Energy for Keeps: Electricity from Renewable Energy
Topics: Renewable Energy (in particular, Biomass, Geothermal, Hydro, Tidal, Solar and Wind)
Source: Educators for the Environment, a division of The California Study, a non-profit educational organization. Sponsored by California Energy Commission.
Web Address: http://www.energyforkeeps.org/. To download full guide, click on first link on the left.
Grade Level: 6-12, most suitable for 6-8
Learning Strategies: Inquiry-based; read and comprehend; interdisciplinary activites; cooperative learning.
Frameworks Connections:
Science and Technology/Engieering
- Earth and Space Science, Grades 6-8
Heat Transfer in the Earth System
- Life Sciences, Grades 6-8
- Physical Sciences, Grades 6-8
Heat Energy
- Earth and Space Science, Grades 9-10
1. Matter and Energy in the Earth System
2. The Earth’s Sources of Energy - Physics, Grades 9-10
3. Heat and Heat Transfer
- Technology/Engineering, Grades 9-10
Living Things and Their Environment
Changes in Ecosystems Over Time
3. Energy and Power Technologies – Fluid Systems
4. Energy and Power Technologies – Thermal Systems
Mathematics
- Data, Statistics and Probability, Grades 7-8
Historyand Social Science
Main theme “The development of scientific reasoning, technology, and formal education over time, and their effect on people’s health, standards of living, economic growth, government, religious beliefs, communal life, and the environment.”
Cost: Free download, or $21 for up to 19 hard copies. Discounts for greater number of copies are offered.
Description: This illustrated guide covers the history, availability, impacts, technologies and management of the energy resources we use to generate electricity. The guide is 240 pages long and includes both discussions and activities. It is “a comprehensive inquiry-based unit correlated to all applicable content standards for California public schools, grades 6-8, and to the National Science Standards.” Each chapter contains several pages of reading, followed by an activity. Activities allow students to investigate and discover energy resources through hands-on projects like producing a newspaper or building models. Students also practice using scientific methods, writing scientific reports, and utilizing diagrams.
This guide can stand alone as a full unit covering renewable energy. The activities come with complete lesson plans for the teacher including subject areas covered, objectives, materials, activity justifications, teaching notes, warm-up, and activity descriptions. The guide also provides supplementary information, activity extensions, adaptations, and suggestions for integrating computer technology.