Curated OER
Great Decisions
Students identify major contributors to the U.S. energy makeup, recognize trends in energy consumption, express opinions on alternative energy sources, and evaluate positive and negative attributes of the alternative energies in relation...
Curated OER
CO2: How Much Do You Spew?
Students analyze the energy consumption of a household to see the amount of carbon dioxide they add to the atmosphere each year. In this energy consumption instructional activity students calculate carbon emissions and discuss sources...
Curated OER
The Chemistry of Killer Coal
Learners research chemical components of coal, as well as environmental health impacts of mining and burning coal. They discuss conservation of mass as it relates to combustion of organic compounds.
Curated OER
Peak Oil
Young scholars explore the finite petroleum resources available and the surging demand for fossil fuels by developing nations. the need to reduce fossil fuel consumption and the development of alternative, sustainable fuels is examined...
Curated OER
Household Conservation/Efficiency
Hook your class up to an online home energy usage calculator so that they can estimate the amount used per month by their families. Then give them Watt meters with which they will measure the power consumption of several small...
Consumers Energy
The Cost of Electricity
How much is your toaster costing you every day? Young environmentalists calculate the monetary costs of household appliances based on their average consumption of wattage.
Global Oneness Project
Deconstructing Consumerism
To increase awareness and launch a discussion of consumerism, class members view What Would It Look Like, a 25 minute film of images that capture the global effects of the consumption of goods. Viewers make a list of the images that they...
Curated OER
Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources
Fifth graders are introduced to the important topic of renewable, and non-renewable, resources. They are expected to be able to correctly categorize different types of resources as renewable or non-renewable. Another emphasis of this...
Curated OER
Comparing Light Bulbs
An average home produces twice as many emissions as an average car. Teach your class how to reduce energy consumption by replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Perform an experiment to compare...
Curated OER
Climate Change
Students identify the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions while recognizing links between energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. they Review U.S. policy efforts to cooperate internationally to combat climate change.
Curated OER
Energy Conservation
Students discuss the different uses of energy. They examine the consumption percentages to do household tasks. They discover ways to reduce their energy consumption.
Curated OER
Energetic Energy: A Child?s Guide to Responsible Energy Use
Students explore how energy transforms into heat. In this energy lesson students create models and find a need for fuel to make a Stirling engine.
National Wildlife Federation
Power Pellets! Nuclear Energy in the United States
Nuclear power provides about 20 percent of the energy generated in the United States. The seventh activity in the series of 12 tackles nuclear power. After sharing what they know about nuclear energy, scholars complete a WebQuest make a...
Curated OER
Ethanol
Students explore how to fuel cars with corn and then test different items to explore the process of fermentation.
Curated OER
Oil and Gas As A Source of Energy
Students discuss the reasons why oil and gas are the United States' main source of energy. In groups, they use the internet to research how the resources are formed and the amount of consumption by the United States. They choose books...
Curated OER
Energy and the Environment: What Can We Do?
Pupils consider the impacts of global warming and brainstorm ways to help decrease their contribution to the problem. In this climate change lesson, students are exposed to facts concerning global warming and think of ways to decrease...
Curated OER
Energy Efficiency Ambassadors
Students consider how to cut their energy use. In this physical science instructional activity, students investigate the connections between energy use and climate changes. Students compute the actual electrical energy consumption of 2...
Curated OER
Global Warming Webquest - Policy Analyst
In this science global warming worksheet, students, working in groups, answer 7 short answer questions regarding the policies of becoming a policy analyst in California.
Center Science Education
CO2: How Much Do You Spew?
Split your earth science or environmental studies class into groups and give each a scenario card. Scenario cards describe the lifestyles of 10 different fictitious families, focusing on their energy usage. Carbon dioxide emissions are...
Center Science Education
Plugged In To CO2
Watt is going on here? Middle schoolers are learning about energy use and carbon dioxide emissions! In the first part of this lesson, learners measure how much energy different appliances consume and calculate the amount per day. In the...
Curated OER
CO2 and You
Young scholars study the scientific evidence about carbon dioxide emissions. They learn to calculate the amount of energy used by different appliances. They complete a worksheet which analyzes the amount of energy that their home uses.
Global Oneness Project
Deconstructing Consumerism
A short, engaging video provides a critique of the hyper-consumerist mentality that many think have taken over the Western world. After watching the video, pupils reflect on their own habits and use evidence to respond to discussion and...
Teach Engineering
Efficiency of an Electromechanical System
How efficient is a motor in a LEGO set? Future engineers conduct an activity where a LEGO motor-generator system raises an object to a specified height. They then show what they learned and use their measurements to calculate the energy...
Teach Engineering
Efficiency of a Water Heating System
Tired of waiting for hot water? Groups of three determine the efficiency of an electric water-heating device. They calculate the amount of energy it takes to heat the water and the theoretical amount of energy required to heat the water....