Energy

Heat, electricity and how energy moves and changes — 28 skills across 9 years. Every skill below shows what it builds on and how to tell your child has it.

Science28 skillsages 5–14

Grouped by the age children typically start each skill. Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace.

Around age 5

Building shade from the sunages 5–6 Sunlight warms things upages 5–6AC ✓

Around age 7

Naming types of energyages 7–9AC ✓

Around age 8

Building a simple circuitages 8–9 Conductors and insulatorsages 8–9 How switches workages 8–9 What uses electricity at homeages 8–9 Will the bulb light up?ages 8–9

Around age 9

Building an energy-converting deviceages 9–10AC ✓ Circuit vocabularyages 9–11AC ✓ How energy travels aroundages 9–10AC ✓ Reading and drawing circuit diagramsages 9–10AC ✓ Speed and energyages 9–10AC ✓ What happens when things collideages 9–10AC ✓

Around age 10

Drawing circuits with proper symbolsages 10–11 More batteries, brighter bulbages 10–11 Why circuit components behave differentlyages 10–11AC ✓

Around age 11

Current, voltage, and what they measureages 11–12 Energy can't be created or destroyedages 11–12 Energy stores and transfersages 11–12AC ✓ Static electricity and sparksages 11–12

Around age 12

Conduction, convection, and radiationages 12–13 Efficiency, Sankey diagrams, and work doneages 12–13 Heating experiments and Q = mcΔTages 12–13 Ohm's Law: voltage, current, resistanceages 12–13 Power: watts and energy per secondages 12–13 Renewable vs non-renewable energyages 12–14 Series vs parallel circuitsages 12–13

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