Energy Sciences

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 16.04.08

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Overview
  2. Rationale
  3. Demographics
  4. Content Background
  5. Teaching Strategies
  6. Classroom Activities
  7. Teacher Resources
  8. Appendix: Implementing District Standards
  9. Endnotes
  10. Bibliography

The Future of Energy

Jacqueline Alvarado

Published September 2016

Tools for this Unit:

Demographics

Students participating in this unit are sixth grade consumers-of-energy in a diverse and large urban middle school, which houses the district’s Newcomer Program, English learners who have been in the country for less than a year. The school setting is a departmentalized sixth through eighth grade; however, the sixth grade is cored for English/history and math/science; my students meet for a 90-minute block period, five days a week. The district is considered a corridor district, serving students in cities to the north and south that are underperforming. However, nearby is a large public university and a booming technology industry; this dichotomy creates a gap between our most and least privileged students. Currently, the district just finished its first year of the rollout, which began with sixth grade, of the new science standards with 2018 being the first year of full implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

When I have taught this unit in the past, we used the old California State Standards solely focused on Earth science in my state. Students did a modified research project on alternative energies, not all “clean energy”. The previous way I taught this unit was much more simplistic; for example, I only gave them two options for solar energy: solar thermal and photovoltaics, when there are at least five subcategories. Additionally, I disaggregated solar energy from biomass and biofuels, which is really more a type of solar energy than a category of its own. After this seminar, while I will still mention how nuclear energy is carbon neutral, I would like my students to focus more on clean energy and take a stand on a viable solution for the future. I would like my students to take the knowledge gained and be innovators of clean energy.

Although this unit is designed for sixth graders in a math and science core class, it is adaptable across many grade levels and some Common Core Standards for English. It is recommended that the teacher implement more scaffolding strategies if done with younger students. For example, provide a list of credible and curated sources (see Teacher Resources). Students can also work in pairs or small groups to do the research or teachers could provide a graphic organizer for the note taking or a guided worksheet. For older students, this unit could be adapted to include a persuasive writing piece on the alternative energy researched. With older students, there is also room for a service-learning component. Some possibilities include: research ways to become involved with organizations such as Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, or EcoWatch, writing to government officials about the topic of clean energy, or volunteering with a local organization. This unit can also be done in collaboration with an English Language Arts class.

In order to meet the content standards, this unit will bridge together grade level NGSS units on energy, climate change, and human impact as well as Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for speaking and listening.

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