large amounts of electricity per head of population?   Why are there inequalities in consumption which allow 25% of the world’s population to consume about 70% of the world’ energy supplies and 60% of its food? How can we change this situation?

What are some of the consequences of not having electricity in developing countries/the global south for :

Health care (hospitals)

Food consumption and availability (lack of refrigeration)

Agriculture

Manufacturing
 

Mathematics:

Create a graph which shows the consumption of electricity by your family over a four week period.

Work out the costs of your electricity bill per day.

Create a board game on the theme of electricity
 

Science : Children might also study light as part of their study of electricity.