Science Matters: 7 Free Energy Curriculum Resources for
Homeschoolers
There is a lot of free stuff on the web and
some of it is actually pretty good. But who wants to spend
the time looking up each site to find out what is actually on
it? Right. So I've done it for you. I admit I didn't go
through all the gajillion results but I did get through quite
a few of the pages of an "energy curriculum" search. I found
out all kinds of interesting stuff including curriculum plans
for college degrees. But I'll spare you and just list the
finds related to energy curriculum.
Why energy curriculum? Gas is over $3.00 a gallon
and there are legislators still demanding hearings for the rolling
blackouts during the last freeze. Then there's the controversy
surrounding the Texas Public Utility Commission approval of a
powerline project through the Hill Country. If you're looking for
relevant science, what could more relevant than why you're sitting in
the dark freezing without electricity?
The following resources provide free curriculum on
energy. This means that the website isn't simply a collection of
lesson plans. Someone has selected and organized the lesson plans
along with relevant teacher information to provide a comprehensive
study of energy or some aspect of it. None of these would qualify as a
full "course" but all would make for an in depth unit study. I have
provided a few websites at the end that I think are good resources for
energy lesson plans in general. If I'm missing an incredible and free
resource, let me know.
The JASON Project is sponsored by National Geographic. The
Infinite
Potential Energy curriculum is geared for grades five to eight
but can be adapted for other grades. The online curriculum is free
and you can purchase a print version. The curriculum is also part of
the JASON Mission Control Center which includes related games,
assessments, and the ability to create personal journals. The website
description for Infinite Potential:
Through research articles, inquiry-based
activities, videos, games, and other multimedia, students investigate
and analyze emerging technologies designed to meet the needs of an
energy-hungry planet.
Through their Missions, students will:
- Determine whether an earthquake's energy could transform into
a tsunami
- Develop a plan for providing energy to an area struck by a
natural disaster
- Propose a plan to responsibly use 400 years of stored coal
- Address a large power outage and work to restore power
- Design an energy efficient module that will allow humans to
live in outer space
The National Energy Education Project (NEEP) offers a comprehensive
curriculum on energy for all grade levels. The
NEED Energy Infobooks are
the basic component of the curriculum which, provides "content
information about each of the nation's energy resources, new
technologies, and the use and conservation of energy." The project
offers more specific information on electricity, transportation, an
energy efficiency and conservation. All include a teacher and student
guide. And for those interested in these sorts of things, all the
curriculum is aligned with national and state standards.
The Energy Education
curriculum is designed for secondary students. The topics covered
are scientific principles of energy and fuels, the nature and extent
of renewable and nonrenewable energy resources, the economics and
environmental effects of energy use, and energy technology. It also
includes 34 activities and investigations. Each unit includes a
vocabulary list along with an online multiple-choice review.
The
K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) in Wisconsin created this
curriculum for homeschoolers based on recommendations by
homeschoolers. The curriculum contains a 20 background on energy aimed
at the teacher. This background is followed by eight pages "Energy
Sparks" which are teaching ideas for a specific energy concept. There
is no given appropriate grade level information for this curriculum.
Expect a "northern" bias, the home energy focus is heating rather than
airconditioning.
TVA has created
Energy
Source Books for elementary, middle school, and high school level
students. Each source book is basically a collection of lesson plans
that include student handouts. The end of each source book contains
background fact sheets for teachers. The lessons appear to based on
material from the 1980's so you'll want to watch out for any dated
material. (How much has energy really changed since then?) TVA has
also developed a
Renewable
Energy Curriculum that follows the same format.
These lessons were developed by the Texas State Energy Conservation
Office (SECO) and focus specifically on renewable energy and energy
efficiency. The
Units of Study are a collection of detailed lesson plans for
various age groups that cover concepts such as solar, wind and biomass
energy, energy conservation in the home, and alternative vehicle
power. The individual lesson plans include a teacher overview
with a suggested time frame, required materials, activities,
assessments, vocabulary, and student handouts.
This
Geothermal Energy Curriculum was created by the Oregon Department
of Energy and is designed for students in grades 4 to 8. The
curriculum "addresses renewable and nonrenewable energy sources with
an in-depth study of geothermal energy -- its geology, its history and
its many uses." Each section includes student information and activity
sheets. Following each student section is a teacher section that
includes directions and tips for helping students complete the student
activity sheets. It also provides extra activities and demonstrations
not included in the student section.
Other Energy Lesson Plan Resources
The following websites have a large collection of lesson plans for
teaching about energy. They are listed here because they didn't have
one comprehensive organized source of curriculum. You'll have to pick
and choose lessons to put together an energy curriculum or unit of
study.
U.S.
Department of Energy: Includes lesson plans from other sources so
an ideal first stop in your search.
US Energy
Information Administration: Lesson plans divided by grade level.
The teacher guide helps pulling together lesson plans by topic and
grade level.
Energy
for Educators: This site by the Idaho National Laboratory has a
nice selection of lesson plans organized by energy type and grade
level.
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