Source: https://mokxi.com/teachers/plans/electrician-capstone Updated: 2026-11-12 Lesson plan # Electrician capstone: plan a small shop lesson plan Plan a small woodshop end to end on low-voltage models: scope, load calculation, panel schedule, a seal-in control circuit, a motor starter with overload, an inspection test and a portfolio write-up. 3 chapters, 7 lessons, about 7 hours, no board. Every lesson runs in the browser, with nothing to install. Start a class from this course The unit ## Objectives and materials ### By the end, students can - Scope the shop, run the load numbers and balance the panel schedule. - A three-wire start/stop circuit, then a starter with a real overload model. - Run an inspection checklist on a PLC-style starter and write the project up. ### Materials for the whole unit - Arduino Uno R3 - Bench power supply x 4 - Character LCD with I2C backpack - Current sensor, ACS712 x 4 - DC motor - DPDT relay - Full-size breadboard - Half breadboard x 4 - LED x 2 - Limit switch, lever microswitch - Pushbutton x 2 - Relay module - Resistor x 9 - RGB LED x 4 - Slide switch x 2 - Traffic light module Every part is already on the simulator’s bench, so there is nothing to buy or hand out. The counts are the most any one lesson uses, if you build it on real breadboards too. Chapter 1. About 2 h 50 min ## Plan the job Scope the shop, run the load numbers and balance the panel schedule. Lesson | Time | What students do Scope the job The brief: a small woodshop with lights, bench outlets, a compressor and a table saw. Read the model panel, measure every stand-in load, and write a one-page scope of what is in, what is out and who does the licensed work. | 60 min - The brief, and the one rule - Read the nameplate - Measure a branch - Find the big load - Write the scope - Read the demand Load calculation Turn the shop's loads into amps on paper, then prove the 80% rule on the model: a continuous load over 80% of its breaker turns yellow, over 100% turns red, and you fix the circuit until it reads OK again. | 50 min - Do the math on paper - Model the compressor - Cross the 80% line - Over the breaker - Fix the circuit Panel schedule Lay the circuits out on the two legs of the panel, see an imbalance warning when one leg carries too much, move a load to balance it, write the schedule, then take the chapter quiz. | 60 min - Two legs - Make it lopsided - Balance it - Write the schedule - Quiz: predict the color - Quiz: predict the reading ### Materials - Arduino Uno R3 - Bench power supply x 4 - Current sensor, ACS712 x 4 - Full-size breadboard - Half breadboard x 4 - LED - Resistor x 9 - RGB LED x 4 ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Panel schedule" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 6 of its 6 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Quiz: predict the reading". Chapter 2. About 2 h 10 min ## Motor controls A three-wire start/stop circuit, then a starter with a real overload model. Lesson | Time | What students do Control circuit The three-wire start/stop circuit for the saw, on a 12 V model: a DPDT relay plays the contactor, STOP is normally closed, START seals in, and an overload contact drops it out. Trace it, run it and prove every rung. | 60 min - Read the print - Press START - Let go: the seal-in - STOP drops it out - Trip the overload - Draw your own ladder Motor starter The saw's starter grows a current sensor: START seals in, STOP is fail-safe, a jam trips an inverse-time overload, and RESET is refused until it cools. Ends with the chapter quiz. | 70 min - Meet the starter - START seals in - STOP, any time - STOP beats START - Jam it - RESET has to wait - Quiz: predict the amps ### Materials - Arduino Uno R3 - Bench power supply - Current sensor, ACS712 - DC motor - DPDT relay - Full-size breadboard - Half breadboard - LED x 2 - Limit switch, lever microswitch - Pushbutton x 2 - Relay module - Resistor x 3 - Slide switch ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Motor starter" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 7 of its 7 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Quiz: predict the amps". Chapter 3. About 2 h ## Test and hand over Run an inspection checklist on a PLC-style starter and write the project up. Lesson | Time | What students do Inspection checklist Write the functional test an inspector or commissioning tech would run on the saw controls, then run it on a PLC-style starter: START, STOP, E-stop, a latched overload and a RESET that never restarts the motor. | 60 min - Write the checklist - Line 1: START - Line 2: STOP - Line 3: E-stop - Line 4: overload latches - Line 5: RESET Write-up and next steps Gather the evidence from the starter, take the last chapter quiz, and write the project up for your portfolio, with an honest note on the real path into the trade. | 60 min - Outline the write-up - Evidence: the running current - Evidence: the trip - Evidence: the indicator - Quiz: predict the restart - Finish the write-up, and what is next ### Materials - Arduino Uno R3 - Bench power supply - Character LCD with I2C backpack - Current sensor, ACS712 - DC motor - Half breadboard - LED x 2 - Limit switch, lever microswitch - Pushbutton x 2 - Relay module - Resistor x 3 - Slide switch x 2 - Traffic light module ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Write-up and next steps" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 6 of its 6 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Finish the write-up, and what is next". Your class ## Teach this unit as a class Start a class from this course and its 7 lessons are assigned in one go, in order. Students join with a six-character code or printed login cards, and each one’s work comes back to you. The class tools are free for 30 days for one class of up to 20 students, with no card. The lessons themselves are free either way. Start a class from this course See the demo class More units ## Other lesson plans Electronics basics 20 lessons, about 10 h. Embedded on the Arduino Uno 16 lessons, about 12 h. Embedded on the ESP32-C3 13 lessons, about 11 h. Embedded on the Raspberry Pi Pico 7 lessons, about 6 h. Build your own fight stick 5 lessons, about 4 h. Embedded on the STM32F411 6 lessons, about 6 h. C++ on a board 13 lessons, about 10 h. Digital logic and memory 4 lessons, about 4 h. 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