Activity
1. Prior to class print out pages from the websites
and photocopy in class packets. If you have enough computers
in your classroom you can direct students to the sites
for them to read online.
2. As students enter the classroom, have these questions
on the board for students to respond to as best as they
can. Explain to them that they will answer them as a
group.
a. How is electricity generated?
b. What sources of electricity can you list?
c. What effect do these sources have on environmental
health? 3. Go over
the questions together. Accept all answers. These questions
should serve as a way for you to gage
your students’ knowledge about the topic. Save
the list generated by questions on the board or overhead.
4.
Distribute the handouts to your students. Students
can work in groups or individually. Ask students to
read
through the packet keeping these questions in mind (Students
can respond to them in their science notebooks):
a. How are all of these sources related? What aspect
of their function is the same?
b. Energy is often converted from one form to another.
What one source can almost all energy be traced back
to if we look far enough?
c. Any new ideas about the impact on environmental health?
5.
After students have finished, discuss their thoughts
on the reading. Students should notice that all the sources
in the reading generate their power through the use of
turbines, even though the turbines may differ in the
way they are spun. Ask students what they know about
turbines. The one source of power that drives every source
from the reading, except for tidal and geothermal, is
the sun. This idea can serve as a reminder of some important
ideas, such as conservation of energy, the water cycle,
and the chemical potential energy of fossil fuels.
Closure
Have
students fill out an exit card with three questions
that they
asked themselves during today’s class
that were not answered. They can be about the various
sources of electricity, or about turbines, or about environmental
health. These will give you an idea of how much background
knowledge the students have, what misconceptions need
to be addressed, and where their curiosity lies in order
to keep their engagement throughout the unit.
Embedded
Assessment
Prior
knowledge can be assessed through the first three questions
on the board. Through reading response and exit questions
students identify how the energy is generated, what is
often the common source of energy and what potential
environmental health hazards might be a result of electrical
energy generation.
Homework
None, although a suggestion is to have students find
an article related to electrical power, or do more
in depth research on one of the sources of electrical
power.
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