DocsOpen the editorEditor
Curriculum pack

Intro to Electronics, 6 weeks

Circuits, Ohm’s law, switches and LEDs, capacitors, the 555 timer and logic gates, in six weeks and almost no code. Every lesson runs on the Chromebooks your students already have.

  • Grades 6 to 10
  • 6 weeks
  • Two or three class periods a week, about 45 minutes each.
  • Teacher answer key included
Try a class free for 30 daysStart at week one

Before this pack: Nothing. Students should be comfortable with multiplication and division, and with a decimal point.

The pack at a glance

WeekTopicGraded workStandards
1Circuits are loops2 lessons with checkpoints, 1 auto-graded checkMS-ETS1-4
2Ohm’s law, series and parallel2 lessons with checkpointsMS-ETS1-4
3Switches, LEDs and transistors1 lesson with checkpointsMS-ETS1-4, 2-CS-03
4Capacitors and timing2 lessons with checkpointsMS-ETS1-4, HS-ETS1-4
5The 555 timer2 lessons with checkpoints, 1 auto-graded checkMS-ETS1-4, HS-PS3-3
6Logic gates and a design of your own2 lessons with checkpoints3B-CS-02, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2

Week by week

Each week has a lesson plan, objectives, the questions to ask, the graded work and the vocabulary. The minutes are a guide.

Week 1

Circuits are loops

A supply, a button, a resistor and an LED, wired by the students on a real breadboard layout.

Learning objectives: students will be able to

  • Trace a complete circuit from the supply, through every part, and back
  • Wire parts on a breadboard so its strips make the connections intended
  • Explain what an open circuit is and why nothing flows in one

Lesson plan

  1. Warm up (5 min): show Hello, breadboard running. Ask what has to be true for the light to be on.
  2. Build (20 min): students do Build your first circuit, drawing every wire themselves. Each step ticks when the wire is right.
  3. Explore (15 min): A first circuit. Hold the button, measure the current, then change the resistor and watch it change.
  4. Close (5 min): each student writes one sentence on what the resistor is for.

Ask the class

  • Why does the LED go out the moment you let go of the button?
  • Why does a breadboard strip of five holes count as one connection?

Graded work

  • Build your first circuit: a lesson whose 5 steps tick against the running circuit. Assign it from your class page under A lesson.
  • A first circuit: a lesson whose 6 steps tick against the running circuit. Assign it from your class page under A lesson.
  • Rebuild Hello, breadboard from the parts list, with the switch closed, and hand it in. Assign Hello, breadboard as a template and add these checks. Our own build passes every one:
  • Check: The LED is lit (the LED led1 is lit at 500 ms).

Projects to open: Hello, breadboard

Vocabulary

Circuit
A complete loop that current can flow around.
Current
How much charge flows past a point each second, measured in amps (A).
Voltage
The push that drives current, measured in volts (V).
Breadboard
A board for building circuits without solder; holes in a strip are joined inside.

Standards: MS-ETS1-4

Week 2

Ohm’s law, series and parallel

One current in a series loop, one voltage across parallel branches, and the arithmetic that predicts both.

Learning objectives: students will be able to

  • Use V = I x R to predict a current or a resistance
  • Explain why current is the same everywhere in a series loop
  • Predict how two branches in parallel share the supply current

Lesson plan

  1. Warm up (5 min): write V = I x R on the board and work one example together.
  2. Lesson (20 min): Resistors in series. Students measure the current in each resistor and compare.
  3. Lesson (20 min): Branches in parallel. Each branch does its own sum; the supply carries the total.
  4. Measure (10 min): open A divider, measured, and check each tap voltage against a prediction.

Ask the class

  • In a series loop, why is the current through the first resistor the same as through the second?
  • Does adding a second parallel branch make the first LED dimmer? Why or why not?

Graded work

  • Resistors in series: a lesson whose 6 steps tick against the running circuit. Assign it from your class page under A lesson.
  • Branches in parallel: a lesson whose 6 steps tick against the running circuit. Assign it from your class page under A lesson.

Projects to open: A divider, measured

Vocabulary

Resistance
How strongly a part opposes current, measured in ohms.
Ohm’s law
V = I x R: voltage equals current times resistance.
Series
Parts in one path, one after another, carrying the same current.
Parallel
Parts connected across the same two points, sharing the same voltage.

Standards: MS-ETS1-4

Week 3

Switches, LEDs and transistors

What open really means, why an LED needs a resistor, and a transistor used as a switch.

Learning objectives: students will be able to

  • Show that a switch works anywhere in a series loop
  • Choose a resistor that sets an LED current
  • Describe a transistor as a switch controlled by a small signal

Lesson plan

  1. Warm up (5 min): where in the loop should the switch go? Take a vote.
  2. Lesson (25 min): The switch, and what open really means. Students find the dimmest visible current.
  3. Explore (15 min): open MOSFET switch and Motion light. Find the part that does the switching in each.
  4. Close (5 min): sketch the loop and mark where the switch could go.

Ask the class

  • Why does it not matter where in the loop the switch is placed?
  • What does the transistor in the motion light let a tiny signal do?

Graded work

Projects to open: MOSFET switch · Motion light

Vocabulary

Open circuit
A loop with a break in it, so no current flows.
LED
A light-emitting diode: lights when current flows from anode to cathode.
Diode
A part that lets current flow one way only.
Transistor
A part that lets a small signal switch a larger current.

Standards: MS-ETS1-4, 2-CS-03

Week 4

Capacitors and timing

A voltage that takes time to get somewhere, and the one number, R times C, that says how long.

Learning objectives: students will be able to

  • Describe a capacitor charging through a resistor
  • Calculate a time constant as R x C
  • Choose R and C for a delay that is wanted

Lesson plan

  1. Warm up (5 min): what would make a light fade instead of snapping off?
  2. Lesson (20 min): Charging a capacitor. Find the 63 percent point.
  3. Lesson (20 min): Choosing R and C for a delay you want.
  4. Close (5 min): each student writes two R and C pairs for the same delay.

Ask the class

  • What fraction of the supply has the capacitor reached after one time constant?
  • For a delay of half a second with a 10 uF capacitor, what resistor do you need?

Graded work

Projects to open: RC filter on the scope

Vocabulary

Capacitor
A part that stores charge and takes time to charge and discharge.
Time constant
R x C, the time to reach about 63 percent of the way.
Farad
The unit of capacitance; microfarads (uF) are common.
Oscilloscope
An instrument that draws a voltage over time.

Standards: MS-ETS1-4, HS-ETS1-4

Week 5

The 555 timer

A chip, two resistors and a capacitor make a blinking light with no code at all.

Learning objectives: students will be able to

  • Explain what charges and discharges the timing capacitor in a 555 astable
  • Change a part to change the blink rate, and predict the direction
  • Use a reset pin to gate a circuit instead of switching its power

Lesson plan

  1. Warm up (5 min): run the 555 blinker and flip the switch. What changed?
  2. Lesson (25 min): Timing with no processor: the 555. Count blinks against a clock.
  3. Lesson (15 min): The 555 with a reset pin, driving a buzzer.
  4. Close (5 min): predicted against measured, in a three-row table.

Ask the class

  • If you make the timing capacitor ten times bigger, what happens to the blink rate?
  • Why is gating the reset pin better than switching the buzzer’s power?

Graded work

  • Timing with no processor: the 555: a lesson whose 6 steps tick against the running circuit. Assign it from your class page under A lesson.
  • The 555 with a reset pin: a lesson whose 6 steps tick against the running circuit. Assign it from your class page under A lesson.
  • Rebuild the 555 blinker from the parts list and hand it in with the switch in its starting position. Assign 555 blinker as a template and add these checks. Our own build passes every one:
  • Check: The 555 output blinks at about 1.4 Hz (pin OUT on u1 toggles every 714 ms, within 120 ms, watched for 4 s).

Projects to open: 555 blinker · Doorbell · 555 tone

Vocabulary

Astable
A circuit that switches on and off by itself, over and over.
Frequency
How many times something repeats each second, in hertz (Hz).
Period
The time for one full repeat; one over the frequency.
Reset
An input that stops a chip and holds it in a known state.

Standards: MS-ETS1-4, HS-PS3-3

Week 6

Logic gates and a design of your own

AND, XOR and NOT on real chips, one bit of memory, and a small design project to finish.

Learning objectives: students will be able to

  • Fill in a truth table by driving the inputs of a real gate
  • Explain how two cross-coupled gates hold one bit
  • Plan, build and test a small circuit to a brief

Lesson plan

  1. Warm up (5 min): open Gate lab and press the buttons in all four combinations.
  2. Lesson (20 min): Gates, as real chips. Fill in the tables.
  3. Lesson (15 min): One bit of memory, the NAND latch.
  4. Design (two periods): build a circuit to a brief, for example a light that comes on with either of two buttons, and hand it in as a link.

Ask the class

  • Why does a CMOS input need a pull-down resistor?
  • What does the latch remember after both buttons are let go?

Graded work

  • Gates, as real chips: a lesson whose 6 steps tick against the running circuit. Assign it from your class page under A lesson.
  • One bit of memory: a lesson whose 6 steps tick against the running circuit. Assign it from your class page under A lesson.

Projects to open: Gate lab · NAND latch

Vocabulary

Logic gate
A circuit whose output is a fixed rule of its inputs.
Truth table
Every input combination and the output for each.
Pull-down resistor
A resistor that holds an input low when nothing drives it.
Latch
A circuit that holds one bit until it is told to change.

Standards: 3B-CS-02, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2

For teachers only

Teacher answer key

Answers to every question, how to grade each week, and the mistakes worth watching for. It opens for a signed-in teacher with a class and the class tools, and is never sent to a student.

Sign in with your teacher account to see the answer key.

Create a teacher accountSign in

Standards alignment

Each code is quoted from the published standard and cited only where the week gives students that practice. Mokxi is not certified by any standards body; check these against your state’s adoption.

CodeFrameworkThe standardWeeks
MS-ETS1-4NGSSDevelop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.1, 2, 3, 4, 5
2-CS-03CSTASystematically identify and fix problems with computing devices and their components.3
HS-ETS1-4NGSSUse a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.4
HS-PS3-3NGSSDesign, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.5
3B-CS-02CSTAIllustrate ways computing systems implement logic, input, and output through hardware components.6
MS-ETS1-1NGSSDefine the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.6
MS-ETS1-2NGSSEvaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.6
For your class

Everything this pack needs, in one class

A roster with a six-character join code, the week’s lesson or starter handed to every student, checks that grade each hand-in, a live wall of everyone’s work and this answer key. Classes come with Pro and the Teacher plan, and the free 30-day trial has every tool.

Try a class free for 30 daysSee the demo classPlans for classes and schools

Student privacy: what is kept, and what never is

Questions teachers ask

How do I assign a week’s graded work?

From your class page, choose Assign work, then A lesson, and pick the lesson by name. Each student’s hand-in arrives with the steps they completed. For a week with checks, assign the project as a template, open Checks under the assignment, and add the checks listed for that week.

Who can see the answer key?

Only a signed-in teacher who owns a class and has the class tools: Pro, the Teacher plan, a school plan or the free 30-day class trial. The key is never part of the page a student loads, and a student account cannot open it.

Do students need accounts?

Not to open the projects and lessons from a link. To hand work in through a class they need an account, because a class is a roster, and a student under 13 joins only with the consent your school gives under COPPA.

Can I change the order or the lessons?

Yes. Each week stands on the ones before it, but you can skip, reorder or swap any lesson, and every project opens in the editor for you to change before you assign it.

The other packs

Teach it with a class

Start the free 30-day class trial: one class of up to forty students, every class tool and the answer keys, with no card.

Start the class trialOpen the first project