Curated OER
Renewable Energy Sentences
Students construct sentences using nouns and verbs from a "renewable energy" word bank. In this cross curriculum ecology and sentence structure grammar and mechanics lesson, students listen to the book Our Earth: Clean Energy by Peggy...
Curated OER
Discovering The Power Of Sunlight
Students participate in a lesson that looks at the potential for energy from sunlight. Students conduct research from a variety of resources and construct an object that is used to measure the energy of sunlight and calculate the amounts...
Curated OER
Solar Energy Experiment
Students observe solar energy at work. In this science lesson plan, students watch two bottles, painted black and white, sit in the heat with balloons on the mouth of the bottles. They observe and discuss why the balloon of the black...
Curated OER
How Solar Cells Work: Converting Sunlight to Electricity
Learners examine how to convert sunlight to electricity. In this renewable energy sources lesson plan students explain how solar cells are used and use a voltmeter to measure the energy produced by a solar panel.
Curated OER
Olympic Solar Energy
Students use cardboard and aluminum foil to construct a solar oven that concentrates enough sunlight to cook a hotdog. They review the history and use of solar energy in relation to the Olympics.
Curated OER
Solar History
Using the sun's light as a source of energy is not a new concept. Give your environmental studies, engineering, or physical science class this list of how humans have used solar energy throughout history. Assign groups a certain time...
PBS
Insolation on Earth
In 2017, the world increased the capacity for using solar energy by a whopping 32 percent. Is solar energy the future for the planet? Approach this topic from the idea of how much solar energy reaches the surface of Earth. Individuals...
Bonneville
Solar Pathfinder Tutorial
Find the right path to learn about solar energy. Scholars set up and use Solar Pathfinders to take measurements related to solar insolation at a particular site. Based on the data, they estimate the solar potential in kWh/m^2/day of a...
Curated OER
Investigating the Climate System: Energy, A Balancing Act
Earth science explorers design an experiment to demonstrate that the albedo of a surface affects its temperature. They test to find out if moisture on the surface affects temperature. They discover whether or not concrete or asphalt heat...
University of Waikato
Māui and the Sun
Using a Maori legend, How Maui Tamed the Sun, youngsters are introduced to the importance of sunlight to civilization. Teach them about nuclear fusion that occurs to produce the solar energy we later receive on Earth as electromagnetic...
Science Matters
Forms of Energy
The amount of energy Americans use doubles every 20 years. The first activity in a 10-part series teaches scholars about different forms of energy. They rotate through five stations with hands-on activities or experiments at each in...
Smarter Balanced
Renewable Energy
Renewable and non-renewable energy sources are the focus of a series of activities that prepare learners for a performance task assessment on energy. Groups identify the various sources of energy and classify these sources as either...
Curated OER
Photovoltaics and Solar Energy
Students experiment with photovoltaic cells and determine the energy use of their appliances. In this renewable energy lesson, students calculate the energy emitted by a photovoltaic cell through an inquiry-based lab. They keep track of...
Curated OER
Day and Night
Expand your third graders' universe with a science activity about Earth's rotation. They read a short explanation about the direction of sunlight, then draw an arrow to indicate which way the sun is pointed at an illustration of the...
NASA
Earth’s Energy Budget
Take the time and energy learn about Earth's energy budget. An engaging unit of four lessons focuses on the components that make up Earth's energy budget. Future scientists come up with a formula for the energy budget, then use software...
PBS
NOVA Energy Lab Lesson Plan
Can our energy resources keep up with our ever-growing population? Science scholars learn the basics of energy and Earth's energy resources during an electrifying lesson. The resource combines video clips and an engineering design...
Science Matters
Thermal Energy Flow in Materials
The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth activity in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal energy. Scholars...
Carnegie Mellon University
Renewables Workshop
Youngsters examine resource maps to find out which states are using solar and wind power and discuss as a class various other renewable energy sources. They use a provided data table to record pros and cons to each technology, build and...
Concord Consortium
Sunlight, Infrared, CO2, and the Ground
How bright are your classes? An interactive lesson has scholars explore how light interacts with carbon dioxide in the air and the surface of the earth. They watch a temperature scale as light interacts with the environment.
Curated OER
The Sun: Earth's External Heat Engine Part 1 of the Astronomy Model
Students become familiar with the variables that control Earth's solar energy supply. They explore the source and nature of solar energy, the genesis of radiation, and the structrue of the Sun, gas spectra are observed and sample...
NOAA
The Great, Glowing Orb What You Will Do: Make a Solar Heat Engine
How is solar energy able to move wind and water to control the climate? Scholars explore the concept of solar energy in the first of 10 activities in the Discover Your Changing World series. They follow instructions to build homemade...
Curated OER
Cooking with the Sun
Students explore using energy from the sun for heating and cooking as they build and compare the performance of four solar cooker designs. This excellent two-day lesson has groups of students build and test a variety of solar cookers....
Curated OER
Solar Matters II
Students research solar energy. In this solar energy instructional activity, students construct a KWL chart and research solar energy through various websites and related readings. Students complete a science journal page as an assessment.
Curated OER
Using GLOBE Data to Study the Earth System (College Level)
Students use the GLOBE Website to locate and study environmental data. They use the GLOBE Graphing Tool to display data. Students describe the role of solar energy in the annual fluctuations of soil moisture. They describe reservoirs and...