Classroom Activities
Day One: Begin this unit by informally assessing students’ background knowledge about fossil fuels and alternative forms of energy. The teacher will make a list of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and alternative forms of energy (wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass, and nuclear). If the students are unable to come up with a complete list, have them research it or fill in what they missed. Next, discuss why there is a need to change our fossil fuel usage by showing a video about climate change on YouTube. Have the students write a summary about the climate change video in their science journal or on a piece of paper. After that, ask students about their impact on the planet. Have them fill out the Carbon Footprint Worksheet. When they finish, discuss and compare the results. Next, discuss why alternative forms of energy are needed and refer back to the list of alternative forms of energy.
- Climate Change Video: https://youtu.be/OqdIbq1Y24g?si=ODb1X2CYk5cYq_SA
- Carbon Footprint Worksheet: https://www.ndepscor.ndus.edu/fileadmin/ndus/ndepscor/NATURECamp-TCs/2013TCcampCompostingCarbonFootprint.pdf
Day Two: Introduce the group project by explaining that the class will be put into seven groups. Each group will research one form of energy. Each group will create a PowerPoint or Google-Slides presentation to share with the class. Discuss the graphic organizer to organize the information they need to find and the grading rubric for their presentations. Next, form the groups and assign each group one form of energy. The seven groups are: fossil fuels, wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass, and nuclear. After groups are formed, students can begin their research. A reading worksheet is provided for each group about their energy source. This can be used as a starting point for their research. Students may also use Google to research current usage facts and pictures.
- Fossil Fuels: https://www.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/assets/docs/pdf/flipsideenergy_fossilfuels_sciencetextswdiagrams.pdf
- Wind: https://www.teachengineering.org/content/cub_/lessons/cub_energy2/cub_energy2_lesson07_reading2.pdf
- Solar:
- https://www.englishworksheetsland.com/topics/3/science/solarenergy/1.pdf
- https://www.englishworksheetsland.com/topics/3/science/solarenergy/3.pdf
- Hydroelectric: https://www.envirothonpa.org/documents/19bHydropowerAdvantagesandDisadvantages.pdf
- Geothermal: https://ei.lehigh.edu/learners/energy/readings/geothermal.pdf
- Biomass: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/04/f14/biopower_factsheet.pdf
- Nuclear: https://www.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/assets/docs/pdf/flipsideenergy_nuclearenergy_sciencetextssupp.pdf
Day Three: Students continue research and begin creating presentations. Review the grading rubric to remind students about what to include in their presentations.
Day Four - Eight: Student groups begin presenting. The teacher will decide the order of presentations. Consider completing 2 presentations a day depending on how much time is allotted for the class period. While students are presenting, the audience will record the required information on the graphic organizer used for creating the presentation and turn it in for a grade. The teacher will use the grading rubric to grade each group.
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