Ask Students: “We know we only need two wires for a light bulb to light up (hot and neutral). What is the purpose of this third, rounded prong?” Introduce the term Ground (Earth).

Introduce the Analogy (The River Diverter):
Water (Electricity): Needs a path to flow.
Normal Path (Neutral): The river’s main channel.
Flood (Fault): The river overflows and hits the appliance casing.
Human Body (Skinny Straw): A slow, high-resistance path for the water/electricity. It can still drain the flood, but it will cause damage (shock/electrocution).

Learning Goals:

1. Students will know what each wire does in an outlet.
2. Students can effectively use wire strippers and cutters.
3. Students understand the purpose of a ground wire and know its safety considerations.

Handouts

• Rubric

Pair Supplies

• 1 ft of 14/2 Romex wire
• 1 single gang box
• 1 electrical outlet
• Screwdriver
• Wire strippers
• Utility knife

Important Links

• Lesson Plan
• Kahoot Pre-Test (login required)
• All About Circuits’ Safety Grounding Worksheet (With Answers)
• YouTube Video: Why some power plugs have 3 prongs instead of 2
• YouTube Video: Electorcutions and Electric Shock Injuries
• YouTube Video: How Do I Get Shocked? Why Am I Getting Shocked? It’s Simple (language warning 3:32 & 3:43, may need to mute/turn off captions)
• YouTube Video: What is Ground? Earth Ground/Earthing
• YouTube Video: Why Do We Use Ground Rods?
• YouTube Video: How To Wire An Electrical Outlet – EASY Receptacle Wiring STEP BY STEP
• YouTube Video: How Pros Wire Receptacles in 2025 (Future Proof)

Next Generation Science Standards

• HS-PS3-1 (Energy): Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.
• HS-PS3-2 (Energy): Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as a combination of energy associated with the motion of particles (objects) and energy associated with the relative positions of particles (objects).
• HS-PS3-3 (Energy): Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy
• HS-PS3-5 (Energy): Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction.