Energy Avengers. Grade Level: K-3

Transcription

1 Energy Avengers Grade Level: K-3 Lesson Overview Objectives: Students will be able to Define and provide examples of Energy Vampires Identify places where energy can be conserved Green and Healthy Kids - Home Topic 6: Energy While there are two types of energy, renewable and nonrenewable, most of the energy we use comes from burning nonrenewable fuels--coal, petroleum or oil, or natural gas. These supply the majority of our energy needs because we have designed ways to transform their energy on a large scale to meet consumer needs. The amount of fossil fuels is limited and we will eventually run out of current supplies. It is important to conserve these resources, while we experiment with the possibility of using renewable resources to meet our energy needs. Use of fossil fuels to make energy changes is complicated by the fact that they are the primary causes of environmental pollution including smog, acid rain, and the Greenhouse effect. Knowledge Outcome: I know that most energy we use comes from nonrenewable resources that pollute our environment Behavior Outcome: I turn off the lights, television, computer and other devices when I leave the room Preparation/Materials: Activity 1: Copies for each student: Energy Avengers Secret Weapon coloring sheets Home Activity: Earth Needs You! Parent Letter (One copy for the teacher) Procedure: Activity 1 (10 minutes): Energy Avengers Activity 2 (20 minutes): Extension Home Activity: The Earth Needs You Source: USGBC Learning Lab:

2 Activity 1: Energy Avengers 1. Introduction: Tell students they have been chosen as Energy Avengers starting today. Explain that Energy Avengers help save the world by saving electricity. Producing electricity uses precious natural resources and can cause pollution when the natural resources are extracted and converted into energy and when the energy is used, so Energy Avengers help save the world by preventing energy waste. 2. Make sure students understand that the word prevent means to keep something from happening. Ask: Is it a good thing to prevent pollution and waste? (Yes!) 3. Now encourage students to look around the classroom from their seated positions and note all the places where electrical energy is being used. (They will likely spot appliances that are plugged in, light switches, lamps, a wall clock, a computer, etc.) 4. Then ask: What is a vampire? (A vampire is a scary, made-up creature that survives by sucking blood out of humans.) If vampires suck blood, then what do you think Energy Vampires do? (They suck energy.) Tell students: Energy Vampires are all around us! That s why we need the Energy Avengers. Energy Avengers find places where Energy Vampires are sucking and draining our energy, and the Energy Avengers wipe them out! 5. Ask students: Do you see any Energy Vampires in this room? (Answers may include any appliances that are plugged in but not being used.) Tell students: Lights that are left on in empty rooms are Energy Vampires. Explain that many appliances that are left on have a little light or some other indicator power is being used even when the appliance is not being used. (If possible, point out a printer, coffee maker, or some other device that has a ready indicator light.) 6. Explain: It takes energy to keep that little light on. Is it really necessary for us to have that little light on when we aren t using the appliance? Would it cause any problems to completely unplug the appliance until we need it and in that way prevent energy waste? If the answer is no, the appliance is an Energy Vampire! 7. Ask students: How can we stop Energy Vampires? (Unplug appliances we aren t using; turn off lights when we leave a room; etc.) Brain Break Line Up! Have students line up using a specific criteria, such as age (use day and month, not just year), height, alphabetically by middle name, hair length, etc. 8. Energy Avengers Stealth Walk: Announce to students that you are designating them as official Energy Avengers, and their job is to find and help eliminate Energy Vampires. Have the class follow you closely as you walk around the classroom and model finding and identifying Energy Vampires. But tell students that they are not to unplug any Energy Vampires they find. For safety reasons, they should always get help from an

3 adult when unplugging an electrical device. You might want to create an Energy Avenger gesture or noise they can make to signal they have found an Energy Vampire. Tell students to make the gesture or sound when they find an Energy Vampire, and an adult Energy Avenger will help them safely unplug or otherwise eliminate the Energy Vampire. (As an alternative, have students take a notebook and pencil around with them to list the Energy Vampires they identify.) 9. When you and your team of Energy Avengers have completed a review of the classroom, have students return to their seats and discuss the Energy Vampires you found. (Examples: Printer, coffee maker, pencil sharpener, lamp, etc.) 10. Next, have the Energy Avengers take their patrol outside the classroom and into several other parts of the school. You may wish to designate one or two students as the official note takers to list the Energy Vampires the Avengers detect. Lead the class as you sneak silently around the school detecting Energy Vampires and alerting the class with the Energy Avengers gesture or sound. 11. When you and your team of Energy Avengers have completed your school review, have students return to their seats in the classroom and discuss the list of Energy Vampires you found. (They may have noticed appliances and lights that need to stay on during the day such as hall lights, copy machines, and coffee makers but that could be turned off at night and over the weekend.) Discuss the different situations in which a particular thing is and is not an Energy Vampire and what we can do in those different circumstances. 12. Energy Avengers Communication Campaign: Explain that the word avenge means to punish someone in return for a wrong they ve done. Ask students how they can avenge themselves on the Energy Vampires for wasting energy. (Turn off lights, unplug appliances, unplug water fountains and snack machines over the weekends and holidays, etc.) Remind students that they are not to unplug any Energy Vampires they find at school or at home. They should always get support from an adult when unplugging something. 13. Next, give students the Energy Avengers Secret Weapons Coloring Sheets. Pass out crayons, and have students color the signs. Tell students that these are signs they can put around the classroom, school, and home to remind people to punish the Energy Vampires by turning off lights and unplugging appliances when they are not being used. You might wish to encourage students to create their own original signs, too. 14. Have students hang signs around the classroom and school. Make a plan for distributing the Earth Needs You! Colleague Letter and signs to other classrooms. You might also ask students to suggest common areas where they could post signs (such as hallways, the cafeteria, the library, etc.).

4 Activity 2: Extension 1. Advanced students may wish to offer additional ideas for the Energy Avengers Communication Campaign. In addition to or instead of coloring the given Secret Weapons, encourage them to develop original logos, posters, bumper stickers, buttons, radio promotions, etc. that will help the Energy Avengers spread their message around the school and community. 2. Why is Energy Vampire a good name for something that wastes electricity? (Sample answer: because vampires suck blood from people who need it and Energy Vampires are devices that suck energy that could be saved to use later when it is really needed) 3. Why is it important to save electricity? (Sample answer: It takes natural resources to generate electricity. Some of those resources, like coal and natural gas, are nonrenewable resources. They can be used up. They also create pollution. So when we conserve electricity, we use fewer natural resources and produce less pollution.) 4. What are some Energy Vampires at your home? Can you think of ways to help your family save electricity? (Sample answer: My brothers and I can save electricity by turning off lights that are not needed. We can also unplug the game console when we aren t using it. My parents can unplug the coffee pot when they aren t using it.) Home Activity: The Earth Needs You 1. Ask students if they can think of any other ways to use their notes and a letter. Ask: How about a letter to parents?! Read the Earth Needs You! Parent Letter to the class, and suggest students put together a collection of signs to take home, too.

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