Strategies
Hands-on activities and demonstrations
The students will engage in many hands-on activities throughout this lesson. Students are more interested and excited when they are actively involved. Students also remember information better when they are doing and involve more senses into the learning experience.
Guest Speakers
It is always nice to engage with experts in the field. For this unit, I currently have two guest speakers in mind. First, I would like to have someone from Dominion Energy come speak to my class about the off-shore wind project. I also would like to invite a parent of a rising fifth grader who works in the area of energy, oil, and gas law. His work also includes environmental law.
Design Thinking and Modeling
Students will be introduced to Design Thinking through a workshop model. The steps of the design process will be modeled and explored. The students will apply the Design Thinking process through several projects. The class will design sail cars to harness wind power. Later in the unit, they will design a wind turbine with a marine ecosystem at the base. The students will use Bird Brain robotics and Scratch coding for this project. Some of the activities will use an abbreviated version of Design Thinking. Other activities will require students to go through the entire process.
Collaborative Groups
Students will work in collaborative groups. This will allow them to help each other and talk through their ideas, iterations, and modifications. I regularly use collaborative groups and discourse. Students understand what they are learning better when they discuss and explain content.
Reading and Research
The students will read non-fiction articles about fossil fuels, climate change, wind and wind energy to build background knowledge. They will conduct repeated readings and annotate as they read.
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