Curated OER
Power Generation
Students examine energy issues. For this environmental stewardship lesson, students discuss nuclear power options. Students also discuss energy consumption and create energy reduction guides for students their own age. Many links to...
Curated OER
No Fossils in This Fuel!
Students explain how technology leads to a cleaner environment. They gain hands-on experience with ethanol as a fuel alternative.
Curated OER
Problem Based Inquiry Learning
Tenth graders research Nuclear Energy and Radioactivity, how is this form of energy used for the good of mankind in solving the energy crisis and the hazardous aspect of using this form of energy. They cooperatively work in groups to...
Mr. E. Science
Electricity and Magnetism at Work
I don't get electricity jokes, watts so funny about them? The 13th in a series of presentations covers energy, motors, currents, generating electricity, calculating electrical energy cost, transformers, and batteries.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Biomass: Biogas Generator
It's a gas. Middle schoolers build a biogas generator following the directions in this resource. After a few days of observation, they demonstrate that the gas given off by the decomposing manure is flammable. The activity concludes as...
Teach Engineering
Engineering Brainstorming
Here is a lesson that offers a great hybrid of forming new skills and using current knowledge to come up with a plan. The class brainstorms information they would need to know or already know about hybrid vehicles. They then group...
Curated OER
Environmental Issues Vocabulary and Speaking Exercise
Eight color graphics fill the top half of this page. Each of them is meant to represent a different environmental topic: poaching, deforestation, pollution, etc. Youngsters associate vocabulary terms with each graphic and then answer...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How Can Work Be Done with Water Power? Activity C
Third in a set of lessons regarding reservoirs, dams, and hydropower, this involves a two-day hydropower plant simulation. Collaborative groups build, maintain, and finance the plant. The transparency of the reservoir setup can be...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #11 - Power Maximum: An Electrical Determination
Collaborative groups connect resistors and solar panels in series and measure electrical resistance, voltage, and current. The objective is to order 16 solar panels from strongest to weakest. They graph current-voltage and power curves...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #6: Solar-Powered Battery Charger
In a previous lesson, learners build an ammeter. That ammeter, or a pre-made one, is required in order to carry out this lesson. The objective is for lab groups to design a way to connect solar cells that can recharge a battery. Basic...
Curated OER
BioFuels: The Chemistry and Economics of Alternative Fuels
Junior chemists manufacture biodiesel in the lab. In this exercise, they check the purity of the biodiesel using thin layer chromatography. They also calculate its density and heat of combustion. They are sure to rise to the...
Curated OER
INFORMATION FLUENCY UNIT
Seventh graders, after defining/brainstorm the task, divide up into groups and are assigned to an alternative energy source (wind, solar, or water) to research. They complete a presentation with visuals on their findings from their...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Gathering the Appropriate Information
Students are able to use the library and/or computer lab to research reliable information sources supporting arguments being put forward in the position paper. They are able to find examples of mission statements from various...
Curated OER
Transforming Energy
Sixth graders study about alternate energy sources and discuss with their neighbor how alternative energy sources affect environmental conditions so that an entire species could be affected.
Curated OER
Power In Variety
Students discover different types of energy. In this energy source lesson students compare different types of energy, renewable and nonrenewable. Students answer questions about the different types of energy and their impact on the...
Curated OER
The Energy Debate - Conclusion
Young scholars write a persuasive essay about the choices in the energy debate. They comprehend the environmental consequences that accompany the decision. Students predict how they will power their future.
Curated OER
Spotlight on Photovoltaics and Fuel Cells
Students research the Internet to find the pros and cons to alternative technology. In this investigative lesson students analyze structure and function of these systems and make observations of them.
Carnegie Mellon University
Consumer Preferences in Lighting
What is a watt? This tongue-twisting, mind-bending question and others are answered through this lesson plan on the different lighting options available. With the support of a PowerPoint, teach your physical science class about units of...
Brown University
Youth Activism and the Dakota Access Pipeline
Do young people have a role in social movements? Should they? The involvement of young people in the Dakota Access Pipeline is the focus of a resource that asks class members to examine letters written by native youths who oppose the...
Curated OER
Desalination: Creating a Solar Still
To better understand how solar power can aid in creating desalinated drinking water, the class creates a model still. They will build a model of a solar still, make observations, and discuss how the process works. While the idea behind...
Curated OER
Fat - A Concentrated Energy Source
Students study fats as a necessary part of a balanced diet. They match foods with visuals showing the amount of fats in each. They compare lunches and how substitutions of various foods can effect the fat content of each meal.
Curated OER
Lesson 2 - Design Process-Measuring Wind Speed
A terrific lesson focused on the design process. It begins with a presentation, "Design: Solve a Problem," which lists the steps of the process and then introduces the specific challenge: to build a device that measures wind speed....
California Academy of Science
Greening Your Middle School
Middle schoolers redesign their school to make it more energy efficient, and create a model of their design. Learners get together in groups of 5, and they take on the task of making their school more energy efficient. To do this, they...
Curated OER
Introduction to Photovoltaic Systems
The Green Education Foundation found that this lesson plan, written by the Texas State Energy Conservation Office, is right up their alley when it comes to teaching sustainability. It is ideal as a first lesson plan on photovoltaic...