Thinking About Energy (Lesson Plan)

Thinking about Energy (Lesson Plan)

(A Survey of Students’ Understandings of Energy Resources in Pennsylvania)

Suggested Grade Level 6-8, 9-12

Overview: The following PA Standards-aligned lesson allows practitioners to assess students’ prerequisite knowledge about energy concepts to implement instructional strategies that capitalize on students’ understanding to create the most effective learning environment.

Pennsylvania Standard Statements

3.4 Physical Science, Chemistry and Physics

7 B. Relate energy sources and transfers to heat and temperature.

10 B. Analyze energy sources and transfers of heat.

12 B. Apply and analyze energy sources and conversions and their relationship to heat and temperature.

3.5 Earth Sciences

7 B. Recognize earth resources and how they affect everyday life.

10 B. Explain sources and uses of earth resources.

12 B. Analyze the availability, location and extraction of earth resources.

4.2 Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

7 A. Know that raw materials come from natural resources.

10 A. Explain that renewable and nonrenewable resources supply energy and materials.

12 A. Analyze the use of renewable and nonrenewable resources.

4.8 Humans and the Environment

7 A. Describe how the development of civilization relates to the environment.

7 B. Explain how people use natural resources.

Content Objectives

Students will know that

1.  their perceptions about various concepts of energy affect their understanding of these concepts.

2.  studying physical science will enhance their comprehension of energy concepts.

3.  natural resources vary in their value, location, and availability.

4.  resources can be nonrenewable or renewable.

5.  the sustainability of natural resources is important.

6.  there are differences in energy efficiency for various types of resources.

7.  there are differences in usage of resources (for energy) in various societies.

Teachers will become familiar with

1. the usability of a pre- and post-instructional web-based survey tool.
2. the prerequisite knowledge upon which students build their conceptions of energy.
3. any misconceptions that could impact future student learning.
4. the alignment of curricula with Pennsylvania Science & Technology and Environment and Ecology Standards.

Process Objectives

Students will be able to

1. navigate through a web-based survey that sparks curiosity and understanding of energy concepts.
2. describe how their prior perceptions influence their understanding of energy concepts.
3. identify how their conceptions of energy change or are reinforced by completing the survey.
4. evaluate their comprehension about concepts of energy.

Assessment Strategies

1. Student understandings about energy-related concepts will be evaluated through their completion of a multimedia driven, pre-and post-instructional survey tool, Thinking about Energy.
2. Students will participate in a metacognitive journaling exercise to document their pre-instructional experience with the survey.
3. Student participation will be assessed through a small group activity to examine the nature of resources.

Materials

·  Reference materials to activate prior knowledge (print, manipulables, multimedia)

·  Computer with internet access

·  Student Handouts

·  Student Answer Sheet (Energy Survey)

·  Teacher Notes, Teacher’s Guide, Teacher’s Survey Guide

Multimedia Resources

·  “History of PA Energy through the 20th Century” [QuickTime movie]

·  Energy Basics Student Survey “Thinking About Energy”

Before the Lesson

·  Gather reference materials

·  View the “History of PA Energy through the 20th Century” video and test-run with technology set-up of your choice. You may want to download the video to your computer or copy it to a DVD.

·  Make copies of the group discussion document from the Student Handout and “Thinking About Energy” student answer sheet.

Procedures

Part 1: Introduce Content & Complete Survey (1, 50-min Class Period)

1.  Introduce 6-8 grade students to the content using a framing question such as:

What resources will allow us to continue to live the way we do through the 21st century and beyond?

Students in grades 9-12 could be introduced to the content using a framing statement and question such as: In order to maintain our current standard of living, we depend upon environmental quality; the availability, use and access to resources; and our society’s political and cultural structure. What resources will allow us to continue to live the way we do through the 21st century and beyond? What factors impact the resources we will rely upon?

2.  To present the survey, explain the idea of “thinking about your own thinking” as a means to better understand energy concepts as well as a means for teachers to prepare their instruction. Inform students that they will complete a survey about their understandings about energy concepts to help identify all of the things they know already and what the class should do as a whole to learn more about energy.

3.  Allow students to work individually to complete the Thinking about Energy survey. They will need to view the energy animations on the computer to complete the survey. The survey is located at http://www.pspb.org/E21/media/student_energy_survey.html. Be sure to emphasize the fact that students will need to use the answer sheet to complete the exercise.

4.  Review the survey with the class to address any questions and alternate conceptions. (This step could also be done later in this lesson or a larger unit studying energy to allow students to assess how their thinking about energy may have changed.)

Part 2: Assign Homework (Homework Assignment)

1. Revisit the framing questions and invite a short discussion to further hook students by illustrating our current standard of living through the use of manipulables such as an iPod, cell phone, and print or electronic visuals of transportation infrastructure and the products we have visuals access to because of the systems we have in place (i.e., exotic foods, clothing, etc).

2. Assign students with the homework task of pondering the framing question and identifying at least two resources that they will use in the next 24 hours. Encourage students to collect to share for the next class meeting.

3. In addition, prompt students to use the Student Handout “Reflective Writing Activity” to reflect on their experience with the survey. Have them explain any concepts that made them question their current beliefs about energy, define what a resource is, and describe how confident they are in their definition. Give students the opportunity to record any new questions they want to ask about resources and energy. This response could be emailed or delivered in hardcopy with students’ examples of resources.

Part 3: Debrief Homework and View “History of PA Energy through 20th Century” Video (30 min)

1.  Allow students to share their examples of energy use in small groups. Challenge groups to develop a scheme for categorizing the examples they present. Assign group members with responsibilities so that a record of the small group discussion can be preserved for later use.

2.  Share video with students as a large group.

3.  Return students to their small groups and give them an opportunity to make any modifications to their categorizations.

4.  Develop a class discussion about the differences among perpetual, renewable, and nonrenewable resources and those that are recycled and reusable based upon student categorizations of energy resources.

5.  Collect each small group’s discussion document and share ideas.

Thinking About Energy Lesson Plan 1

Thinking about Energy (Teacher Notes)

(A Survey of Students’ Understandings of Energy Resources in Pennsylvania)

General Lesson Notes

·  Renewable or Not? reference material. Many people struggle to define natural resources. Below is a summary, with italicized key words for classroom discussion, adapted from Project Learning Tree for the PA Classroom Connections Kit lesson, “Renewable or Not?”

Natural resources are the raw materials we use for housing, clothing, transporting, heating, cooking and so on. They include the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we farm and the space we use for living and recreation. In short, they are all the things we use in our physical environment to meet our needs and wants. We can put them into three categories: renewable, nonrenewable and perpetual resources.

In a human timeframe, perpetual resources such as solar energy, wind and tides last forever. Nonrenewable resources, however, exist in fixed amounts and once they’re used up, they’re gone forever. For example, fossil fuels are formed through natural processes that take millions of years. If we use all the available fossil fuels, no additional amounts of them will ever be available to us-at least not for millions of years. Other nonrenewable resources such as copper and other metals were created billions of years ago during the explosions of giant stars. These nonrenewable resources are not created through natural processes here on Earth. The only way we could get more of them is to mine them on other planets.

Renewable resources are materials that can be replenished through natural and/or human processes. For example, even though trees die naturally or are harvested, new trees are naturally reseeded or can be replanted by humans. Even though people consume livestock, new animals are constantly being raised. It is important to realize that renewable resources need to be carefully managed. People can use a renewable resource in a way that it cannot recover itself. For example, in the early 1900s, the passenger pigeon was hunted so heavily and irresponsibly that its numbers dwindled, and it became extinct. Grasslands can become overgrazed to the point where the soil loses its ability to support plant life and the area becomes much like a desert. Groundwater supplies may be pumped out of the ground faster than precipitation can trickle down to replenish them.

The maximum rate at which people can use a renewable resource without reducing the ability of the resource to renew itself is called sustainable yield. For example, a sustainable yield of timber would mean harvesting only the number of trees that the forest could grow. This term also applies to water and wildlife. The sustainable yield of any resource varies from region to region, and it can be altered through various management practices.

When people recycle or re-use natural resources, they decrease the demand on the resource and save energy. (Of course, the recycling process itself also consumes energy.) For example, when people recycle aluminum cans, less bauxite needs to be mined to create "new" aluminum. Recycling aluminum saves lots of energy as well. With paper products, the equation is more complicated since paper fibers cannot be recycled indefinitely and new fiber from trees must be added to the papermaking cycle. However, recycling keeps paper out of landfills and incinerators. Many resources, including renewable and nonrenewable ones, can be recycled and reused.

Notes on Additional References

·  Websites for further information:

·  The United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE): http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do?BT_CODE=ENERGYSOURCES

·  Dr. E’s Energy Lab from the U.S. DOE:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/kids/

·  “Energy Topics” from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection: http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/dep/site/default.asp

·  The Yahooligans Web-resource Directory for Energy:

http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/science_and_nature/physical_sciences/energy/

·  Journal Article:

·  Teaching for Conceptual Change: Confronting Children’s Experience

http://www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/workshops/teachingforconcept.html

Thinking About Energy Teacher Notes 2

Group Members:______

Thinking about Energy

(A Survey of Students’ Understandings of Energy Resources in Pennsylvania)

Group Discussion Record

As a group, please share the results of your energy resource homework. After each member has shared their resources, devise a plan to group the resources together into categories. Work as a team to give each resource a category name and record it below. (You will use this information later in a class discussion challenge—so make sure each member can explain your strategy!)

The 24-hour Energy Resource Use Wrap-Up

1)  The group recorder should make a list of the two resources that each member used in 24 hours.

2)  Work as a team to decide how to group resources together and give each one a category name.

Additional Notes:

Name:______

Thinking about Energy

(A Survey of Students’ Understandings of Energy Resources in Pennsylvania)

Reflective Writing Activity

1) Take 15 minutes to jot down your thoughts about our essential questions and your experience participating in the Thinking about Energy survey. Be sure to include the following in your response:

ü  Your definition of a resource

ü  A statement of why you are sure of that definition

ü  Any parts of the survey that challenged or made you think about what you know about energy resources in a different way

ü  Questions and new ideas that you are curious about after taking the survey

The questions are listed below if you need them to help organize your thoughts. Looking forward to learning more about how you think; do your best! J

In order to maintain our current standard of living, we depend upon environmental quality; the availability, use and access to resources; and our society’s political and cultural structure. What energy resources will allow us to continue to live the way we do through the 21st century and beyond? What factors help us to decide which energy resources we will rely upon?

______

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Thinking About Energy Student Handout 2

Teacher’s Guide: Thinking about Energy Survey Answer Key

Note: Included below is the answer key for the Thinking about Energy survey. The student version will be accessed via the internet as an html document with interactive animations at: http://www.pspb.org/e21/media/student_energy_survey.html. Note: You will need to print out the student answer sheets for the energy survey from the E21 web site.

The Warm-Up…

1. Energy is only found in living things.
2. True

b.  False

1. The sun emits wavelengths of visible light, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation.

a.  True

b.  False

1. Which of the following are renewable resources? Check all that apply.

a.  Biomass

b.  Coal

c.  Flowing water

d.  Natural gas

e.  Petroleum

f.  Solar energy

g.  Uranium

h.  Wind

1. Beside oil, the United States has only two other natural resource alternatives: coal and nuclear power.

a.  True

b.  False

1. Finding new technologies to meet all of our growing need for power is the only thing we can do to meet future energy demands.

a.  True