Creator: Ashley Ashbeck
C&I 371, Spring 2009
Lesson 1: From Coal to Outlet: What is “Energy?”
Grade Level: 1st Grade
Unit Topic: Energy Conservation
Time Needed: Day 1- 40 minutes; Day 2- 10 minutes
Lesson Context: This is the first lesson to be taught in the unit on energy conservation. Because the word energy is such a loaded word and could mean so many things, it’s important to make sure that the students all have a clear understanding of what is meant by the term energy in this unit—meaning electricity. This introductory lesson will allow the students to first think about what they know about energy, and then will introduce them to the phrase “saving energy” or “energy conservation.” This first lesson is also acting as a pre-assessment to see where the students are at in their understanding of energy and energy conservation. Subsequent lessons will then guide the students in discovering how electricity is produced, how much energy certain tasks and appliances use, recognizing their own personal energy use, the energy use of their families and America, and what they can do to SAVE ENERGY and promote energy conservation to others.
MMSD Standards:
· Write to communicate ideas—generate ideas.
· Demonstrate growth in the use of language—ask for clarification and explanation of words and ideas; extend speaking vocabulary.
UW-Madison Teacher Standards:
· STANDARD 9: MANAGES LEARNING ENVIRONMENTTeachers establish and maintain an environment that engages students in learning while providing for their physical and socio-emotional well-being.
o The lesson format allows for students to work individually and collaboratively with their classmates, and provides opportunities for movement about the room as the students move between the three centers. This lesson supports the social needs of first graders, as well as provides them with opportunities to feel ownership over the knowledge they possess, and a responsibility to share that knowledge for the advancement of the class’ knowledge.
Wisconsin DPI Social Studies Standards:
· C.4.6 Locate, organize, and use relevant information to understand an issue in the classroom or school, while taking into account the viewpoints and interests of different groups and individuals.
o Students address the issue of “energy” by sharing their ideas of what the term energy, and related terms, mean through brainstorming and collaborating their ideas in webs and organizers.
Content Objectives:
Students will learn that…
· There are many forms in which energy can exist.
· Energy is everywhere and in everything we do.
· Saving energy is a phrase used by society today to mean “using less electricity.”
Process Objectives:
Students will…
· Define what they think the words energy, electricity, fuel, renewable, conserve, and saving energy means.
· Brainstorm in words and pictures what the word energy means, or what energy is.
· Categorize pictures according to whether they think the object creates energy or doesn’t, and whether the object has energy or doesn’t.
· Brainstorm in words or pictures what they do that uses energy.
· Draw pictures of what an object looks like when it has energy and when it doesn’t.
Procedure:
Day 1
· Gather the students on the carpet and introduce to them that they will be rotating through three different centers. Go through each of the centers and give the directions for what is expected of the students, who will be working independently for most of the time:
o Center A: Voice Recording of Definitions of Words (Teacher Assisted)
§ Materials needed for this center include: tape/digital voice recorder, butcher paper, markers, sign with list of words to be defined.
§ Go through each of the words on the list, but go no further in-depth with these words than how they are pronounced: energy, electricity, fuel, renewable, saving energy. Tell the students that when they are at this center, one student at a time will sit down with the teacher and, talking into the recorder, share what they know or think they know about each of the terms—and if there’s a word they absolutely do not want to talk about, they can pass. For those students who are waiting to record with the teacher, butcher paper will be spread out on the floor with the word ENERGY on it. The students should write words or draw pictures that they think correspond with the meaning of energy, or what energy involves.
§ Start the brainstorming on the butcher paper by helping the students come up with two words or pictures.
o Center B: Picture Categorization
§ Materials needed for this center include: 2 copies of pictures (Attachment A) with removable tape on backs, 2 sets of two circles on the chalkboard, 4 headings (Attachment B)
§ Go through each of the pictures and their corresponding words. Then go over each of the pairs of headings—Creates Energy/Doesn’t Create Energy, Has Energy/Doesn’t Have Energy. Tell the students that when they are at this center they need to make sure they complete both sets of circles. They should take the pictures and place them into which circle they think they belong in (i.e. For the first set of circles (Creates Energy/Doesn’t Create Energy), the picture of the sun I would place in the Creates Energy circle because I think the sun creates energy.). Once the students have finished placing all of the pictures in the circles they think are correct, they should write their name next to the heading and take a picture of their circles with the classroom digital camera. For those students who are waiting to categorize the pictures, there will be a piece of butcher paper on the floor with the heading, What do I do that uses energy? Encourage the students to use both words and pictures to add to this brainstorm.
§ Start the brainstorming on the butcher paper by helping the students come up with two words or pictures.
o Center C: Drawing
§ Materials needed for this center include: white drawing paper (12”x18”), markers, pencils
§ Show the students how to fold the drawing paper in half, then reopen the paper (so it’s divided in two). Tell the students that they are to choose an object from the sheet (Attachment A) and write the name of that object on the top of their page. On one side they are to draw what that object looks like when it doesn’t have energy, and then on the other side they are to draw what that object looks like when it does have energy. Each object should get a fresh, new sheet of paper. They have to choose one object from the sheet, and then the rest of the objects can be anything they can think of.
§ Model an example to show the students—take a new sheet of paper, fold it in half, and write “T.V” on the top of the page, along with your name. On the left side, draw a T.V. with the screen blank. Write NO underneath this picture, symbolizing this is what you think a T.V. looks like without energy. On the right side, draw the same T.V. with a picture on the screen. Write YES underneath this picture, symbolizing this is what you think a T.V. looks like with energy. Verbalize your thought process as you go through this, and then leave this example for the students to reference.
· Divide the students into three equal groups and give the students about 10 minutes in each center. It would be great if these centers could be done when there are volunteers present in the classroom, to help at Centers B and C.
· To close the lesson for the day, have the students gather around the butcher paper brainstorming on the floor and read through what the students added to the ENERGY and What do I do that uses energy? papers. Collect the digital camera, voice recorder, and pictures to go through and assess where the students are at and what they know about energy already.
Day 2: Lesson Closure
· Gather the students on the carpet and post the ENERGY brainstorming paper on the board so all of the students can see it. Tell the students that there are many forms in which energy can exist. Energy is everywhere and in everything we do. Show one or two of the pictures from Center B yesterday, where the students categorized the pictures as Has Energy/Doesn’t Have Energy. Clarify that it was sort of a “trick”—that all of these objects have energy. Introduce that for the next week, we will be focusing on energy, but when we say energy we are going to mean a specific kind of energy.
· Write the phrase Save Energy on the board. Mention that you know that yesterday they had to record what they thought it meant to save energy, and ask if any students would like to share with their classmates what they said. Saving energy is a phrase used by society to mean “using less electricity and fuel.” Leave the students with the fact that we will be exploring how we use energy (Ask what we mean by energy to reinforce we mean electricity and fuel.), how we can use less energy, why we want to use less energy, and how we can help remind others to use less energy.
Assessment:
This lesson is designed to be a pre-assessment for the unit. By having the students participate in all three centers, I will be able to assess a student’s knowledge of what it means for an object to have energy/not have energy and what that might look like (Center C), what objects might be energy sources and what objects might have energy (Center B), and how the students would define certain key words for this unit (Center A).
