Putting Energy into Education
NEED curriculum incorporates activities to help synthesize energy information and create valuable connections between science and social science and the application of knowledge to decision making. Students undertake problem-based learning activities and explore possible opportunities and challenges for many energy decisions.
NEED materials are correlated to Next Generation Science Standards, the Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts and Mathematics, and also correlated to each state’s individual science standards.
NEED updates most of its curriculum each year to reflect the most current, available energy data and technologies on all topics. We invite you to visit our “New with NEED” curriculum section.
Since 1980, NEED has collaborated with thousands of partners across the nation to design customized energy education programs that meet the evolving needs of educators and students. Through these meaningful partnerships, we continue to expand our curriculum offerings by developing new resources on emerging energy topics while enhancing and updating existing content.
As we reflect on our 45th year, we are especially proud of our continued, as well as newly formed, partnerships in 2025. Each collaboration represents a shared commitment to advancing STEM, sustainability, and energy education.
INGAA Foundation Engagement providing resources, specially curated guide, and video trainings
Partnering with Eversource to drive home energy efficiency awareness and engagement through the Home Energy Challenge.
Supporting Innovation - NEED has developed specialized lessons to support NLRʼs REDi Island initiative. This initiative engages students in renewable energy concepts through interactive and digital learning environments.
Vistra Community Engagement specially curated guides and video trainings.
AGI Earth Science Week webinar to learn about educational resources on energy from the National Energy Education Development, including how to get students to take action in their own communities. As well as assisting with their 2025 ESW Toolkit which offered resources across various grade levels and covers various earth science topics, including this 2025 theme, “Energy Resources for Our Future."
Williams Community Engagement Guide
Avangrid (UI)– Home Energy Challenges
If you are interested in partnering with NEED, please email info@need.org
2025 Featured Curriculum Updates
Graphing Energy Source Data
Grades K-2
NEW! This math-skills focused unit provides primary learners with an opportunity to read about and analyze energy data while practicing graphing and data collection skills. Activities use hands-on manipulatives, practice worksheets, and NEED’s Energy Sidekick characters to introduce young learners to the ten sources of energy and related data.
Download the free PDF.
View as an e-publication.
Science of Energy
Newly Incorporated K-2 Primary Guide!
NEED's Science of Energy now includes a Primary Science of Energy: Investigating Energy Transformations guide in addition to the already available elementary, intermediate, and secondary level guides.
Teacher demonstrations, background information, and a variety of activities introduce students to forms of energy and how they are transformed. During this unit, primary students will practice science process skills and engage in guided reading, writing, phonics, and vocabulary building activities. This guide corresponds to our Science of Energy kit utilizing all six stations for differentiation to now encompass the primary level.
Get Moving with NEED's New and Updated
Suite of Transportation Curriculum
Transportation Exploration has students become familiar with modes of transportation, how transportation uses energy, EVs, emissions, and more, while engaging in hands-on science, math, and language-arts activities.
Transportation Fuels Live! has students learn about transportation by writing and singing songs to share their knowledge to an audience.
Transportation Fuels Debate has students evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of conventional and alternative transportation fuels in a debate format.
Energy on the Move has students become familiar with fuels and emerging technologies used for transportation.
Free PDF download and more transportation-related guides available here.
Solar-brating Newly Refreshed NEED Solar Curriculum
This secondary-level guide has been fully updated to feature NEW solar panels that are not dependent on a specific light wavelength (bulb) and connect via breadboards to minimize wire clutter and streamline investigations. The revision also includes expanded instructional text, deeper career exploration connections, and enhanced variable-testing opportunities. Don’t miss the companion videos created by NEED Facilitator Rob Griegoliet, designed to support and enrich the new activities.
This intermediate-level guide features updated content on solar energy and its environmental impact, expanded career exploration activities woven throughout the lessons, and a newly enhanced PV module designed to perform effectively in a wider range of lighting conditions.
Our elementary solar guide features updated data, expanded instructional text, and engaging new activities—including a solar bug investigation and our popular UV solar chameleon. The revision also incorporates water cycle connections to support state standards, along with a new energy career activity.
Our primary solar guide has been thoughtfully overhauled to better align with standards, expanding content while streamlining activities that no longer met grade-level expectations. The updated edition features adorable new observational and engineering challenges using a “pet rock,” introduces a hands-on solar bug kit to expose students to photovoltaic concepts, strengthens career exploration connections, and includes expanded instructional text.
Download NEED Curriculum
www.NEED.org/shop
In addition to offering free PDF downloads of all NEED curriculum on the NEED Shop, we continue to provide a wide range of high-quality supplementary resources to enhance and support our guides.
These companion materials can be found alongside each corresponding guide on the NEED Shop, as well as on our PowerPoint and Supplementary Resources webpage - making it easy for educators to access everything they need in one place!
2025 Top NEED Downloads
