A 3-page 3rd grade static electricity check. Page 1 has five multiple-choice questions with three options each, on the two types of charge, rubbing a balloon, same and opposite charges and lightning. Page 2 shows three pairs of charged circles to label attract or repel, then asks why a rubbed balloon sticks to a wall. It ties to NGSS 3-PS2-3, and page 3 is the answer key.
3-PS2-3
“Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.”
Questions 3, 4 and 6 test attract and repel for like and opposite charges. Question 7 asks students to give a cause for a balloon sticking to a wall.
Questions 1 to 5 ask for the two types of electric charge, how to build up static on a balloon, what happens with the same charge and with opposite charges, and which one is a giant spark in the sky.
Question 6 gives a word bank of attract and repel, and three pairs of circles marked + and -, - and -, and + and +, with a box under each.
Question 7 asks "Why does a rubbed balloon stick to a wall?" with three lines to write on.
Letters for questions 1 to 5, the three pair answers, and a sample reason for question 7 about opposite charges in the wall and the balloon.
Exit check
Hand it out at the end of a static electricity lesson. Only question 7 needs real writing, so most students finish in one sitting.
Before and after
Give it before the unit and again after, then put the two question 7 answers side by side. The change in wording shows what students picked up.
Scoring question 7
Accept any answer that says the balloon and wall pull on each other because of opposite charges. A student who writes only that the balloon is sticky has not got there yet.
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