Teaching Materials for Key Stage 2 (age 8-11)

Transcription

1 These teaching materials are designed to support the use of the Carbon Detectives website. They provide a foundation for understanding how energy use, travel and food can impact on climate change and suggest ways for reducing such impact by reducing the school s carbon footprint. They have been designed to be used by teachers who will be able to differentiate each activity in accordance with the age and ability of their pupils. Contents SECTION 1 SECTION 2 SECTION 3 SECTION 4 SECTION 5 SECTION 6 Weather & Climate Climate Change Energy Energy Conservation Travel Food & Nutrition Intelligent Energy Europe Carbon Detectives is supported by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme and is active across Europe. The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

2 Story - A version in play format has been provided at the end of this section for you to use in role playing activities. Saving, or conserving, energy is one way to protect the climate. Jakob proudly tells Lena, who is quick to confirm: That s right! I heard our teacher mention that in class yesterday. Knowing this, the two now have a plan: Jakob and Lena are going to play detective. They have their notebooks and pencils ready and are going to check the entire school for energy guzzlers! Here is the format they are going to use to make their list: Activity: Start A Carbon Detectives Team Set up a carbon detective team in school. This can either be an existing group such as a school council and eco group or a new group of motivated pupils wanting to look at ways they can help protect our climate and save energy at school. Give the following task to the team: Together, look for ways the school can save energy. Sometimes this task may not be easy, so you may need help from fellow students, teachers or even the head teacher. Don t forget, look for hidden appliances which consume energy in your school building in the kitchen, in the office. Look for well concealed power vampires. These are appliances which consume electricity even in the stand-by mode, when they are of no use to anyone. They can be identified by a small LED lamp which lights up even when the device TV, stereo, computer, etc. is switched off. Energy Saving ABCs There are many ways to save energy. The following are just a few of them: Energy is used here Energy could be saved here Ideas for how to save energy The most environmentally friendly form of energy use is to avoid the use of energy if possible. Energy that isn t used doesn t need to be produced in the first place! Though more and more renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power plants are being produced in Europe, this is not enough to meet the growing energy demand. That s why saving energy, as well as using energy more efficiently, is a vital first step; while switching to renewable energy sources is the second. A B C D E Always turn off lights that aren t being used. Also, reduce standby power consumption by using multiple socket outlets that can be turned off with a single switch. This cuts the electrical power source to the plugged in devices. The latter also helps save over 100 annually in power costs (depending on the number of devices). Buying local food and seasonal products means shorter transport routes (food miles) and reduced packaging. Check for potential energy savings in all possible areas e.g. using the Energy Checklist (see below). Don t forget to cover pots with a lid! Cooking without a lid wastes about 3 times the energy used. Energy saving light bulbs should be used instead of ordinary light bulbs!

3 F G Fresh air: Fully air out rooms for a few minutes instead of leaving windows ajar for long periods. Generally speaking, people do not spend much time in hallways. Therefore, make sure to always keep the heat low in hallways. S Stop energy vampires! Unplug your electrical devices when not in use, since computers, TVs, DVD players, etc., consume power even when turned off. Only by unplugging them can you be sure that devices can t draw power from the mains! This can be made easier by using a multiple socket outlet, which lets you pull only one plug to cut power from all attached devices. H I J K L M N Heating is more efficient when radiators are fitted with thermostatic valves Information, such as energy saving tips, is readily available and should be kept handy at all times. Just think about this when cooking: For each centimetre that a pot extends beyond the hot plate, 20-30% more heating energy is consumed! Keeping the refrigerator next to a stove/oven is a bad idea! Also make sure freezers are located in an unheated location. Labels provide energy efficiency information on white goods such as washing machines, fridges and freezers. Making use of pressure saves energy when cooking! A pressure cooking pot cuts the required energy in half and also saves lots of time. When the interior of the pot reaches the needed pressure, you can turn the heat down to a minimum. Night time room temperatures should be turned down low, and the same applies whenever spaces aren t occupied. Note: Don t let rooms cool down all the way, for a cold room requires lots of energy to heat back up to a comfortable level. T U V W X Y Try using a clothesline to dry your clothes. Electric clothes driers consume lots of power! Use climate-friendly transport means. Ride your bike or take public transportation to go places instead of driving by car, or walk if it s not too far. Very important: Make sure curtains, chests, cabinets, tables, etc., are not directly in front of a radiator/heater, as this blocks the flow of heat in the room. Wireless electricity monitors calculate consumption from electrical appliances in the home and at school. They are a useful tool for identifying energy wastage and assessing the impact of switching things off. Xtras: Many small measures together can lead to significant energy savings. The important thing is to always be aware of them. Make your own note cards with energy saving reminders and hang them up where they are needed: by light switches, computer monitors, etc. Youtube, Facebook, Google, etc. In the USA, internet use already accounts for one tenth of all electrical power consumption. Computers and monitors guzzle the lion s share of power, while most computers consume power even when turned off. That s why it s important to unplug devices when not in use. O P Organically farmed fruits and vegetables, and seasonal ones at that, help save energy. Producing goods of all kinds requires energy! Try to purchase only products that have a long lifetime, and always make sure the product is really needed before buying it. Z Zero paper waste: Print on both sides of paper and use only recycled paper. Q R Quality products last longer and therefore won t wind up as waste so quickly. Room temperatures: Try to maintain room temperatures one degree below normal, as this saves at least 6-7% in heating costs.

4 Here are a few more tips: 1) Start recycling. Recycling an aluminium can requires only a tenth of the energy that it would take to manufacture an entirely new one. And, paper factories use far less energy to manufacture paper from old newspapers than manufacturing virgin paper, i.e. paper which has no recycled content. 2) Avoid food products that require lots of energy to produce and/or transport, such as meats and ready meals. 3) Avoid bottled water as much as possible. It is a thousand times more expensive than tap water. Most importantly, bottled water uses up lots of energy for its production and marketing/ distribution, while, in some countries, plastic water bottles frequently wind up as waste instead of being recycled. 4) When preparing a hot drink, make sure to boil only as much water as you actually need. Filling the kettle too full is a waste of energy. 5) Conserve warm water by showering instead of taking a bath, as a shower generally uses four times less energy. 7) Unplug the battery charger once your mobile phone or games console is fully charged. A charger that is left plugged in continues to draw power even if the phone has been disconnected. 6) Private motor vehicles account for 24% of all domestic CO 2 emissions within the UK. Using public transportation, riding a bike and walking are all cheaper and healthier alternatives. Activity: Carbon Detectives in Search of Energy Guzzlers Task the Carbon Detectives to search their school for energy guzzlers (devices that use lots of energy) and practices that waste energy! Ask the group/s to record anything they find. Each group/s will need: a thermometer, pencil or pen, paper Examples of what to look for: Are windows left open (with heat running)? That s bad, because it wastes lots of energy! It s better to periodically open all windows wide for five minutes to air out a room. Are heaters turned up too high? Are lights turned on even when there is enough sunlight? Are computers and interactive whiteboards/projectors left on when not being used? Pupils will probably find a number of possibilities for saving energy. Ask them to make a list like Lena and Jakob did. Checklists have been provided at the end of this section. Energy Checklist You can use the Carbon Detectives action planning tool to help identify opportunities in your school. Activity: Devise Your Own ABCs Ask the Carbon Detectives to devise their own Energy Saving ABCs by coming up with ideas together. Write them on a large poster and hang one up in the classroom and corridor.

5 Activity: Tracking Down CO 2 Doing Something for Climate Protection Following the energy survey of their school, ask the Carbon Detectives to write down all the ways the school could save energy and reduce CO 2 emissions. Ask them to mark those tasks which are easiest to accomplish in red. As a group, pick five tasks which will help protect the climate and which pupils can accomplish within the next week. To make sure they don t forget the tasks, think of a fun reminder system: for example, make a colourful reminder poster, set an alarm clock to remind you, choose a pupil who will remind the others! After the week has passed, meet with the group to talk about their experiences. Was it easy or difficult to complete the tasks? If a task was difficult, how might they make it easier? Lastly, if they found it easy and/or fun to do their part in reducing CO 2, make sure to invite another class/ group to pitch in as well! From their list, ask the Carbon Detectives to pick out other actions which the school could do to save energy over time. Ask the pupils to present these actions to the senior management team, either in person using a powerpoint presentation or in a letter. But how will the pupils know if the actions have had any effect? It is important for the school to regularly record its energy use in order to keep an eye on trends and assess the impact of the energy saving activities. Check if the school energy meters are read regularly (this may be done by the caretaker, school business manager, or other member of staff) and, if so, ask can the pupils see the records. If energy meters are not read in the school seek to set up a system for recording consumption data. If the meters are easily accessible pupils could volunteer to read the meters on a monthly basis. Where this is not possible an adult will need to read the meters. Keep records of the meter readings - pupils could use a computer spreadsheet for storing and charting the data. Review the data over a period of time and see if the energy saving activities are proving successful. If so, share the achievements with the whole school and encourage an expansion of the energy saving activities. Set a target and see how far you can go! Heat Insulation When a building such as your school or home is insulated well, you don t need to turn up the heat as high in the winter! Insulating windows, ceilings and walls can help save energy, since they let almost no heat pass to the outside. Think of insulation as warm clothes for a building, because that s pretty much how insulation works. Just like a thick coat helps keep your body heat from escaping in winter, insulation helps trap warm air inside the building so that it can t escape to the outside. As a result, you can use less heating and save energy. Activity: Insulation wrapping up warm to keep heat in You will need: Large overcoat Woolly hat Woolly gloves Woolly socks Ask for a volunteer to come out in front of the class. Inform everyone in the class that the pupil represents a house and that we are going to try to keep the house warm. First of all, we are going to insulate the walls, put a large overcoat on the child. Next we are going to insulate the roof, put a bobbly hat on the child s head, now we are going to insulate the floor, put colourful woollen socks on the child, then we are going to draughtproof around the windows, put colourful woolly gloves on the child. As you can see, our home like this child is now warm and cosy! By insulating our homes, we can keep the heat in. For more information about carbon saving in school see: As an extension activity, ask the Carbon Detectives to identify the energy guzzlers in their own homes! Visit for more details on how to save energy at home which you can share with the Carbon Detectives. Following their home energy survey, ask the Carbon Detectives to design a brochure on how their families could save energy using the information provided from the Energy Saving Trust.

6 Activity: Heat insulation saves energy Activity: How far did these products travel? Carry out this experiment with the class. If you have enough equipment, ask the children to do the experiment in groups. Each group will need: Two large glasses (of equal size) with a cover A small towel Water During warm seasons: a refrigerator A thermometer Give out these instructions: Fill both glasses with equally hot tap water and wrap the towel around one of the glasses. If it is quite cold outside, place the two glasses in the school playground. If it is warm outside, the pupils will need to put them in a refrigerator. After letting them stand in the cold for half an hour, fetch both glasses and remove the towel (from the glass wrapped). Ask the pupils which glass feels warmer? If the pupils can t tell by touch alone, ask them to measure the temperature with a thermometer and compare their results. For this activity, you will need: Large world map Various products found around school - cleaning materials, food, equipment (Note: make sure they have their origin clearly stated on them) String Put a large map of the World on the wall. Ask the class to identify the UK and stick a pin in this location. Next ask the children to look at the products, find out where the products came from and find the country of origin on the world map. Ask them to stick another coloured pin in this location and attach a piece of string from this location back to the UK. At the end of the activity, the pupils will see that the products have come from all over the World. Discuss with the class how carbon dioxide can be reduced by buying products that are more local to or sourced in the UK. Which products do they think could be produced locally? For a homework activity, ask the children to look at where their favourite toys come from. Do they know of any games and toys that are produced in the UK? Ask the children to research in the library or on the internet to find their answers. How much energy is needed to make my toys? Be it a mobile phone, computer or plastic toy, all products require a good deal of energy to produce. That s why it s important to consider whether we really need a particular product or not. When products are transported from far away places by lorry or airplane, even more energy is used up for us to be able to enjoy them. For example, plastic toys that are manufactured in China need much more energy to get to the toy store than do wooden toys that are manufactured in your region.

7 Role play: Jakob: Saving, or conserving, energy is one way to protect the climate. Jakob proudly tells Lena who is quick to confirm: Lena: That s right! I heard our teacher mention that in class yesterday. Knowing this, the two now have a plan: Jakob and Lena are going to play detective. They have their notebooks and pencils ready and are going to check the entire school for energy guzzlers!

8 Energy Guzzler Worksheet Walk around your school and answer the following questions: Lighting Are lights turned off when a room is empty? Is it possible to turn on lights separately within the classroom? How many, and what kind of, lights/lamps are used in the classroom? Are the light covers dirty? Are lights left on in the corridors and toilets during class time? Are the lights in the sports hall turned off when there is enough natural light? Heating and ventilating of Rooms What is the average temperature in various school rooms? Classrooms Corridors Meeting Room(s) Sports Hall(s) Stairways Toilets School Office(s) Cloakrooms Store Cupboards Other Are rooms being heated even when not in use? yes when Classrooms Corridors Meeting Room(s) Sports Hall(s) Stairways Toilets School Office(s) Cloakrooms Store Cupboards Other Do rooms have blinds or curtains and, if so, when are they drawn? which room when drawn? Do curtains cover radiators/heaters? Can radiators/heaters be controlled individually? yes when Classrooms Corridors Meeting Room(s) Sports Hall(s) Stairways Toilets School Office (s) Cloakrooms Store Cupboards Other Are room thermostats being turned down as needed and is the heating switched off when not required? Turned Down Switched Off On weekends In the evenings During holidays Could thermostats be turned down in parts of the school (e.g. in the afternoons)? If yes, where? yes no Are windows being left open for long periods? Are classrooms ventilated? Are doors being left open?

9 Power Consuming Devices What are the major energy guzzlers and where are they located? Are electrical devices turned off over the weekend? yes no Computers Photocopiers Televisions Vending Machines Projectors Video Recorders / DVD Players Whiteboards Other How much current do the devices use in standby? How long do computers and photocopiers remain switched on or in standby, and how long are they actually in use? Which devices could be fitted with a time switch? Who might be available to turn devices off and when could this be done (e.g. overnight)? Warm Water When and where is warm water needed /used? How is water heated? What happens during holidays and at weekends when warm water is not needed?