NEED Educator Basic Intermediate Curriculum Unit

INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES

Intermediate Energy Poll (select Intermediate from the dropdown menu)
Energy Polls can be used to assess students’ basic energy knowledge, as well as their opinions about energy before and after your classroom energy unit.

Energy Games and Icebreakers (e-publication)
This guide contains offers entertaining activities to introduce energy, efficiency, and conservation to students, as well as reinforce the information that has already been presented. Round Up Posters – Video of Energy Chants

STEP ONE: Science of Energy

Intermediate Energy Infobook (e-publication)
Energy Infobooks are the resource for many NEED activities and include an introduction to energy, information on major sources of energy, new technologies, energy conservation, electricity, climate change, and other energy information. They are available on four reading levels (select the grade level from the dropdown menu) and are revised and updated annually.

Intermediate Science of Energy (e-publication)
Hands-on experiments and background information that allow students to explore the different forms of energy and how they are transformed. Students master forms of energy and their transformations, and then teach others what they have learned and how it can be visualized in the world around them. Select the grade level from the dropdown menu.

STEP TWO: Sources of Energy

Intermediate Energy Infobook Activities (e-publication)
These guides are companion activities to the Energy Infobooks. They are available on four reading levels that correspond to the infobooks and include Teacher Guides and answer keys for general energy information, energy sources, electricity, and conservation. Select the grade level from the dropdown menu.

Great Energy Debate (e-publication)
Students evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the major energy sources in a debate format. Each student group represents one of the energy sources and develops arguments on the merits of its energy source over the other energy sources. Teacher instructions and masters are included.

STEP THREE: Electricity and Magnetism

ElectroWorks Guide
(Teacher Guide e-publication) (Student Guide e-publication)
This guide includes background information and hands-on experiments to explore the basic concepts of atomic structure and electricity. Included are center-based experiments on static electricity, batteries, magnets, electromagnetism, and circuits.

STEP FOUR: Transportation

Transportation Fuels Infobook

Students explore conventional and alternative transportation fuels such as petroleum-based fuels, ethanol, electricity, biodiesel, compressed natural gas, and propane. Student backgrounders and suggested activities are included.

Transportation Trio
This is an activity sampler. These activities will introduce students to the ways we get from “Point A to Point B” and how we move things we depend on. Students will become familiar with the various modes of transportation, how energy flows in transportation vehicles, the fuels available, and how far we can travel using various fuels. This guide works well in a multidisciplinary setting, as it incorporates mapping and mathematical skills.

Additional Transportation Guides

STEP FIVE: Efficiency and Conservation

School Energy Experts Teachers Guide (e-publication)
School Energy Experts Students Guide (e-publication)
Students are introduced to the concepts of energy, energy consumption, conservation and efficiency, and the economic and environmental effects of consuming energy. Hands-on activities in this unit use the school as a real-world laboratory to measure energy consumption in the school setting, while quantifying costs and impacts to their budget and local environment. The lessons build upon one another, allowing students to explore heating and cooling, electricity, and lighting, before culminating in a building-wide educational energy audit. The kit includes a Teacher Guide, a class set of Student Guides, and the materials necessary to conduct the activities.

Energy Conservation Contract (e-publication)
In this outreach activity, students learn about energy conservation and ask their families to sign contracts in which they agree to save energy. Students then calculate the energy savings, and re- evaluate their conservation measures.

STEP SIX: Synthesis and Reinforcement

Energy Carnival (e-publication)
NEED’s popular carnival games are an excellent way to encourage students and adults to think about energy. The Energy Carnival contains complete instructions and reproducible masters for ten carnival games. The Carnival is ideal for elementary or middle school students and makes an excellent activity for an energy fair or Earth Day celebration.

Energy Jeopardy and Energy Jeopardy Powerpoint (e-publication)

Students will enjoy NEED’s spin on the popular trivia game show. Jeopardy categories that help to reinforce your energy unit include: More MPGs, Famous Americans in Energy, Leading Nations, and more.

Global Trading Game (e-publication)
In this activity developed by the Ohio Energy Project, students become economic advisors, geologists, international traders, and miners as they analyze their assigned country’s resources and needs, then trade resources with other countries to enhance their economic position and environmental quality.

STEP SEVEN: Evaluation

Question Bank
As you develop your energy unit, it may be helpful to build your own energy assessments. NEED’s Question Bank allows educators to customize evaluations to fit the needs of their students. Questions are available at the four levels, and are divided by topic. Within each topic, various formats of questions are included, such as knowledge, comprehension, multiple choice, and higher-order thinking formatted questions. Feel free to select from many different categories to tailor the assessment for your student. Questions are provided at four grade levels for a variety of energy topics in easy to access word documents.

Intermediate Energy Poll
Energy Polls can be used to assess students’ basic energy knowledge, as well as their opinions about energy before and after your classroom energy unit.

STEP EIGHT: Student Leadership and Outreach

Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement
All NEED schools have outstanding classroom-based programs in which students learn about energy. Some schools have student leaders who extend these activities into their communities. To recognize outstanding achievement and reward student leadership, The NEED Project conducts the National Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement.