Skill: write-like-james @ b0fa825 · the build: write-lesson, write-mcqs, write-video-script, review-lesson (two blind reads and a re-read), review-figures, review-accuracy @ b0fa825

Topic 9 "How a circuit makes a bulb light" — your read (2 October 2026)

Skim first

The lessons in teaching order, each with its one rule sentence; then the intro script; then the question types. The review page follows.

The lessons and their rules

Lesson	Atom	Rule sentence
L01 A circuit is a complete loop	ENE4-060	A complete loop is called a circuit. The bulb lights only when the loop is complete.
L02 Will the bulb light?	ENE4-061	Follow the loop with your finger. A complete loop lights the bulb. A gap anywhere leaves it dark.
L03 Build a circuit that lights a bulb	ENE4-062	Clip one wire from one battery end to one screw. Clip a second wire from the other screw to the other end. Then follow the loop to check it.
L04 Electrical conductors and electrical insulators	ENE4-066	Metals let electricity pass through. They are called electrical conductors. Plastic, wood and rubber block electricity. They are called electrical insulators.

The intro script (119 words, about 60 s)

Here's Miss Walsh's class, with a battery, a bulb and two wires on every desk. Derek clips one wire from the battery to the bulb, and nothing happens. With the second wire on, it lights up. Then Miss Walsh takes a clip off the battery. Dexter puts a paper clip in the gap, and the bulb lights. Dominic tries a straw, and it stays dark. Why did the bulb need the second wire, and why does the paper clip light it while the straw leaves it dark? To find out, we will look at what a bulb needs, how to join one up, and which materials let electricity through. Okay, so are you ready to make a bulb light?

The question types (from `TYPES_G4T09.md`)

Type 1 (easy · MCQ; two drawn (route-B cards, no twin or mirror of a quiz card) · ENE4-060): what a bulb needs; which is a circuit; where the loop starts and ends; what is true of / missing from a drawn loop — four things or four statements about the loop
Type 2 (easy · MCQ · ENE4-060): one wire only, or a lit circuit carried to the floor: what happens to the bulb — It lights. / It stays dark. / It lights only while someone holds the wire. / It gets warm but stays dark. (four different outcomes)
Type 3 (easy, medium · MCQ, drawn (blind note = neutral data: where each clip sits) · ENE4-061): where the gap is, if there is one — at the end of the battery with no clip on it / at a screw of the bulb holder / in the middle of a wire / there is no gap
Type 4 (easy, medium · MCQ · ENE4-060, 061, 066): why a bulb went dark; which is true of a claim (one wire is enough; the electricity will jump across); why a clip on the glass leaves it dark; the rule's missing word (gap), chosen; why a plastic brick leaves the bulb dark — four single statements, parallel in length; or four loop words
Type 5 (easy → hard · MCQ · ENE4-061): what to do about a found gap; where the gap is when both clips share an end; what pressing cut ends together does; what a fix that did not work tells you — four actions or four statements
Type 6 (easy, medium · MCQ, two drawn; one order item · ENE4-062): where the first clip goes; where the second wire goes (drawn: the step-2 card); how many wires at the fewest; which two things the LEFT wire joins (drawn); the four steps in the order the rule gives — four places; 1 / 2 / 3 / 4; four pairs of things; the four steps
Type 7 (medium, hard · MCQ, two drawn · ENE4-062, 066): what to do first when the bulb is dark; what to do with a free clip (drawn); what to change; what happens when a material goes in the gap; what happens after a change to a working circuit; the one change that lights a drawn loop — four actions, parallel in length, or the type-2 set
Type 8 (easy, medium · MCQ · ENE4-062): what is safe to build with; why batteries only — four sources (the outlet, a plugged-in phone charger, a small battery, the wall switch); four reasons
Type 9 (easy → hard · MCQ · ENE4-066): what kind of material metal / plastic is; which thing lets electricity through; what a safe handle is made of; what else is true of a hot metal pan's metal — four materials or the four sister words
Type 10 (medium, hard · typed text · 060, 062, 066): the name of the loop; the missing lexicon word — circuit · complete (whole, closed, joined, connected, a complete loop…) · loop (circuit, wire, path) · metals (metal) — "gap" is no longer typed: nearly every bank item prints the word (blind read)
Type 11 (hard · MCQ keyed on the term · ENE4-066): a material lets electricity through / blocks it: what is it called — an electrical conductor / an electrical insulator / a heat insulator or heat conductor / a receiver or giver
Type 12 (hard · multi-select · ENE4-066): select the two things electricity passes through — a metal key ring / a wooden bead / a metal washer / a plastic button → the two metal things

Four lessons in Miss Walsh's class, with a battery, a bulb in a holder and two wires on every desk: a bulb lights only when the loop from one end of the battery, through the bulb, back to the other end is complete (the complete loop is named a circuit); to find out whether a bulb will light, follow the loop with a finger and the bulb stays dark wherever the loop stops; how to build one in four steps and check it, with batteries only; which materials let electricity pass through (electrical conductors: metals) and which block it (electrical insulators: plastic, wood, rubber). Every key agreed by two cold readers and a third on the rebuilt bundle; the figure review and the guidance-and-accuracy review are applied. Pictures are placeholders until you answer.

The questions the author put to you (built as recommended)

1. Does pencil lead stay in L04 as the one named surprise?

Your brief allowed it "as the one non-metal conductor if you wish, named as a surprise".

L04 carries it in one paragraph, one picture, one row of the sort table and one quiz item, and the video now says it in one beat.

The rule still says "Metals are electrical conductors", which is true, and never "only metals".

Built: pencil lead stays, and the quiz item states that the bulb lit, so the child judges from the result.

Recommendation: keep.

Keep / cut (one paragraph, one picture, one row, one item, one spoken beat)

2. Is "blocks electricity" the insulator's rule verb, with "cannot pass through" in the example lines?

The rule and the sort table say "A material that blocks electricity is called an electrical insulator", the positive word.

Every example line says "Electricity cannot pass through the plastic", so the child meets both.

Built: "blocks" in the rule and the table, "cannot pass through" in the examples.

Recommendation: keep both.

Keep / "cannot pass through" everywhere

3. Does the typed "circuit" item in the bank sit at medium?

Two of your rules meet on it: the hard tier recalls every coined term, and difficulty rises with the atom's order.

"Circuit" belongs to the first atom, which carries no hard tier, so its typed item is tagged medium.

Built: medium.

Recommendation: medium.

Medium / hard

4. May the safety card show a crossed-out wall outlet?

The L03 card draws a battery labelled "batteries only" and a wall outlet with a red cross, "never the wall outlet".

The red cross reads as never, but your no-outlet rule read literally would bar the outlet from any picture.

Built: the crossed-out outlet stays.

Recommendation: keep.

Keep / battery alone

The lessons

5. L01 A circuit is a complete loop — Derek clips one wire from the battery to the bulb holder and the bulb stays dark; Dexter says one wire is enough; the second wire completes the loop and the bulb lights; longer wires change nothing; a clip slips off and the bulb goes dark; the loop is named a circuit last. page

6. L02 Will the bulb light? — Dominic's two wires and a dark bulb: follow the loop with a finger and find where it stops; a clip on the battery's side, a clip on the bulb's glass, both clips on one end, a cut wire; the battery lying the other way round still lights the bulb. page

7. L03 Build a circuit that lights a bulb — Derek asks "Where do I start?"; four steps from one battery end to one screw, then the other screw back to the other end; check it with a finger; batteries only, never the wall outlet. page

8. L04 Electrical conductors and electrical insulators — a paper clip across a gap lights the bulb and a plastic straw leaves it dark; a metal spoon, a wooden spoon, a rubber band, then pencil lead as the surprise; the two names coined last; the metals that let heat through let electricity through too. page

Applied without asking

L01 now recalls Topic 4 word for word ("Electricity needs a wire from the giver to the receiver"), in place of a line that was not Topic 4's; every item drawing is described to a blind reader as data (where each clip sits), never as its verdict; no bank or practice picture is a twin or mirror of a quiz picture; twelve bank items that re-used lesson scenes have fresh ones (a zipper's teeth, a hot metal pan, a buzzer build); the summary's first question no longer repeats a quiz item; the L04 video says the pencil-lead surprise it showed; the "gap" ring sits on the bare screw with a ghost wire where the missing wire would run, and the GAP chip sits off the battery; the four-outcome option set reads "It lights. / It stays dark. / It lights only while someone holds the wire. / It gets warm but stays dark."; no option bundles a verdict with its reason; after the re-read, the pencil-lead quiz item states that the bulb lit, the practice item that printed "a circuit" above the typed "circuit" item is re-cased, and one bank item has a distractor that is not "metal"; 52 bank items, 13 per atom; six picture placeholders with briefs, each saying only small batteries appear.

Also on the site

Topic intro and poll · summary and three questions · mixed practice · the PP100 bank · the type sheet

After you answer

Nothing on the page changes if you keep all four; cutting pencil lead or the outlet is a one-hour pass. Either way the picture pass starts, and the six-video batch goes on your word.

The records, whole

The build record (v1, v2 and the v3 polish)

Skill: course-build → write-lesson (L01 a fact true of every case with the boundary non-example and the coin "circuit" last; L02 a two-class diagnosis by examples; L03 a routine worked then drilled scaffolded → bare; L04 a two-class sort by examples, coins electrical conductor and electrical insulator last) → write-example-sequence, design-check-sequence, sentence-atomise, write-explanation, write-mcqs; write-video-script (intro, four lesson scripts, summary; the elementary micro-lesson anatomy); review-figures (author self-check on fourteen renders; a non-author pass is owed) @ b0fa825

Grade 4 Topic 9 — How a circuit makes a bulb light — build record (v1, 2 October 2026)

What this is, in plain words

Four short lessons, one per atom, in one classroom: Miss Walsh's, with Derek, Dexter and Dominic and a battery, a bulb in a holder and two wires on every desk. First the child learns that a bulb lights only when the loop is complete — Derek's one wire leaves a gap and the bulb stays dark; the second wire closes the loop and the bulb lights; the complete loop gets its name, a circuit. Then the child learns to find the gap: follow the loop with a finger, and the bulb stays dark wherever it stops — a clip on the battery's side, a clip on the bulb's glass, both clips on one end, a cut wire. Then the child builds one, in four steps, and checks it; batteries only, never the wall outlet. Last, the capstone: a paper clip across a gap lights the bulb and a plastic straw leaves it dark, and after six cases (and one honest surprise, pencil lead) the two names arrive — electrical conductor and electrical insulator — with the sameness said out loud: the metals that let heat through let electricity through too. Built with no blueprint, under the Grade 4 standing brief; the structural decisions are below.

Counts. 4 lessons · 4 scripts (150, 149, 148, 147 spoken words) + intro (119 words, 2 question marks) + summary (156 words) · 4 attached questions + the intro's poll + 3 summary questions · 42 quiz items (10 + 10 + 9 + 13; 1 order item) · 14 practice items (12 MCQ, 1 typed, 1 written answer; three retrieval items first; "circuit" recalled by MCQ then typing, the two nine-letter terms by MCQ) · PP100 bank 52 items (45 four-option MCQs, 5 typed, 1 order, 1 multi-select; 13 / 13 / 13 / 13 per atom; 21 easy, 19 medium, 12 hard) · 55 figures (49 SVG by code, 4 photo placeholders, 2 cartoon placeholders) · checker 0 FAIL, 6 WARN (answered below) · grade4/check_g4_articles.py 0 FAIL (articles 294 / 294 / 274 / 282 words, every script ≤ 150, intro 119, summary 156 with the set opener) · names run exit 0 · page builds (/tmp/g4t09_test.html) · video batch written and check_brief.py clean on every lesson and the summary (the intro's one "closing" line is the builder's standing intro exception, below).

Structural decisions (in place of a blueprint)

Lesson	Title (the skill in student terms)	Headache scene	Example sequence	Check type	Video?
L01 ENE4-060	A circuit is a complete loop	Derek clips ONE wire from the battery to the bulb holder; the bulb stays dark; Dexter says one wire is enough (the "sink" model); Miss Walsh asks whether he is right	the FACT form with the loop-with-a-gap as its only honest non-example: NE first to make the need (one wire: gap, dark) → E (the second wire: complete, lights) → E (longer wires: still lights) → NE at the boundary (one clip slips off: gap, dark) → the coin "circuit" → rule. Frame: "The loop is complete, so electricity flows around it, and the bulb lights." / "There is a gap in the loop, so no electricity flows, and the bulb stays dark." Two recalled lines word for word (Topic 4: "Electricity needs a wire that touches both ends"; the giver and the receiver)	(a) fluency: two recalls, a five-item run (two drawn), two bare claims, the term's recognition item last	video and article
L02 ENE4-061	Will the bulb light?	Dominic has TWO wires on, and his bulb is still dark; Miss Walsh says "Follow the loop with your finger. Where does it stop?"	a two-class diagnosis, minimal difference first (one clip moved): a clip on the battery's SIDE (gap) → the same clip on the END (complete) → a clip on the bulb's GLASS (gap: electricity goes into the bulb only through the holder's two metal screws) → both clips on ONE end (gap) → a wire cut through (gap) → the battery the other way round, every clip in place (complete: the loop can look different) → rule. One requirement only at this grade: is the loop complete? (ENE5-010 adds the three-requirement diagnosis)	(a) fluency: five drawn yes / no items, two drawn where-is-the-gap items, one TRUE claim, the "touches the battery somewhere" claim, a fix-it transfer	video and article
L03 ENE4-062	Build a circuit that lights a bulb	Miss Walsh puts the kit on Derek's desk and says "Make the bulb light."; Derek asks where to start	a ROUTINE worked on one kit: step 1 a clip on one end of the battery → step 2 its other clip on one screw of the holder (still dark: the loop still has a gap) → step 3 the second wire on the other screw → step 4 its other clip on the other end (complete, lights) → the check (follow the loop) and the gaps to look for → the safety line once (batteries only; never the wall outlet) → rule. The student's own activity, so the article may say "clip"	(b) scaffolded → bare: three scaffolded items on Dexter's build, an order item on Dominic's, three bare items, the safety item, one TRUE claim (either end can be the start)	video and article
L04 ENE4-066	Electrical conductors and electrical insulators	Miss Walsh gives Dexter a circuit with a gap in one wire; a paper clip across the gap lights the bulb, Dominic's plastic straw leaves it dark; "Why is that?"	a two-class sort, minimal difference first (the same gap, a different object): paper clip (passes) → plastic straw (blocked) → metal spoon (passes) → wooden spoon (blocked) → rubber band (blocked) → the surprise, named as one (pencil lead is not a metal and electricity passes through it) → the two names coined LAST → the sameness with Topic 6 → the wire's own metal and plastic cover → rule. Frame: "Electricity passes through the <material>, so the loop is complete and the bulb lights." / "Electricity cannot pass through the <material>, so the loop still has a gap and the bulb stays dark."	(a) fluency: a seven-item sort on the fixed set (two with the bulb's verdict in the stem: glass, paper), a pick-the-material item, the wire's-cover why, the heat-and-electricity link, the pencil-lead item, two term items last keyed on the terms	video and article (the video drops the rubber band, the coin and the surprise for the word budget; the rule still names rubber)

Why these calls: the atom titles give the order and the capstone. L01 takes the fact form because James's own test (Grade 3 Topic 3, 28 Sep) applies — the only thing that differs from "a complete loop lights the bulb" by one feature is the same loop with a gap, so the gap IS the non-example and sits first (to make the need) and last (the slipped clip, at the boundary). L02 is the diagnosis the atom names ("spotting the wire left off the battery"), so its examples are FAULTS, each a belief a child holds (touching the battery anywhere is enough; the glass is the bulb; two clips on one end "both reach the battery"), with one complete-but-different-looking loop so the student reads the loop, not the shape. L03 is a routine, so no example sequence: four steps worked on the page, then scaffolded items on a second case and bare items on a third (vault: Scaffolded first, then bare). L04 coins the terms last after six sorted cases, keeps "electrical" on every use because Topic 6 owns "heat conductor", and says the sameness in one line. The bulb sits in a HOLDER with two metal screws (the classroom kit): the holder's two screws are the bulb's two contacts, and L02 says so once ("Electricity goes into the bulb only through the holder's two metal screws"). Every lesson gets a video: each is one scene a child can watch, and the misconceptions (L01, L02) need the moving clip.

Questions for James

Is pencil lead the surprise you want, or should L04 stay "metals and nothing else" at this grade? Context: your brief allowed pencil lead "as the one non-metal conductor if you wish, named as a surprise"; L04's article carries it in one short paragraph and one figure, the quiz asks it once as a plain yes / no, the sort table lists it as "pencil lead (the surprise)", and the rule still says "Metals are electrical conductors" (true) without "only metals". The video drops it for the 150-word budget. Recommendation: keep it — it is the one honest check that a child learned "lets electricity through", not "is shiny". Built that way; the cut is one paragraph, one figure, one quiz item, one table row.
Does "blocks electricity" stand as the insulator's rule verb, or do you want "electricity cannot pass through it"? Context: the lexicon says "A material that blocks electricity is called an electrical insulator" (the positive word; four words shorter), and every frame line says "Electricity cannot pass through the <material>" so the student meets both. Recommendation: keep "blocks" in the rule and the table. Built that way; one swap if you prefer.

The per-lesson table

Lesson	Atom	Script words	Article: idea lines / figures / subtitles / student words	Quiz items (types)	Attached key
L01 A circuit is a complete loop	ENE4-060	150	19 / 8 / 5 / 294	10 (2 recall · 5 fluency, 2 drawn · 2 claims · 1 term)	B
L02 Will the bulb light?	ENE4-061	149	20 / 9 / 4 / 294	10 (5 drawn yes / no · 2 drawn where-is-the-gap · 1 TRUE claim · 1 claim · 1 transfer)	A
L03 Build a circuit that lights a bulb	ENE4-062	148	16 / 7 / 5 / 274	9 (3 scaffold · 1 order · 3 bare · 1 safety · 1 TRUE claim)	A
L04 Electrical conductors and electrical insulators	ENE4-066	147	16 / 12 / 6 / 282	13 (7 sort · 1 apply · 1 why · 1 transfer · 1 surprise · 2 term, keyed)	B

Article length (the brief: about 170–250, no 150 cap, trim above 300): 294 / 294 / 274 / 282 words of idea, rule and subtitle text, a subtitle or figure every eight idea lines or fewer. The first drafts ran 343 / 322 / 274 / 405; the cuts are listed under judgement calls. L01 and L02 sit just under 300; the cut if James wants them shorter is L01's longer-wires case and L02's cut-wire case, both of which the quiz and bank carry.

design-check-sequence records

Skill: design-check-sequence @ b0fa825

Part: L01 (ENE4-060)

Type: (a) one-step routine — for a described or drawn loop, say whether it is complete and whether the bulb lights (yes / no).

Plan: recall ENE3-005 (what carries the energy along the cord: light / electricity / sound, 1) → recall ENE4-001 (which is the giver: bulb / wire / battery, 2) → drawn complete loop, is it complete (0) → a loop in words, does it light (0) → drawn one-wire loop (1) → a bare screw in words (1) → Dexter's long wires (0) → Dominic's "one wire is enough" (no) → Dexter's "through the air" (no) → term recognition: a carrier / a circuit / a giver (1). Two-option string 0 0 1 1 0 1 1; three-option 1 2 1.

Belongs in practice/test instead: four-option forms (PP types 1, 2, 4); the four-statement claim items (PP-22, PP-23); the typed name (PR-12, PP-24).

Skill: design-check-sequence @ b0fa825

Part: L02 (ENE4-061)

Type: (a) one-step categorisation — for a drawn circuit, complete or gap (yes / no), then WHERE the gap is (three places).

Plan: drawn complete, mirrored (0) → drawn cut (1) → drawn same end (1) → drawn complete, flipped and wide (0) → drawn loose clip (1) → drawn side: where is the gap (0: the bare battery end) → drawn glass: where (1: a screw of the holder) → Derek's TRUE claim, a clip on the side leaves it dark (yes) → Dexter's "touches the battery somewhere" (no) → both clips on one end: what to do (0: move one clip). Two-option string 0 1 1 0 1 0 1; three-option 0 1 0. Each drawn item is its own render (cut; same end mirrored; complete wide; flipped wide; loose mirrored; side mirrored; glass mirrored).

Belongs in practice/test instead: the four-place WHERE4 form on six fresh renders (PP type 3); the second-gap and pressed-ends chains (PP-41, PP-42).

Skill: design-check-sequence @ b0fa825

Part: L03 (ENE4-062)

Type: (b) multi-step routine — four ordered steps with a right answer at each; the worked example (Derek's kit) is on the page.

Plan: scaffolded on a SECOND case, Dexter's build — where the first wire's other end goes (0) → why the bulb is still dark (0) → where the second wire's other end goes (1) → order item on a THIRD case, Dominic's four steps → bare: two free clips left, what to do (1) → the bulb stays dark, what first (2) → how many wires at least (1: "2") → safety: which can the class use (2: a battery) → TRUE claim: either end can be the start (yes). Three-option string 0 0 1 1 2 1 2; two-option 0.

Belongs in practice/test instead: the four-option build items (PP type 6, 7, 8); the predicted change to a working circuit (PP-43, PP-44).

Skill: design-check-sequence @ b0fa825

Part: L04 (ENE4-066)

Type: (a) one-step categorisation — for a named material, electrical conductor or electrical insulator (two labels), the fixed set copied from the sort table.

Plan: metal spoon (C) → plastic ruler (I) → wooden block (I) → metal key (C) → aluminum foil, "a thin sheet of metal" in the stem (C) → a glass marble with the bulb's verdict in the stem (I) → a paper strip with the verdict in the stem (I) → pick the material that lights the bulb: rubber band / metal paper clip / plastic straw (1) → why Derek can hold the covered wire (0) → metal lets heat through quickly, what else (0) → pencil lead is not a metal, does electricity pass (yes) → term: passes through → electrical conductor (0) → term: blocks → electrical insulator (1). Two-option string 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1; three-option 1 0 0. Term items last, after every stem that prints the terms.

Belongs in practice/test instead: four-material picks (PP type 9); the handle for a job; the multi-select; the typed "metals".

The key strings

Attached questions in video order (L01, L02, L03, L04, summary 1–3): B A A B A B C — A 3 of 7 (43 %).
Lesson quizzes: L01 three-option 1 2 1, two-option 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 · L02 two-option 0 1 1 0 1 0 1, three-option 0 1 0 · L03 three-option 0 0 1 1 2 1 2, two-option 0 · L04 two-option 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1, three-option 1 0 0. No position above 60 % within a lesson; no four keys in a row alternate.
Practice: three-option 1 2 0 2, two-option 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0.
Bank (45 keyed MCQs): A 10 · B 13 · C 13 · D 9 — the heaviest letter carries 29 % (the sweep's line is 35 %). Tags in order easy (21) → medium (19) → hard (12); S31 clean (ENE4-060: 9 easy, 4 medium, 0 hard; ENE4-066: 2 easy, 4 medium, 7 hard).

The example sequences, written out

L01 (the fact form; frame "The loop is complete, so electricity flows around it, and the bulb lights." / "There is a gap in the loop, so no electricity flows, and the bulb stays dark."): NE Derek's one wire (gap; Dexter's claim answered No, verdict first) → E the second wire (complete) → E longer wires (complete, "still lights") → NE one clip slips off (gap) → coin: "A complete loop from one end of the battery, through the bulb, back to the other end is called a circuit." → rule: A circuit is a complete loop from one end of the battery, through the bulb, back to the other end. The bulb lights only when the loop is complete.

L02 (frame "<It stops at X>, so the loop has a gap, and the bulb stays dark." / "The loop is complete, so the bulb lights."): a clip on the battery's side → the clip on the end → a clip on the glass → both clips on one end → a cut wire → the battery the other way round → rule: To find out if a bulb will light, follow the loop with your finger. If the loop is complete, the bulb lights. If there is a gap anywhere in the loop, the bulb stays dark.

L03 (the routine, four steps): step 1 one wire's clip on one end of the battery → step 2 its other clip on one screw (still dark: the loop still has a gap) → step 3 the second wire on the other screw → step 4 its other clip on the other end (complete, lights) → check: follow the loop → the three gaps to look for → safety → rule.

L04 (frame "Electricity passes through the <material>, so the loop is complete and the bulb lights." / "Electricity cannot pass through the <material>, so the loop still has a gap and the bulb stays dark."): paper clip → plastic straw → metal spoon → wooden spoon → rubber band → pencil lead (the surprise, named as one) → coin: electrical conductor, electrical insulator → the sameness: "The metals that let heat move through them quickly let electricity pass through too." → the wire (metal inside, a plastic cover, so you can hold it) → rule: A material that lets electricity pass through it is called an electrical conductor. A material that blocks electricity is called an electrical insulator. Metals are electrical conductors. Plastic, wood and rubber are electrical insulators.

The rules applied

Rule (vault note)	Where it bites here
A circuit is a complete loop …; "the bulb lights only when the loop is complete"; "electricity flows around the loop", never "current"; never "used up" (CLAUDE.md, the coordinator's brief)	the lexicon's first two sentences word for word in L01's rule, the summary and the rule card; "flows around" in every frame; "current", "used up" and "runs out" appear nowhere (grep 0)
The battery is the giver, the bulb the receiver (Topic 4's terms, recapped once on first reuse)	L01: "The battery is the giver, and the bulb is the receiver."; recall items L01-q2 and PR-2
Lesson text states the fact, never the topic that taught it	"Electricity needs a wire that touches both ends." and "Electricity carries energy along wires to whatever is plugged in." stand as facts; no "in Topic 4"
Coin a term as "is called", explain then label; after the coin the term carries every line	"loop" is the working word through L01's cases; "circuit" arrives under "A name for the loop"; L02–L04 say "circuit" in their headaches and rules; L04's "passes through / blocked" chips give way to the two names only on the sort table and the rule card
A coined term keeps its full name	"electrical conductor" / "electrical insulator" in full in every line, option and chip; never "conductor" alone (Topic 6 owns "heat conductor")
A second face of one idea is joined to the first (the sameness said out loud)	L04: "The metals that let heat move through them quickly let electricity pass through too."; L04-q10 and PP-47 test it
A category definition names only what every member has	"Metals are electrical conductors" (paper clip, spoon; foil and the key enter the quiz as "metal"); "Plastic, wood and rubber are electrical insulators" names only the three sorted members — paper left the rule and the table when the paper case left the article; glass and paper enter items only with the bulb's verdict in the stem
A non-example is a near miss, never an absurd case	L01's only NE is the loop with a gap; L02's faults are the beliefs children hold (side, glass, same end); the claims are Osborne's and Shipstone's models
Prior knowledge is activated with a quick check	L01-q1 (ENE3-005), L01-q2 (ENE4-001), PR-1 to PR-3 (ENE3-005, ENE4-001, ENE4-003)
An article narrates its scene; an imperative stays only in the student's own activity	L01, L02, L04 narrate ("Dominic moves the clip"); L03 is the build routine and says "clip" and "follow"; L02's "Follow the loop with your finger" is Miss Walsh's spoken line and the rule's own routine
Every new scene gets one introducing sentence	"Miss Walsh gives Dexter a circuit with a gap in one wire."; "Now consider Derek's circuit."; "Now consider a wire that is cut through in the middle."
A question in an article is answered in the next sentence, verdict first	"Is Dexter right?" / "No, Dexter is not right."; "Where does it stop?" / "Dominic's finger stops at the battery."
Every sentence has a subject and a verb (S38)	0 fragments after the pass: "Two wires complete the loop" (read as no verb) → "Two wires make the loop complete"; "And now, a clip on the bulb's glass." → "And now a clip sits on the bulb's glass."; "both clips on the same end" → "both clips are on one end"
Connectives carry cause; the positive word; compound names whole	"so" / "because" / "But now" through every article; "stays dark", "blocks electricity", "can hurt you"; "paper clip", "bulb holder", "wall outlet", "pencil lead"
No second everyday reading; grade words (S36)	"clip" is the wire's clip throughout, "paper clip" always in full; "swap / unclips / twists / kit / craft" swapped for "change / takes off / presses / things / wooden stick"; "outlet" kept (the safety line James asked for)
Units as words; numerals on screen; biggest / smallest for size only (S29, S39)	no units in this topic; "1 / 2 / 3" as numerals in the count items' options; S29 0, S39 0
A headache scene could really happen; the question comes from a person who would ask it	a child with one wire and a dark bulb; a child with two wires and a dark bulb; a teacher saying "Make the bulb light"; a paper clip and a straw across a gap; Miss Walsh, Dexter and Derek ask
An attached question stands alone (S27); keys one set	Dominic's one wire; Dexter's two clips; Derek's next step; Dominic's metal key; the loop in words, Dexter's clips on one end, the metal fork — no "in the video"; B A A B A B C
Recognition before recall; nine-letter terms chosen, never typed (S33–S35, RECALL_BY_MCQ)	"circuit": L01-q10 and PR-11 (MCQ) before PR-12 and PP-24 (typed); "electrical conductor / insulator": options in L04-q12/13, PR-13/14, PP-48/49, summary Q3; never typed; S35 0
A typed answer is asked only where the question is closed (S30)	five typed items, all lexicon words (circuit, complete, gap, loop, metals) with every synonym and child spelling a non-author could think of; S30 0 fail, 0 warn
Hard means more of the skill; a stem of three sentences is hard	every hard bank item carries a "hard because"; thirteen S23 FAILs on three-sentence easy / medium stems were shortened to two sentences, none retagged
A test item is a fresh instance; freshness judged on the template	the design-move inventory on the type sheet; S28 0 after two word-for-word repeats were re-instanced (PP-24, PP-49)
One atom per bank item; coverage even; difficulty rises with atom order (S11, S31)	13 / 13 / 13 / 13; easy → medium → hard; ENE4-060 no hard, ENE4-066 mostly hard
Figures: three kinds (Grade 4 brief, 2 Oct)	49 SVG diagrams (circuit cards, step cards, material cards, the sort table, rule cards, the safety card); 4 `photo_ph` (the kit, the paper clip and straw, the pencil, the stripped wire) and 2 `cartoon_ph` (Derek and Dexter; Dominic) with IMAGE_BRIEFS; no person or hand drawn as a glyph
One depiction per thing, reused everywhere	the battery is Grade 3 Topic 12's (grey box, a bump and a + at one end), drawn larger; the bulb is Grade 3 Topic 5's (round glass, grey base, dark tip); both named in the register
A verdict mark names its question	every teaching card prints its question above the marks: "Will the bulb light?", "Does electricity pass through it?", "What do we build circuits with?"
The headache figure is the teaching figure with the answer's layer off; an item figure carries no verdict	`one_wire_headache` and `diag_headache` keep the question and drop the chips and the ring; every item circuit has a white bulb, no chips, no ring, and the fault only in the blind comment
Names from the topic's row only; a child can spell them	Miss Walsh, Derek, Dexter, Dominic; the names run below
Every lesson video opens by re-establishing its scene; "Okay, now your turn."; the rule spoken naturally	every script's first beat names Derek / Dominic / Dexter, Miss Walsh's class and the kit; L01 "So, the bulb lights…", L02 no opener (the beat before names the cases), L03 "So, clip…", L04 "Here's the pattern."
Closing bullets on every lesson and summary bullets on the topic (the coordinator's line, 2 Oct)	two to four bullets of a few words each, no questions; `check_brief.py` clean on L01–L04 and the summary
US spelling (S14)	"aluminum", "gray", "color"; 0 warnings

Misconception rows (the catalogue, the literature, and what was done)

Row	Belief	What the topic does
Osborne 1983 (LISP), the "sink" model: one wire from the battery to the bulb is enough	one wire is enough	CONFRONTED by name in L01: Dexter's claim is the headache, answered No with the gap named; L01-q8 (Dominic's claim), L01 VQ, L03-q7 (how many wires at least), PP-2, PP-4, PP-22
Osborne 1983; Shipstone 1984: the bulb lights when the wire touches the battery anywhere; the glass is the bulb	touch anywhere	CONFRONTED by name in L02: a clip on the battery's side (the headache), a clip on the glass, both clips on one end; L02-q6, q7, q9 (Dexter's claim), PP-14, PP-26, PP-27, PP-30
ENE-07 in the catalogue: electricity comes through the air; plug in to get electricity	through the air	CONFRONTED: L01's recalled line "Electricity needs a wire that touches both ends"; L01-q9 (Dexter's claim), PR-3, PP-23
ENE-07 / Shipstone 1984 (consumption): the bulb uses the electricity up	used up	AVOIDED by wording: "electricity flows around the loop", never "used up" or "runs out"; the carrying of energy around the loop is Topic 10's (ENE4-064) and is not confronted here
ENE-06: electricity is a form of energy	form of energy	AVOIDED by wording: "electricity carries energy" (L01-q1, PR-1); "form of energy" appears nowhere
"All metals conduct, nothing else" (roughly right at this grade; the brief)	only metals	NAMED HONESTLY: the rule says "Metals are electrical conductors" and never "only metals"; pencil lead is the one surprise in L04, L04-q11 and the sort table
The plastic cover is what carries the electricity; a covered wire is "off"	the cover	ADDRESSED in L04's wire section: metal inside, a plastic cover that is an electrical insulator, so you can hold it; L04-q9

Checker: 0 FAIL, 6 WARN (`python3 build_tools_check_topic.py grade4/topic09_build/content/G4T09.py`)

S8 (5) script beats of three sentences — kept: each beat is one screen state (the Grade 4 demo's and Topic 6's accepted shape); every script is under 150 words.
S36 (1) "outlet" ×20 — kept: the safety line James asked for ("only batteries, never the wall outlet") needs the word, and a US child knows it. Swapped before this record: swap / swaps / swapping → change / put in place of; unclips → takes off; twists → presses; kit → things; craft stick → wooden block / wooden stick; easier → small.
Clean: S1–S7, S9–S17, S19–S35, S37–S39. Thirteen S23 FAILs (three-sentence stems tagged easy / medium) were fixed by shortening the stems, never by retagging; the intro was trimmed from 141 to 119 words (the ask folded to one question mark; the map line shortened).

check_brief.py on handoff/G4T09/videos/batch_G4T09.json: L01–L04 and the summary ✓; the intro carries the builder's standing line "closing: no closing screen text as short bullets" — the batch builder writes "no bullets — an intro teaches nothing (R79 accepted as not applicable to intros)", and Topics 4 and 6 carry the same single line. Not sent.

Names run (`python3 build_tools_names.py Walsh Derek Dexter Dominic` → exit 0)

Walsh free · Derek free · Dexter free · Dominic free. Every character and claim-maker is one of the three children or Miss Walsh; no other capitalised name appears as a subject in any student string.

Sentence-atomise self-check (one row per lesson; every idea line one sentence or two short ones, S1 / S38 clean)

Lesson	Ideas	One idea per sentence	Cause → effect	Named actor	Verb carries	Plain word before term	≤ 8 lines per run	Longest idea line	Fixes applied
L01	19	yes	yes (one wire → gap → no electricity → dark; second wire → complete → lights)	Derek, Dexter, Miss Walsh, electricity, the clip	clips, flows, leaves, lights, slips	"loop" through every case; "circuit" coined under its own subtitle	yes (5 subtitles, 8 figures)	20 words	the giver / receiver line cut from 26 words to 10; "needs more than one wire" split from the loop sentence; the closing return folded to one line
L02	20	yes	yes (finger stops → clip on the side → gap → dark; on the end → complete → lights)	Dominic, Miss Walsh, Derek, Dexter, the clip, electricity	clips, stops, rests, flows, moves, lights	"gap" and "complete" before any term	yes (4 subtitles, 9 figures)	22 words	the reader imperative "Start at one end…" cut; the closing return cut to two lines
L03	16	yes	yes (step → still a gap → dark; step 4 → complete → lights)	Miss Walsh, Derek, the wire, the clip	puts, clip, follow, look for, lights	the steps numbered; the routine's words in the rule	yes (5 subtitles, 7 figures)	22 words	the two-part "look for the gap: …" line split in two; the closing return's colon list rewritten as a sentence
L04	16	yes	yes (passes through → complete → lights; cannot pass → gap → dark)	Dexter, Dominic, Miss Walsh, electricity, the paper clip, the straw	puts, passes, blocks, lights, stays	"passes through / blocked" through six cases, then the two names	yes (6 subtitles, 12 figures)	22 words	the coin case, the "every metal so far" line, the two-line sameness and the wire's second line cut; "Why does the bulb light with…" folded to "Why is that?"; "in this lesson" (meta) cut

Every fb is ≤ 30 words and every why ≤ 60 words, one causal link per <br> line; no fb opens on a verdict fragment or commentary (S5, S6, S38 clean).

Figures (55; author's review-figures self-check on fourteen renders, a non-author's pass owed)

Rendered with headless Chrome at 1000 px and opened: one_wire, loop_complete, diag_glass, diag_same_end, diag_side, diag_cut, clip_slipped, build_step1, build_step3, mat_pencil, mat_straw, rule_circuit, rule_build, rule_materials, sort_table, safety_card, test_gap, q_circ_same_end, q_circ_glass, q_circ_complete2, pp_circ_loose_flipped. Fixes from the renders: (1) the rule card's first sentence ran past its box — rule cards now wrap any line over 78 characters; (2) the GAP chip sat over the holder on the glass card and over the battery on the same-end card — the chip now takes a named side (right / left / above / above-right) per fault, mirrored with the drawing; (3) a cut wire drew clips at its cut ends — the cut ends are now bare; (4) the coin card and the wooden-spoon photo were unused after the article trims and are deleted; a second complete item render (q_circ_complete2, mirrored) was added so L01 and L02 do not share one render; (5) foil left the sort table when the article's cases settled. Every chip inside its frame; every item circuit has a white bulb, no chips, no ring; alt text never names a fault or a verdict (the blind comment does). The image briefs for the four photo placeholders and the two cartoons are in figures.py (IMAGE_BRIEFS); the picture stage waits for James's answer to the questions above.

Judgement calls, recorded

The bulb in a holder. The atom's example is a bare bulb; the classroom kit (and the figure that a nine-year-old can read) is a bulb in a holder with two screws. The lesson says once that electricity goes into the bulb only through the holder's two metal screws, and L02's "clip on the glass" fault is the bulb's-two-contacts belief in holder form. Grade 5's three-requirement diagnosis can open the bare bulb.
"Electricity flows in and out of a battery only at its two ends." A simplification a child can use (the sides of a classroom battery are its wrapper); stated in plain words, used by L02's rule, no untaught term.
The intro says "join up a battery and a bulb", not "build a circuit". "Circuit" is L01's coin; the intro coins nothing. The topic title carries the word, as the architecture fixes it.
The L04 video drops the rubber band, the coin and the pencil-lead surprise. 150 words held the paper clip, the straw, the two spoons, the two coinings and the rule; the article carries the rest; the rule names rubber in both (S9 clean).
Article length. Held at 274–294 words (Grade 3's median is 308; the brief's line is "trim only above 300"). The first drafts ran to 405 (L04) and were cut as the self-check table records; L04 lost its closing return rather than a case.
The headache characters appear in items. The brief's rule ("ONLY your topic's row … for every character and claim-maker") outranks the bank rule that a headache character never appears in an item; the three children are the only claim-makers, each on fresh scenes.
Five typed items, one multi-select, one order item in the bank. The typed keys are lexicon words a nine-year-old can spell (circuit with eleven child spellings accepted; the two nine-letter terms are never typed); the multi-select is the one place the answer is a set; the order item is the build routine on a fresh case (James allowed the reorder form, Topic 2, 28 Sep).
Glass and paper are sorted only in items that state the bulb's verdict; they are not in the rule.

Owed

The blind read of every item (a non-author who has not seen the keys); the non-author review-questions / review-figures pass is appended below when it lands.
Videos: handoff/G4T09/videos/batch_G4T09.json is written and check_brief.py-clean on every lesson and the summary; nothing has been sent (James's word first).
The picture stage: four photo placeholders and two cartoons through David's pack after James answers the two questions above.
The topic page on the review site (the build to course_preview/ is the coordinator's step; /tmp/g4t09_test.html builds clean).
Vault write-back candidates (vault-sync, for the coordinator): (1) a diagnosis atom's example sequence is a run of FAULTS, each a documented belief, plus one complete-but-different-looking case so the student reads the loop and not the shape (L02's shape; no existing note says it); (2) a two-class sort whose sibling topic coined the sister terms says the sameness in one line and keeps the qualifier on every use (L04's "electrical", Topic 6's "heat") — a candidate section for A coined term keeps its full name.

v2 — reviews applied (2 October 2026)

Skill: course-build → write-lesson (article and script lines) → write-mcqs (every item change) → write-explanation (fb / why / model lines) → sentence-atomise (every new sentence) @ b0fa825

In plain words. Three reviews landed on Topic 9 on the same afternoon: the blind read (every key agreed; the drawings' word descriptions gave their answers away), the guidance, questions and accuracy review (the "recalled" Topic 4 line was not Topic 4's; the bank was not fresh), and the non-author figure review (five fixes, no redraw). All three are applied below, in that order of authority, plus the guidance reviewer's six second-read rows. The teaching change a reader will notice: L01 now recalls Topic 4 word for word — "Electricity needs a wire from the giver to the receiver." / "It also needs a wire back from the receiver to the giver." — and the L04 video now SAYS the pencil-lead surprise it showed. Every item drawing's blind description is now neutral data (where each clip sits, what each wire end touches), and the bank has no twin or mirror of a quiz picture. Bank: 52 items, PP-1 … PP-52, no cuts; one item moved (v1 PP-31 → PP-15) and one retagged (v1 PP-47 → PP-41).

Checker results (after every change)

python3 build_tools_check_topic.py grade4/topic09_build/content/G4T09.py → 0 FAIL, 10 WARN: 6 × S8 "beat carries 3 sentences" (L01 beat 5 now carries the wire-length line; L02 beat 3; L03 beats 2, 3 and 5; L04 beat 2 — short sentences, kept); S36 "outlet" ×20 (the safety line's word; the reviewer ruled it three items, not a drumbeat; one fb trimmed, L03-q8); S36 "bolt" (PP-52), "zipper" (PP-21), "craft" (PP-52, "craft stick") — everyday US words for a nine-year-old, fine.
python3 grade4/check_g4_articles.py grade4/topic09_build/content/G4T09.py → 0 FAIL (articles 308 / 304 / 283 / 320 words — L01 and L04 WARN over 300 after the added lines; the coordinator's Topic 1 ruling stands: articles are not cut for length; scripts 149 / 149 / 149 / 150; intro 119; summary 156).
python3 build_tools_names.py Walsh Derek Dexter Dominic → exit 0 (all four free).
python3 build_tools_build_topic_site.py grade4/topic09_build/content/G4T09.py /tmp/g4t09_v2.html → builds: 4 lessons, 14 practice, 52 pp100, 59 figures.
python3 build_tools_video_batch.py … → 6 videos written (L01 149, L02 149, L03 149, L04 146 words; summary 152); check_brief.py → L01–L04 and SUMMARY ✓; the intro's standing R79 line (no closing bullets: the intro teaches nothing) excepted. Not sent.
Figures: python3 grade4/topic09_build/content/figures.py /tmp/g4t09_figs then /tmp/g4t09_render.py → 60 PNGs at 1000 px, all rendered; every item card and the changed teaching cards opened (montage /tmp/g4t09_montage.png): one_wire, clip_slipped, diag_side, diag_same_end, test_gap, kit_labels, and the 23 item cards.
Twin / mirror check over the 23 item cards (wire segments and the + end, compared straight and mirrored): none.
Blind bundle cut to grade4/topic09_build/blind/2026-10-02-v2 (106 MCQ, 5 typed, 1 FRQ, 2 order, 1 multi; 115 items). grep "^\[Drawing:" BLIND_BUNDLE_G4T09.md | grep -Eic "complete|gap|cut|bare|touching nothing|fault|same end|glass|side|loose" → 0 (24 drawing lines). The first form needed one more pass: "a screw at each side" hit side; the holder is now "a holder that has a left screw and a right screw".

Every finding → what changed

1. The blind read (records/BLIND_READ_G4T09_2026-10-02.md)

Flag	What changed
All item-figure `blind=` texts name the fault or the verdict	`item_circuit` now writes neutral data from the geometry (`_blind_text`): "A battery lying flat with its + end on the right, a bulb in a holder that has a left screw and a right screw, two red wires. Wire 1: one clip on the holder's left screw; its other clip rests on the top surface of the battery, left of center. Wire 2: …". A cut wire is "drawn in two pieces … a short space separates the two pieces"; a loose clip "lies on the desk a little way from the battery's left end"; a glass clip "rests on the round part of the bulb, above the holder". No "fault:", no "bare", no "gap", no "complete". The 24 drawn items are listed for re-read below.
L04-11 pencil lead: nothing in the bundle teaches it	Kept (the lesson teaches it: one paragraph, one figure, a table row, and now one spoken beat). Stem → "Dominic tested a pencil lead in the loop. Pencil lead is not a metal. Does electricity pass through pencil lead?"
PP-14 "on the top of his battery"	→ "Derek finds one clip on his battery's side, on its paper wrapper, and the bulb stays dark." (the course's word "side"; the wrapper makes it a fresh scene). Key moved to D for the spread.
PR-11 → PR-12 give-away	The coat-hook conductor MCQ now sits between the circuit MCQ and the typed circuit item (PR-11, PR-12, PR-13 = MCQ circuit, MCQ conductor, typed circuit; PR-14 the insulator MCQ).
Duplicate distractor pairs: HAPPENS4; PP-46 foil / thin metal sheet	`HAPPENS4` = It lights. / It stays dark. / It lights only while someone holds the wire. / It gets warm but stays dark. (PP-2, 8, 39, 40, 42, 44). PP-47 (v1 46) → metal / a metal rod / plastic / a metal chain.
⟂ give-aways; PP-31 "gap" cannot be protected	Constraints written on the type sheet (v2 numbers). v1 PP-31 is no longer typed: an easy MCQ "Finish the rule: if there is a ___ anywhere in the loop, the bulb stays dark." battery / gap / bulb / wire — now PP-15. Four typed keys remain (circuit, complete, loop, metals).
PP-33 reuses L03-q4's instance	→ Dexter builds with a battery and a buzzer that has a screw at each side, "like a bulb holder"; stem "Tap his steps in the order the rule gives, first to last." (and L03-q4's stem likewise). The type sheet's bar list records the one ruled exception (a part the lessons never showed).
Reading level PP-44, 34, 43, 30; key tells PP-4, 7, 30; PP-38's three-metal pattern	PP-45 (v1 44) is drawn (`pp_circ_same_end_wide`): "Look at the drawing. The bulb stays dark. Which one change makes it light?"; PP-34 is drawn (`pp_circ_loose_wide`): "Look at the drawing of Dexter's dark bulb. What does he do so it lights?" with "He leaves both wires as they are." as the fourth option; PP-44 (v1 43) "Dexter's circuit is lit. He takes one clip off the battery and clips it onto the battery's other end, next to the other clip."; PP-31 (v1 30) four parallel reasons ("Electricity goes into the bulb only through the screws."); PP-4 a second battery / a second bulb / nothing / a second wire; PP-7 "a battery, a bulb and two wires joined in one loop"; PP-1 "a loop through the bulb and back"; PP-38 is now a why item (a plastic toy brick across the gap).
L01-07 / PP-08 wire length; L03-09 either end	L01 article: "The length of the wires changes nothing."; L01 script beat 5 ends "Longer wires change nothing." L03 article: "Either end of the battery can be the start."; L03 script beat 2 ends "You can start at either end."
PP-25 accept "a complete loop"; PP-50 "things made of metal"	PP-26 (v1 25) accepts a complete loop, connected, joined together, full, a full loop (closed was already in). PP-50: "things made of metal" is a phrase, not the word — the stem says "Type the missing word"; "metle" added.

2. The guidance, questions and accuracy review (records/REVIEW_G4T09_2026-10-02.md)

Where	What changed
L01 ideas 11–12; L01-q9; PR-3; PP-24 (v1 23) — Essential	Article: "Electricity needs a wire from the giver to the receiver." / "It also needs a wire back from the receiver to the giver." / "Electricity flows around a loop: …". L01-q9 fb and why, PR-3 fb and why, PP-24's key option: the Topic 4 line word for word; fb "No wire joins the battery to the bulb, so no electricity reaches it." Module docstrings and L01's `lesson_type` string corrected.
L01-q10 why; PR-11 why; L01-q2 fb — Essential	"The battery is the giver, the bulb is the receiver, and electricity is the carrier. The loop itself is the circuit." L01-q2's wire fb → "Electricity carries the energy along the wire from the giver to the receiver. The wire is not the giver."
Summary Q1 = L01-q4 — Essential	→ "Two wires join a battery's two ends to the two screws of a bulb holder. Does the bulb light?" (yes). Summary Q3's fork → a soda can (the fork moved to L04-q1, below).
PP-20, 47, 17, 19 reused — Essential	PP-21 (v1 20) a zipper's teeth; PP-41 (v1 47) a metal pan hot on the stove, retagged medium; PP-18 (v1 17) "Dexter wants to light one bulb in a holder with one battery. How many wires does he need, at the fewest?" 1 / 2 / 3 / 4; PP-20 (v1 19) drawn on `pp_circ_complete`: "Which two things does the LEFT wire join?" (⟂ PP-3).
Twelve re-nouned bank items; the header's claim	PP-49 a wooden clothespin; PP-37 plastic bottle / wooden chopstick / metal bottle cap / rubber ball; PP-40 a rubber ball across a gap; PP-51 a metal key ring, a wooden bead, a metal washer, a plastic button; PP-24 Dominic's bulb laid beside the battery, "the electricity will jump across"; PP-14 the clip on the paper wrapper; PP-17 (v1 16) the step-2 card as an item (`pp_build_step2`); PP-34 a drawn free clip; PP-19 "a phone charger that is plugged in"; PP-9 the battery lifted away from its two clips; PP-8 a lit circuit carried from desk to floor; PP-32 "Dexter's bulb stays dark, and he cannot see why." (re-scened in words rather than drawn: a drawing would show the gap the item asks him to look for). Header corrected (46 MCQs, thirteen drawn; four typed). Scene-noun grep over the bank's stems, options and order items (`paper clip	straw	spoon	rubber band	coin	pencil	lamp	fork	ruler	block	key	foil	marble	strip of paper	paper strip	hair clip	eraser	lid	nail	plastic cover	toaster	fan	penny	cup	wooden stick	coat hook	soda can	desk	floor`) → 4 hits, all accepted: PP-7 "one wire lying on a desk" (a place, not a scene), PP-8 "desk … floor" (the reviewer's own scene), PP-51 "a metal key ring" (the reviewer's noun; a key ring is not L04-q4's key).
L04 script beat 5 cue "the coin card" — Essential (video)	→ "[the metal spoon card, lit; the wooden spoon card, gray; each chip on its words]".
L04 script: pencil lead shown, never said	New beat 6: "One surprise: pencil lead is not a metal, but electricity passes through it." Beats 1, 3, 5 trimmed, "Here's the pattern." cut → 150 words.
L03 VQ option 3; PP-34 option 4 — Essential (VQ)	"nothing more"; "He leaves both wires as they are."
`one_wire` / `rule_circuit` ring on empty white	A dotted gray ghost wire runs from the bare screw to the bare battery end; the ring sits on the bare screw with the chip GAP above-right. The headache card stays bare (the answer's layer off). L01 script beat 4 screen and the `one_wire` caption name the ghost wire.
Blind comments state the reading	See the blind-read row.
HAPPENS4 pair means one thing	See the blind-read row.
Key-length tells PP-1, 4, 7, 30; "the desk" fillers PP-1, 6, 15, 16, 19	Parallel options (above); PP-6 "at the two clips of one wire"; PP-16 "on a screw of the holder"; PP-17 "from the other screw to the first wire's clip"; PP-20 rebuilt.
The long tail	L02-q6 / q7 stems "Look at the drawing. Where is the gap, if there is one?" (the verdict no longer in the stem; fb 3 rewritten); L04-q1 → a metal fork (the second read); L04 VQ → a metal nail (PR-8's nail → a penny); L04 idea 23 → "Metals are heat conductors: heat moves through them quickly." / "The same metals are electrical conductors too."; L04 closing return on Dexter's gap (two lines after the rule card); `one_wire_headache` caption "Derek's one wire. Is one wire enough?"; L01-q1 options light / electricity / sound; PR-2 why "or the sound reaches it"; L04-q11 why "Pencil lead is not a metal, but electricity passes through it too."; PP-47 options; PP-26 / PP-46 accept lists (connected, joined together, a complete loop; path); PP-51 ⟂ PP-52; alts "gray" / "colored"; L03-q8 fb 2 "A plugged-in cord carries electricity that can hurt you."
L03 check_design string	Corrected: three-option `0 0 1 · (the order item) · 1 2 1 2`; two-option `0`.
The two simplifications; the order items	Leave, as the reviewer said (the order items' stems did change for the blind read's "other" flag).

The guidance reviewer's second read (six rows, sent during the pass)

Row	What changed
L01 has no figure labelling the parts	`kit_labels` (svg, labels by code: battery, bulb, bulb holder, screw, wire, clip) sits after the kit photo. It draws the four parts laid out unjoined, not the complete loop: the headache two figures later asks whether one wire is enough, and a joined two-wire loop there would be the answer's layer switched on (`10 Rules/A headache figure is the teaching figure with the answer's layer switched off.md`).
L04-q1 spoon; L04-q8 {rubber band, paper clip, straw}; L04 VQ metal key	q1 → "A fork is made of metal."; q8 → a rubber eraser / a metal hair clip / a plastic lid; VQ → a metal nail. Freed from the bank and practice: PP-51's hair clip → a metal key ring; PP-38's plastic lid → a plastic toy brick; PR-13's hair clip → a metal coat hook; PR-8's nail → a penny.
Order items closed only by "other"	L03-q4 and PP-33: "Tap his steps in the order the rule gives, first to last."
HAPPENS4's second distractor	"It lights only while someone holds the wire."
PP-47 retag medium; PP-45 accept "path"	Done (PP-41 and PP-46 in v2 numbers).
L02 optional line; the pencil photo brief	"The holder's two screws touch the bulb's two metal parts." added after the screws line. `pencil_photo` brief: a short, thick stub of pencil lead across a SMALL gap between two clips, the pencil beside it; caption "A short thick piece of pencil lead lies across the gap, with a clip on each end."

3. The figure review (records/FIGURES_REVIEW_G4T09_2026-10-02.md)

Finding	What changed
Blind comments state the verdict	See above (`_blind_text`).
Twins and mirrors between bank / practice and quiz pictures	`_wires` takes `route`: A (quizzes; each wire drops straight) and B (practice and bank; the left wire has a slanted shoulder, the cut sits in the right wire). Six complete cards are six pictures: q_circ_complete A wide · q_circ_complete2 A mirrored · q_circ_flipped B wide flipped · pr_circ_complete B · pp_circ_complete B flipped · pp_circ_complete_wide B wide (the key `pp_circ_complete_wide_flipped` is renamed). New: `pp_circ_loose_wide`, `pp_circ_same_end_wide`, `pp_build_step2`. Geometry check: no twin, no mirror among the 23 item cards.
GAP chip on the battery (`clip_slipped`, `diag_side`, `diag_same_end`, the rule cards)	`gap_ring(where="above_left")`: the chip sits left of the battery, clear of the wire, in all three (and in `rule_diagnose`, `rule_circuit`).
`one_wire`'s ring marks empty air	The ring is on the bare screw; the ghost wire shows the missing run.
Item frames over half empty	Item mode draws at 320 × 220 (`ITEM_W, ITEM_H`; the 460 × 270 drawing shifted by −70, −40); nothing clipped on any of the 23 renders.
`test_gap` chip near the edge	Centred under the circuit (230, 258).
"Wide" wires a width-to-key cue in L01's quiz	`q_circ_one_wire` is now wide too.
The six briefs lack the safety line	`SAFE = " Only small batteries appear, never a wall outlet."` appended to all six.
`safety_card` draws a crossed-out wall outlet	Kept as built; for James (below).

Questions for James — built as recommended

Pencil lead stays as the one named surprise: the article's paragraph, figure and table row; the video now says it in one beat; the photo brief asks for a short thick stub of lead across a small gap.
"Blocks electricity" stays in the rule and the sort table; the frame lines say "cannot pass through".
PP-25's typed "circuit" sits medium, because ENE4-060 (the first atom) carries no hard tier: the brief's "the hard tier recalls every coined term" and "tags rise with atom order" collide on a first atom's term. Built medium; say if hard.
The safety card draws a crossed-out wall outlet. The red cross reads as "never", but if "never a wall outlet in any picture" is read literally the card breaks it. Kept as built; say if it should show the battery alone.

New counts and key strings

Bank: 52 items — 22 easy · 19 medium · 11 hard; 46 four-option MCQs (13 drawn), 4 typed (circuit PP-25, complete PP-26, loop PP-46, metals PP-50), 1 order (PP-33), 1 multi-select (PP-51). Per atom: ENE4-060 13 (9 · 4 · 0), ENE4-061 13 (6 · 5 · 2), ENE4-062 13 (5 · 5 · 3), ENE4-066 13 (2 · 5 · 6) — at least 5 per atom, difficulty rising with atom order (S31 clean), easy → medium → hard (S11 clean).
PP100 key letters, bank order (46 MCQs): D B C D A C D A D D C A A D B D A B C B C A D C A B C C B D A C D C B A B D A B B C C C D B — A 10 · B 11 · C 13 · D 12 (max 28 %); no four alike in a row; no ABAB run. Keys re-placed for the spread alone: PP-14, PP-23, PP-36, PP-41 (to D).
Lesson quizzes, two-option (first option = yes / conductor): L01 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 · L02 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 · L03 0 · L04 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1. Three-option: L01 1 2 1; L02 0 1 0; L03 0 0 1 1 2 1 2; L04 1 0 0. Attached (L01–L04): 1 0 0 1; summary 0 1 2. Practice: 1 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 · 2 1 · 0 (PR-12 typed, PR-10 written).
Words: scripts 149 / 149 / 149 / 150; articles 308 / 304 / 283 / 320; intro 119; summary 156.

v1 → v2 bank renumbering (old → new)

1–14 unchanged; 31 → 15 (now an MCQ, easy); 15–30 → 16–31; 32–40 unchanged; 47 → 41 (retagged medium); 41–46 → 42–47; 48–52 unchanged. Every bank item carries its v1 number in the file. The v1 sections of this record use v1 numbers.

Items whose stem, options, key, model, figure, blind text or accept list changed (for the blind re-read)

All 24 drawn items (new blind text; new routes or frames): L01-03, L01-05, L02-01 … L02-07, PR-04, PR-05, PP-03, PP-04, PP-10, PP-11, PP-12, PP-13, PP-17, PP-20, PP-27, PP-28, PP-29, PP-34, PP-45.

Lesson quizzes (text): L01-q1, L01-q9, L02-q6, L02-q7, L03-q4 (stem), L03-VQ (option 3), L04-q1, L04-q8, L04-q11 (stem), L04-VQ.

Summary: SUMMARY-01, SUMMARY-03.

Practice: PR-3, PR-8, PR-12 (now the coat-hook MCQ), PR-13 (now the typed circuit item; PR-14 unchanged in text).

Bank (v2 ids): PP-1, PP-2, PP-4, PP-6, PP-7, PP-8, PP-9, PP-14, PP-15, PP-16, PP-17, PP-18, PP-19, PP-20, PP-21, PP-23, PP-24, PP-26 (accept), PP-31, PP-32, PP-33, PP-34, PP-36, PP-37, PP-38, PP-39, PP-40, PP-41, PP-42, PP-44, PP-45, PP-46 (accept), PP-47, PP-49, PP-50 (accept), PP-51, PP-52.

Why / fb-only changes (no re-read needed): L01-q2, L01-q10, L03-q8, PR-2, PR-11.

Sentence-atomise self-check on the new student sentences

New sentence	Ideas	Actor	Verb carries the cause	Link stated
Electricity needs a wire from the giver to the receiver.	1	electricity	needs	—
It also needs a wire back from the receiver to the giver.	1 (the second face, joined with "also")	it (electricity)	needs	also
The length of the wires changes nothing.	1	the length	changes	—
Longer wires change nothing. (script)	1	longer wires	change	—
The holder's two screws touch the bulb's two metal parts.	1	the screws	touch	—
Either end of the battery can be the start. / You can start at either end. (script)	1 / 1	either end / you	can be / can start	—
Metals are heat conductors: heat moves through them quickly.	2 (the label, then what it means)	metals / heat	are / moves	the colon, verb before it
The same metals are electrical conductors too.	1	the same metals	are	too
Here is Dexter's circuit again: the paper clip is an electrical conductor, so it fills the gap, and the bulb lights.	3 (return, cause, effect)	the paper clip / it / the bulb	is / fills / lights	so; and
The straw is an electrical insulator, so the gap stays, and the bulb stays dark.	3	the straw / the gap / the bulb	is / stays / stays dark	so; and
One surprise: pencil lead is not a metal, but electricity passes through it. (script)	2 (a contrast)	pencil lead / electricity	is / passes	but
Two wires join a battery's two ends to the two screws of a bulb holder. (Summary Q1)	1	two wires	join	—
Dominic lays a bulb in its holder right beside a battery, with no wire, and says the electricity will jump across. (PP-24)	2	Dominic	lays / says	and
A metal pan gets hot all over on the stove, because heat moves through metal quickly. (PP-41)	2 (effect, cause)	the pan / heat	gets hot / moves	because
Dexter's circuit is lit. He takes one clip off the battery and clips it onto the battery's other end, next to the other clip. (PP-44)	1 / 2	the circuit / he	is lit / takes, clips	and
Electricity goes into the bulb only through the screws. (PP-31 key)	1	electricity	goes	only

Deviations from a reviewer's exact rewrite, and why

PP-32 was re-scened in words ("Dexter's bulb stays dark, and he cannot see why."), not drawn: a drawing of the dark circuit would show the gap the item asks him to go and find.
kit_labels draws the parts unjoined rather than a labelled loop_complete (the headache rule; see the second-read table).
PP-14 keeps the course's word "side" (blind read, first authority) and adds the reviewer's paper wrapper as the fresh detail.

v3 — polish (2 October 2026, after the v2 re-read)

Skill: write-mcqs → write-explanation, sentence-atomise @ b0fa825

In plain words. Reader C agreed every key on the v2 bundle and left two flags and a minor. All three are applied, with the six draw constraints the reader listed. No key moved; no figure changed; no drawer signature touched (Topic 10 still builds on this topic's drawer).

Changed ids

Id	What changed	Why
L04-11 (L04 quiz, pencil lead)	Stem now states the result: "Dominic puts a pencil lead across the gap in a circuit, and the bulb lights. Pencil lead is not a metal. Does electricity pass through the pencil lead?" Key yes, unchanged. Both fb and the why now open from the lit bulb.	The v2 stem gave no test result, so "Pencil lead is not a metal" pushed a rule-follower to no. The child now judges from the result, the same move as the glass marble and the paper strip (L04-q6, q7). The lesson already carries the surprise: article idea "Pencil lead, the dark gray stuff inside a pencil, is not a metal, but electricity passes through it." with the figure caption "Electricity passes through the pencil lead, so the bulb lights."; script beat 6 says "One surprise: pencil lead is not a metal, but electricity passes through it."
PR-11 (practice)	Re-cased: "Dexter has a battery, a bulb in a holder and two wires. Which way of clipping makes a complete loop from one end of the battery, through the bulb, back to the other end?" Options: one wire from one end to one screw / one wire from each end of the battery to each screw of the holder (key) / two wires from one end to the two screws. Tag term → apply.	The v2 item was L01-q10 word for word and printed "a circuit" as an option two items above PR-13, which asks the child to type that word. The new item keeps the definition on the page (so the typed item is still led up to) and prints no term. Its distractors are the two taught faults, not the lone parts PP-07 offers, so it is not PP-07's template. The term's recognition item stays L01-q10; this page tests "circuit" by recall, as the mixed practice should. PR-10's stem still says "a gap in a circuit" (a scene word, not the answer printed as an option; the typed item still sits last).
PP-47 (bank, hard, ENE4-066)	Options now metal / pencil lead / plastic (key) / a metal chain; "a metal rod" is gone. Why re-written in four lines.	Three distractors said "metal". Wood and rubber would be second keys (both are safe handles), so the one honest non-metal distractor is pencil lead, which catches "not a metal, so it is safe". Pencil lead is named once as a material; its lesson scene (Dominic's test) is still nowhere in the bank. Bank header updated.
`records/TYPES_G4T09.md`	⟂ list: added PP-15 ⟂ PP-05 ⟂ PP-09 ⟂ PP-43 and PP-02 ⟂ PP-23; confirmed PP-25 ⟂ PP-07, PP-26 ⟂ PP-03, PP-46 ⟂ PP-32, PP-50 ⟂ PP-21 ⟂ PP-41 (already listed).	The v2 re-read's draw constraints.

No other id changed. The L04 check_design string now names the verdict-in-stem form for the surprise item.

Key strings after v3

Practice: 1 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 · 1 1 · 0 (PR-11 moved from 2 to 1; three-option counts a 1 · b 2 · c 1). L04 two-option string unchanged 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1. Bank: unchanged (PP-47's key stays C).

Checks

python3 build_tools_check_topic.py grade4/topic09_build/content/G4T09.py → 0 FAIL, 10 WARN (the same ten as v2: six S8 three-sentence beats, S36 outlet / bolt / zipper / craft).
python3 grade4/check_g4_articles.py grade4/topic09_build/content/G4T09.py → 0 FAIL (L04 320 words, the standing WARN).
python3 build_tools_build_topic_site.py grade4/topic09_build/content/G4T09.py /tmp/g4t09_v3.html → 4 lessons, 14 practice, 52 pp100, 59 figures.
python3 build_tools_build_topic_site.py grade4/topic10_build/content/G4T10.py /tmp/g4t10_chk.html → still builds (3 lessons, 13 practice, 50 pp100, 28 figures).
Blind bundle cut to grade4/topic09_build/blind/2026-10-02-v3 (106 MCQ, 5 typed, 1 FRQ, 2 order, 1 multi; 115 items). On the practice page the word "circuit" is printed nowhere as an option; the re-read owed is the three changed ids.

Sentence-atomise on the new student sentences

New sentence	Ideas	Actor	Verb carries the cause	Link
Dominic puts a pencil lead across the gap in a circuit, and the bulb lights.	2 (action, result)	Dominic / the bulb	puts / lights	and
The bulb lights, so electricity passes through the pencil lead.	2 (result, inference)	the bulb / electricity	lights / passes	so
The bulb lights, so the pencil lead has closed the gap, and electricity passes through it.	3	the bulb / the pencil lead / electricity	lights / has closed / passes	so; and
Which way of clipping makes a complete loop from one end of the battery, through the bulb, back to the other end?	1	the way of clipping	makes	—
One wire from each end of the battery to each screw of the holder makes that loop.	1	one wire from each end	makes	—
So only that way of clipping lights the bulb.	1	that way of clipping	lights	so
Metal, a metal chain and pencil lead all let electricity pass through.	1	the three materials	let	—
So plastic is the safe handle.	1	plastic	is	so

The guidance, questions and accuracy review

Skill: course-build → review-lesson (Role B, B2) → review-questions → review-accuracy (non-author pass; filed by the coordinator from the reviewer's hand-back) @ b0fa825

Topic 9 — guidance, questions and accuracy review, 2 October 2026

The teaching is sound and the science is right (the gap first, then the second wire, "circuit" named last; "current", "used up", "form of energy" absent; the holder's two screws as the bulb's two contacts; metals conduct; the safety line once). Two things to fix before the keys are trusted: (1) the "recalled" Topic 4 line "Electricity needs a wire that touches both ends" is NOT Topic 4's (Topic 4 says "electricity needs a wire from the giver to the receiver"), is ambiguous ("both ends" reads as the battery's ends) and is keyed in L01-q9, PR-3 and PP-23; one why says "the wires are the carrier" (Topic 4: electricity is the carrier). (2) The bank is not fresh: PP-20 is Summary Q3 word for word, PP-47 is L04-q10 plus an option, PP-17 is L03-q7, PP-19 is PR-7, PP-49 the article's rubber band, PP-16 / 32 / 34 / 18 / 14 quiz items renamed, PP-23 L01-q9's scene, PP-37 / 40 / 51 the quiz's block and the practice's eraser and hair clip; Summary Q1 is L01-q4 word for word. Twelve bank items need new scenes.

Worth fixing, pedagogy first: the L04 video shows "pencil lead" on screen but never says it, and its cue names a deleted "coin card"; the L01 teaching card rings empty white for GAP; L04 has lost its closing return; blind comments state the reading; the HAPPENS4 distractor pair means one thing; six "the desk" filler distractors; key-length tells on PP-1, 4, 7, 30. "Outlet" ×20 is three items, not a drumbeat; trim one fb.

The two circuit registers: the child meets the PICTORIAL first (the desk kit; STAAR draws circuits pictorially); Topic 9 imports nothing; Topic 10 keeps its schematic for the current job and shows Topic 9's pictorial circuit once beside it; Topic 10's upright battery's + should match Topic 9's bump-and-+ end. The author's questions: keep pencil lead (the video says it in one beat; the picture brief asks for a short thick lead across a small gap); keep "blocks electricity" in the rule and table with "cannot pass through" in the frame lines. For James: PP-24's typed "circuit" sits medium because ENE4-060 carries no hard — the brief's "hard tier recalls every coined term" and "tags rise with atom order" collide on a first atom's term.

where	finding	rule broken	severity	the rewrite
L01 article ideas 11–12; L01-q9; PR-3; PP-23	"needs a wire that touches both ends" is not Topic 4's line; ambiguous	recalled in its own words; second everyday reading	Essential	"Electricity needs a wire from the giver to the receiver." / "It also needs a wire back from the receiver to the giver." / "Electricity flows around a loop: …"; keys and fb: "No wire joins the battery to the bulb, so no electricity reaches it."
L01-q10 why; PR-11 why	"the wires are the carrier"	the course against itself	Essential	"The battery is the giver, the bulb is the receiver, and electricity is the carrier. The loop itself is the circuit."
Summary Q1 = L01-q4	word for word	attached stands alone; fresh instance	Essential	"Two wires join a battery's two ends to the two screws of a bulb holder. Does the bulb light?" (yes)
PP-20 = Summary Q3; PP-47 = L04-q10; PP-17 = L03-q7; PP-19 = PR-7	reused	fresh instance	Essential	PP-20 a zipper's metal; PP-47 a metal pan hot on the stove, which is also true of its metal?; PP-17 the smallest number of wires to light one bulb (1 / 2 / 3 / 4); PP-19 cut, replaced by a drawn item on `pp_circ_complete` ("Which two things does the LEFT wire join?")
PP-49, 37, 40, 51, 23, 14, 16, 32, 34, 18, 9, 8	taught and quiz scenes re-nouned; the bank header's claim false	fresh instance; a record's claim re-performed	Worth fixing (each)	a wooden clothespin; options plastic bottle / wooden clothespin / metal bottle cap / rubber ball; a rubber ball across a gap; a metal key ring; Dominic's bulb beside the battery, "the electricity will jump across"; the clip on the battery's paper wrapper; `build_step2` as an item card; a drawn loop for PP-32 and PP-34; "a phone charger that is plugged in"; the battery lifted out from its clips; a lit circuit moved from desk to floor
L04 script beat 5 cue "the coin card"	a deleted card named on screen	the brief matches the figures	Essential (video)	"[the metal spoon card, lit; the wooden spoon card, grey]"
L04 script beat 6 + L04-q11	pencil lead on screen, never spoken	parity; labels spoken	Worth fixing	add "One surprise: pencil lead is not a metal, but electricity passes through it."; trim beats 1, 3, 5; cut "Here's the pattern." (150 words)
L03 VQ option 3; PP-34 option 4	verdict + reason in an option	banned in attached / quiz	Essential (VQ)	"nothing more" / "He leaves both wires as they are."
`one_wire`, `one_wire_headache`, `rule_circuit`	the GAP ring circles empty white	a figure tells the truth	Worth fixing	a dotted grey ghost wire from the bare screw to the bare end with the chip GAP beside it
item_circuit blind comments	"that end is bare" states the reading	blind text is drawn data	Worth fixing	stop after the position ("one wire's clip rests on the battery's side, not its end")
HAPPENS4 (PP-2, 8, 38–41, 43)	two distractors one idea	real errors	Worth fixing	"It gets warm but stays dark."
PP-1, 4, 7, 30 keys; PP-1, 6, 15, 16, 19 "the desk"	key tells; silly distractors	the standing rules	Worth fixing	parallel options as the reviewer wrote them; the taught faults as distractors
L02-q6, q7 stems; L04-q1; L04 VQ vs q4; L04 idea 23; L04 closing return; `one_wire_headache` caption; L01-q1; PR-2 why; L04-q11 why; PP-46; PP-25 / PP-45 accept; PP-51 ⟂ PP-52; alt "grey" / "coloured"; L03-q8 fb 2	as the reviewer's table	the standing rules	Worth fixing	"Where is the gap, if there is one?"; "A can is made of metal"; a safety pin VQ; "Metals are heat conductors… electrical conductors too"; the closing return on Dexter's gap; "Is one wire enough?"; light / electricity / sound; "the sound reaches it"; "Pencil lead is not a metal, but electricity passes through it too."; metal / foil / plastic / a metal chain; add connected, joined together, path; ⟂; gray, colored; one trim
L03 check_design string; the two simplifications; the order items; PP-24's tier	Leave	—	Leave	correct the string; for James: PP-24

The figure review

Skill: course-build → review-figures (non-author pass on the 55 figures, rendered with headless Chrome at 1000 px, every item card opened, pixel diffs run) @ b0fa825

Topic 9 — figure review, 2 October 2026 (filed by the coordinator from the reviewer's hand-back)

The drawer is sound: every complete loop is drawn complete (two wires, a clip straddling each contact, no white gap behind any part — Topic 10's fault is absent); lit and dark bulbs unmistakable; faults visible only in the drawing on item cards; verdicts under their questions; all 55 keys placed; no caption says "real". Five fixes, none a redraw.

Blind comments state the verdict ("fault: none → the loop is complete"), the key to two items, and every comment opens with a drawing-code token. Fix in item_circuit: drop the prefix; describe what touches what and stop.
Two bank / practice pictures are pixel-identical to lesson-quiz pictures (pp_circ_complete_wide_flipped = q_circ_complete; pr_circ_complete = q_circ_complete2); two more are mirrors. Give _wires a second routing so six complete cards are six pictures.
The GAP chip sits on the battery on clip_slipped, diag_side, diag_same_end and the rule cards that embed them: place it above-left.
one_wire's ring marks empty air; ring the bare screw.
Item frames are over half empty (460 × 270 for 220 × 184 of content): item mode W ≈ 320, H ≈ 220.

Minor: test_gap's chip near the edge; "wide" wires a weak width-to-key cue in L01's quiz (add a wide fault card); the six briefs lack "only small batteries appear, never a wall outlet"; safety_card draws a crossed-out wall outlet — the red cross reads as "never", but if the no-outlet rule is read literally James should rule (carried to the Needs-you page).

Topic 9 against Topic 10's drawer: Topic 9 draws two separate wires with a clip at each end reaching the battery ends and the holder screws; Topic 10 draws one rounded loop with glyphs sat on it. A nine-year-old reads Topic 9's more easily — it is the kit on the desk, and "where the clip touches" is the whole lesson. Ruling for the course: Topic 10 keeps its schematic for the current-round-the-loop job and shows Topic 9's pictorial circuit once beside it, with one bridging sentence (already in Topic 10's fix pass).

Best: diag_cut, build_step4, sort_table. Weakest: one_wire, clip_slipped, pp_circ_complete_wide_flipped. Renders: /tmp/g4t09_figs/*.png.

The blind read and the v2 re-read

Skill: course-build → review-lesson (Role A blind key read, two readers; Role C adjudication by the coordinator) @ b0fa825

Every key agreed, one letter slip aside; but the 17 drawing items were not truly tested, because the bundle's drawing descriptions state their own answers ("fault: cut", "that end is bare", "the loop is complete"). Bundle: 105 MCQ, 6 typed, 1 written, 2 order, 1 multi-select; 115 items. Adjudication: A agree 111 of 111 machine-matched; B 110 of 111 — the one, L02-05, is a slip: reader B's reasoning ("loose clip on the desk, so a gap") IS the key (no); the letter written did not follow the shuffle. Order items (L03-04, PP-33) both readers C B A D; the multi-select PP-51 A, D for both; PR-10's written answers carry the model's points. Ruling, as for Topic 8: every item figure's blind= text is rewritten as neutral data (what is drawn — where each clip sits, what each wire end touches — never the fault's name or the verdict), and the 17 drawing items (L01-03, L01-05, L02-01 to 07, PR-04, PR-05, PP-03, PP-04, PP-10 to 13, PP-26 to 28) are re-read blind after the fix pass. The non-author figure review verifies the drawings.

Flags carried into the fix pass

Item	Who	Flag	Ruling
all item-figure `blind=` texts	A, B	the description names the fault or states the loop is complete	neutral data; re-read the 17
L04-11 pencil lead	A, B	both answered yes; nothing in the bundle teaches it	the lesson DOES teach it (one paragraph, one figure, a table row — the author's question 1 for James, built in); keep, and the stem says "Dominic tested a pencil lead in the loop" so the item recalls the taught case
PP-14	A, B	"on the top of his battery, not on its end" — an upright battery's top IS an end	"on the battery's side" (the course's word)
PR-11 → PR-12	B	the same stem with "a circuit" printed as an option sits directly above the typed item	separate by one item
PP-02, 08, 39, 40, 41, 43 "lights, then goes dark" / "lights only for a moment"; PP-46 "foil" / "a thin metal sheet"	B	duplicate distractor pairs	one of each pair replaced by a real error
PP-24 ⟂ PP-07 / PP-01; PP-25 ⟂ PP-03 / PP-01; PP-45 ⟂ PP-32; PP-50 ⟂ PP-20 / 37 / 47; PP-28 ⟂ PP-11; PP-29 ⟂ PP-13; PP-01 / 07; PP-02 / 22; PP-31 with PP-05 / 09	A, B	bank give-aways; PP-31 ("gap") cannot be protected, nearly every item prints the word	⟂ constraints; PP-31 re-typed to ask for a different produced word or made an MCQ
PP-33	B	reuses L03-04's exact instance and order	re-instance the build steps on a buzzer
PP-44 (four left / right positions), PP-34, PP-43, PP-30; PP-04, PP-07, PP-30 longest-option keys; PP-38 three-metal pattern	B	reading level; key tells	sentence-atomise; trim keys; re-option PP-38
L01-07, PP-08 (wire length does not matter); L03-09 (either battery end can start)	A	leans the lesson must state	one line each in L01 and L03 where absent
PP-25 accept "a complete loop", "closed"; PP-50 "things made of metal"	B	child forms	add "a complete loop"; "closed" is in the list; "things made of metal" is a phrase, not the word — stem says "Type the one word"

Readers' files: blind/2026-10-02/READER_A.md, READER_B.md.

v2 re-read, 2 October 2026 (Reader C on `blind/2026-10-02-v2`, the whole bundle)

Every key agreed (115 items; MCQ disagreements 0; both order items in the key's order; the multi-select PP-51 B, D matched; typed answers on the lists). The rebuilt circuit descriptions worked: all 16 cards resolved to one answer each, none says "gap" or "complete", none is short of data. Two flags to the polish pass: L04-11 (pencil lead) gives no test result, so "Pencil lead is not a metal" pushes a rule-follower to "no" — the stem must say what the bulb did; PR-11 / PR-13 share a page and PR-11's option "a circuit" is the word PR-13 asks the child to type (PR-11 is also L01-10 verbatim) — re-case PR-11. ⟂ pairs for the type sheet: PP-15 ⟂ PP-05 / PP-09 / PP-43; PP-25 ⟂ PP-07; PP-26 ⟂ PP-03; PP-46 ⟂ PP-32; PP-50 ⟂ PP-21 / PP-41; PP-02 ⟂ PP-23. Minor: PP-47's three distractors are all "metal". Reader's file: READER_C.md.

Topic 9 "How a circuit makes a bulb light" — your read (2 October 2026)

Skim first

The lessons and their rules

The intro script (119 words, about 60 s)

The question types (from TYPES_G4T09.md)

The questions the author put to you (built as recommended)

The lessons

Applied without asking

Also on the site

After you answer

The records, whole

Grade 4 Topic 9 — How a circuit makes a bulb light — build record (v1, 2 October 2026)

What this is, in plain words

Structural decisions (in place of a blueprint)

Questions for James

The per-lesson table

design-check-sequence records

The key strings

The example sequences, written out

The rules applied

Misconception rows (the catalogue, the literature, and what was done)

Checker: 0 FAIL, 6 WARN (python3 build_tools_check_topic.py grade4/topic09_build/content/G4T09.py)

Names run (python3 build_tools_names.py Walsh Derek Dexter Dominic → exit 0)

Sentence-atomise self-check (one row per lesson; every idea line one sentence or two short ones, S1 / S38 clean)

Figures (55; author's review-figures self-check on fourteen renders, a non-author's pass owed)

Judgement calls, recorded

Owed

v2 — reviews applied (2 October 2026)

Checker results (after every change)

Every finding → what changed

Questions for James — built as recommended

New counts and key strings

v1 → v2 bank renumbering (old → new)

Items whose stem, options, key, model, figure, blind text or accept list changed (for the blind re-read)

Sentence-atomise self-check on the new student sentences

Deviations from a reviewer's exact rewrite, and why

v3 — polish (2 October 2026, after the v2 re-read)

Changed ids

Key strings after v3

Checks

Sentence-atomise on the new student sentences

Topic 9 — guidance, questions and accuracy review, 2 October 2026

Topic 9 — figure review, 2 October 2026 (filed by the coordinator from the reviewer's hand-back)

Topic 9 — How a circuit makes a bulb light — blind read, 2 October 2026

Flags carried into the fix pass

v2 re-read, 2 October 2026 (Reader C on blind/2026-10-02-v2, the whole bundle)

The question types (from `TYPES_G4T09.md`)

Checker: 0 FAIL, 6 WARN (`python3 build_tools_check_topic.py grade4/topic09_build/content/G4T09.py`)

Names run (`python3 build_tools_names.py Walsh Derek Dexter Dominic` → exit 0)

v2 re-read, 2 October 2026 (Reader C on `blind/2026-10-02-v2`, the whole bundle)