Science // Energy

Conductors and insulators

Recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors of electricity

Ages
8 to 9
Type
Concept
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
1 topic
Standards
1 code

Quick check

Can the learner test objects in a circuit and explain why metal objects let electricity through but rubber and plastic don't?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Define conductors (allow electricity to flow through) and insulators (block electricity)
  • Test at least six materials and correctly classify them as conductors or insulators
  • State that metals are generally good conductors and explain why wires are made of metal with plastic coating

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic
  • Building a simple circuitRequired

    Energy // Ages 8 to 9

    Must know circuit components before testing which materials conduct electricity

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Conductors and insulators

Ages 8 to 9 // Concept

Leads to

1 topic
  • Static electricity and sparksHelpful

    Energy // Ages 11 to 12

    KS2 conductors and insulators provides context: static charge builds where charges cannot flow (insulators)

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

Children aged 8–9 learn to distinguish conductors (materials that let electricity flow) from insulators (materials that block it), and to generalise that most metals are good conductors while most non-metals are insulators. The core method is empirical: place a material in the gap of a simple circuit and see whether the bulb lights. The curriculum frames this as a hands-on enquiry; the primary activity is a predict–test–record investigation with a real materials kit, with on-screen or interactive-image work as useful companions for prediction, varied material sets, instant recording, and fixing vocabulary.

Common misconceptions

  • 'All metals are magnetic / all shiny things conduct' — conflating conduction with magnetism or shininess; the test, not appearance, decides (a shiny painted surface may not conduct).
  • Thinking the plastic-coated wire conducts along its plastic, or not realising the metal inside is the conductor and the plastic the insulator.
  • Believing an insulator in the gap 'slows' the electricity rather than stopping the loop entirely — at this level it simply doesn't light.
  • Overgeneralising from one metal or assuming non-metals never conduct (graphite/pencil lead is a useful counter-case).
  • Thinking thickness or size of the object determines conduction rather than the material it is made of.

Useful representations

  • A gap-in-the-loop test rig with two crocodile clips and a bulb — the canonical conductor/insulator tester.
  • A predict-test-record results table: material | prediction | conductor or insulator.
  • A two-column sort: conductors (metals highlighted) vs insulators (wood, plastic, rubber, glass).
  • A cutaway of an electrical wire: metal core (conductor) inside a plastic sheath (insulator).

Teaching practices

  • Use a test-circuit with a gap (two crocodile clips): drop a material across the gap and the lamp lights for conductors, stays dark for insulators — the circuit IS the test instrument.
  • Run predict-then-test-then-record: children predict each material, test it, and log conductor/insulator in a table; the prediction surfaces their ideas and the result corrects them.
  • Test a wide, deliberately varied set — several metals (steel, copper, aluminium, a coin), plus wood, plastic, rubber, glass, paper, fabric, and water/graphite as talking points — so the metals→conductor generalisation emerges from evidence, not assertion.
  • Connect to real life: explain why wires have a metal core (conductor) and a plastic coating (insulator) — the plastic keeps the electricity in the metal and us safe.
  • Keep the claim calibrated: 'most metals are good conductors' and 'most non-metals are insulators' — avoid overgeneralising, and note interesting exceptions (graphite conducts; pure water barely does) as enrichment, not core.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Predict–test–record with a gapped circuit

    Why it works: Whether a material conducts is decided by what it is made of, not how it looks. Testing a varied set lets the 'metals are good conductors' generalisation emerge from the child's own evidence rather than being asserted.

    1. Set up (or use) a test circuit with a battery, bulb and a gap bridged by two crocodile clips, so the circuit itself is the test instrument.
    2. For each material, first write a prediction: 'Will the bulb light? Conductor or insulator?' before testing.
    3. Drop or clip the material across the gap, observe whether the bulb lights, and log the result in a table with columns: material | prediction | result (conductor/insulator).
    4. Test a deliberately wide, varied set: several metals (steel paperclip, copper strip, aluminium, a coin), plus wood (lolly stick), plastic (ruler), rubber band, glass, paper, and fabric.
    5. After testing, step back and look at the filled table: notice that the conductor column has filled with metals while wood, plastic, rubber and glass sit in the insulator column.
  2. 2

    Surprise cards: testing the rule's edges

    Why it works: Surface cues like shininess and hardness do not decide conduction: a dull metal still conducts (where the clip reaches bare metal), while a shiny plastic or a painted-over metal still blocks current at its surface. 'Most metals conduct' and 'most non-metals insulate' is the calibrated claim, with a few noted exceptions.

    1. Predict and then test a dull or unpolished metal object (making sure the clip touches bare metal, not a tarnished patch) against a shiny object that does not conduct at its surface — for example a shiny plastic object (a non-metal), or a painted metal tab where the clips touch only the paint, which insulates so the bulb stays dark even though the tab is metal underneath — saying which you think will light the bulb AND why before testing.
    2. Test a pencil-lead / graphite rod as a 'huh?' case: graphite is a non-metal that conducts. A thin pencil lead also contains clay and is a poorer conductor than metal, so a filament bulb may glow only dimly or not visibly. A short, thick graphite rod, or an LED or buzzer in place of the bulb, shows the effect more reliably.
    3. Compare hard glass and hard wood (both insulators) with a softer metal, to check whether hardness decides conduction.
    4. Discuss as enrichment: graphite conducts, and pure water barely conducts — these are interesting exceptions, not the core rule.
  3. 3

    Why wires are made the way they are

    Why it works: A wire deliberately combines a conductor (metal core to carry the electricity) and an insulator (plastic sheath to keep the electricity contained and us safe). An insulator in the circuit gap stops the loop rather than slowing the electricity.

    1. Examine (or view a cutaway of) an electrical wire: identify the metal core and the plastic sheath.
    2. Explain which part conducts (the metal core) and which part insulates and keeps us safe (the plastic coating).
    3. Connect to the loop rule: an insulator placed in the gap is just another kind of break, so the bulb simply does not light.

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
Y4.Sci.E.5

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