Course Guide

Simple Circuits — Shared Activity Guide

Three hands-on lessons introducing circuits through LED art, paper circuits, and wearable copper tape. 30–50 minutes each. Appropriate for K–3 or as a short activity at any grade level.

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Course Guide

Three hands-on lessons using LEDs, copper tape, and coin cell batteries. Each lesson is 30–50 minutes and can stand alone. Appropriate for K–3, or as a short drop-in activity at any grade level.

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Materials (All Lessons)

Every student needs:

1 × coin cell battery (CR2032)
2–4 × LEDs (mixed colors and sizes)
Transparent tape
Scissors

Additional for Lesson 1:

White paper or cardstock (1–2 sheets per student)
Markers, crayons, or colored pencils

Additional for Lesson 2:

Copper tape (about 30 cm per student)
Paper circuit templates (printed)

Additional for Lesson 3:

Copper tape (about 60 cm per student)
Fabric scraps or old t-shirt pieces

Lesson 1 — LED Art

Time: 30–50 min

Before You Start (Optional Extensions)

⭐ Extension — Classroom Rules & Sharing (5 min) Before handing out materials, talk about how the LED colors work — some students might want to try every color. Set up a trading system: each student starts with a few LEDs and is welcome to swap with others during the activity. Taking turns and sharing is part of the lesson.

⭐ Extension — Electricity Video, Grades 3+ (5–10 min) For older students, this short video is a great primer before the free exploration: 📺 How Does Electricity Work? Watch it together before handing out materials.

Part 1 — Free Exploration (~10 min)

The Challenge

You have a battery and some LEDs. Can you make one light up?

That’s it. Figure it out.

Try different colors. Try different sizes. Can you light up two at once?

What Did You Notice?

Once your LED is glowing, look closely:

The LED has two legs — one longer, one shorter
It only lights up one way:
The battery also has two sides — a + side and a − side

Longer leg → positive (+) side of battery Shorter leg → negative (−) side of battery

This is called a circuit - a path for electricity to flow.

Part 2 — LED Art (~20–30 min)

⭐ Extension — Book Inspiration (5 min, before drawing) Grab a book from the classroom. Hold your LED and battery up behind a page and shine the light through different characters and scenes. Which ones look interesting when lit up from behind? Use this as inspiration for your drawing.

Make a Glowing Drawing

Choose your idea. Think of something that has a light in it — a lighthouse, Rudolph’s red nose, a cave explorer’s flashlight, a Jedi lightsaber, a firefly, a street lamp, a volcano, a birthday candle.
Draw it on your paper. Use markers or crayons. Leave the spot where the light should glow mostly blank or lightly colored — the LED will shine through from behind.
Flip the paper over. Tape your LED legs flat against the back — long leg on the + side of the battery, short leg on the − side. Hold them down.
Hold the battery in place with a piece of tape, pressing the LED legs against both sides.
Hold your drawing up to the light. Does the glow come through?

The paper diffuses the light — it spreads it out and softens it, like a lampshade.

⭐ Extension — Greeting Card (10 min) Fold a piece of paper in half like a card.

Outside cover: draw a picture where the LED glow will shine through a moon, a candle flame, a glowing window

Inside: tape the LED and battery to the inside of the card. Label the components: LED, battery, positive leg, negative leg. Or write a message — the light makes it feel special when the card is opened.

Lesson 2 — Paper Circuits

Time: 30–50 min

What Is a Paper Circuit?

A paper circuit uses copper tape as the wire. The tape conducts electricity the same way a metal wire does — you just stick it to paper.

Part 1 — Follow the Template (~15–20 min)

1. Get your template. Look at the circuit diagram before you start building.

2. Lay your copper tape on the heavy black lines. Peel the backing off a little at a time — go slowly so it doesn’t tangle.

3. Make corners cleanly. Fold the tape back on itself at corners so there are no gaps.

4. Place your LED. Open the legs so they lie flat. Long leg on the + side, short leg on the − side. Press down with transparent tape.

5. Add the battery. Copper tape touches one side only — not both at the same time.

6. Does it light up? ✔

Troubleshooting

LED not lighting up? Check these first:

LED legs not making good contact → press them down harder
Break in the copper tape → look for gaps
Tape bridging + and − accidentally → that’s a short circuit, separate them
Battery on backwards → flip it

Part 2 — Three Circuit Types (~10–15 min)

Build all three and compare what happens:

Type	What happens	If one LED fails…
Simple	One path, one LED	—
Parallel	Multiple paths, usually brighter	Others still work
Series	One path through all LEDs	All go out

Which is brighter — series or parallel? Why do you think that is?

⭐ Extension — Make a Switch (10 min) A switch is just a gap in the circuit that you can open and close. Cut a small gap in your copper tape. Fold a strip of paper over the gap as a flap — when you press it down, it bridges the gap and completes the circuit. Release it and the light goes off. Try drawing a circuit with a switch built in.

⭐ Extension — Circuit as Story (5 min) Pick two LED colors that mean something together — red and blue for fire and water, yellow and green for sun and leaves. Design a paper circuit where both light up and tell a small visual story with your drawing.

Part 3 — Design Challenge: Hoodie (~10 min)

Take a hoodie template.

On the front — sketch where you want your lights to go. On the back — draw the circuit that would make it work.

Then build it with copper tape and LEDs.

Which circuit type will you use? Why?

Lesson 3 — Wearable Copper Tape

Time: 30–50 min

From Paper to Fabric

Paper circuits use the same ideas as wearable circuits. The difference:

Fabric moves and bends — connections need to be secure
You’ll use two strips of copper tape running parallel (one + , one −)
LEDs bridge across both strips

Part 1 — Build a Wearable Circuit (~20 min)

Cut two strips of copper tape the length you need — your positive rail and negative rail
Keep them parallel but not touching (a gap of about 1 cm)
Place LEDs across both strips — long leg on +, short leg on −
Press legs down firmly; add a small piece of transparent tape to hold
Connect your battery at one end — positive to positive, negative to negative

If the battery feels warm, the + and − rails are touching. Separate them immediately.

Part 2 — Design with Purpose (~10–15 min)

A wearable isn’t just a circuit — it’s something someone will wear. Where the light goes matters.

Sketch your design:

Where on the clothing should the lights appear?
What do you want the viewer to notice first?
Is the circuit hidden, or part of the design?

Build your sketch using copper tape and LEDs on a fabric scrap.

⭐ Extension — Message Wearable (10 min) Choose something you care about. Design a wearable where the placement of LEDs communicates that message — a constellation that means something to you, lights that draw attention to a word or symbol, a pattern that represents your identity or community. Share your design with someone and see if they can guess the message before you explain it.

⭐ Extension — Intro to Conductive Thread (10 min) Copper tape works on flat fabric, but what about curved shapes, seams, or pieces that really move? Conductive thread is sewn like regular thread but carries electricity. Try a few stitches between two points on a fabric scrap and connect an LED across them — same rules apply: longer leg to +, shorter leg to −. What’s different about using thread instead of tape?

What’s Next?

These three lessons are the foundation for the full MakeFashion Edu course — where students design and build wearable fashion tech pieces for a runway show.

📖 Full Semester Guide — the complete course covering storytelling, advocacy, media literacy, fashion design, and the runway exhibition.

SteamHead — Make · Great · Things A nonprofit maker education organisation.