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PreK-8 Activity 14 - Renewable or Not?

PreK-8 Activity 14 - Renewable or Not?

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Student Pages
Clues and Questions (pdf)

Spanish Student Pages
Claves y Preguntas (pdf)

Tech Connections
Student example of graphic organizer for natural resources 1:
     jpg format

Student example of graphic organizer for natural resources 2:
     jpg format

Student example of graphic organizer for natural resources 2:
     jpg format

Earth & Sky Radio Show Correlations
This activity can be supplemented with related Earth & Sky radio show audio and transcripts, available for free download, for use in your classroom. 
 - Joe Powell: 'Renewable energy needs more than just one silver bullet' 
 - Mark Mehos Explains Concentrating Solar Power Technology 
 - Bruce Rittman Uses Bacteria to Make Energy from Waste 
 - Christopher Flavin Says Wind Power Surging in Popularity Worldwide 
 - Janaki Alavalapati Says the Forest Biofuel Market is Evolving 
 - Janaki Alavalapati: 'Harvest trees to create energy, benefit forests'  
 - Janaki Alavalapati on Forests' Renewable Energy Potential   

Additional Resources

How Do Solar Panels Work? - In this digital interactive from the Public Broadcasting Service’s (PBS) NOVA Education, users see how solar panels work to convert sunlight into electricity. Links to related PBS NOVA videos and programs are also included.

The Scoop on Solar Power - Check out the American Chemical Society’s podcasts exploring solar power.  Two episodes examine the technology behind solar power, and two episodes describe the Solar Decathlon, an international contest in which college students around the world compete to build innovative solar homes.

Energy Quest - Energy Quest is an effort by the California Energy Commission to provide resources to teachers and students all about energy: its different forms, how it is generated, its sources and how to protect and conserve it. The Energy Quest website is arranged in easy-to-use tabs that lead to a rich, comprehensive supply of teaching material. The website’s interactive interface is useful and educational to both teachers and students alike.

Renewable Energy Documentary: Unlimited - Unlimited, a documentary by OneLight OneCamera Productions about renewable energy, highlights a group of passionate sixth-graders who call on adults everywhere to take action and address global warming. Their voices are supported with those of global warming and energy experts, who discuss upcoming and promising technologies like solar, wind, tidal power, and more. To purchase a copy of the 25-minute film, email OneLightOneCamera@gmail.com or check it out on YouTube for free.

Wind Power Information - At www.windturbines.net , visitors can join a community of wind energy professionals and access facts, maps, information, videos, and news stories about the use of wind technology worldwide.  Check out this popular video, which describes a propeller-free turbine design that can be used in residential homes.

Earth Conservation Plan (ECP) Carbon and Lifestyle Calculator
Participants can take a three minute test to determine your contribution to global climate change. Upon completion of the test, participants can then make pledges to reduce their impact and score. With each change and commitment into their everyday lives, scores are recalculated. The ECP calculator is the first carbon calculator to allow its users to save and track each calculation and pledge, so participants can refer to the data at any time – while tracking their personal improvements over time.

Photographs related to oil. At the website, click on “Statement/CV” for the artist’s statement about his artwork, and under “Works,” click on “oil” for relevant photographs.

Junior Energy - Junior Energy's mission is to work in classrooms and schools to help children discover how they can positively impact the planet by engaging their parents, family, friends and neighbors in small, simple actions.  With separate sections for students and parents, visit the Junior Energy Website to learn about simple actions you can take at home to reduce energy consumption.  There is also a section where students can submit success stories and their own unique ideas for saving energy.

Thinkgreen.com - Sponsored by Waste Management and Discovery Education, this website contains k-12 lessons, videos and interactive tools to help students rethink what they know about waste. The site also provides downloadable posters promoting recycling ideas.

U.S Environmental Protection Agency – Planet Protectors Club for Kids - As a Planet Protector, your mission is to improve the world around you by making less trash. Planet Protectors also help others learn to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Targeted for K-5 students, this website features interactive games and activity booklets for informing students about reducing waste and conserving resources, as well as helping them understand the connection between trash and climate change. Booklets are available in Spanish and English.

US EPA Wastes Website - Divided into four sections – What You Can Do, Resource Conservation, Hazardous Waste, and Nonhazardous Waste - this EPA website contains information to spark classroom conversations about waste.  For example, What You Can Do has categorized resources to help consumers generate less waste in the home, in the community, at the office, in industry, and at the store.  In Your Home tells how to make environmentally friendly choices at home by “greenscaping” yards and gardens and properly discarding household medical waste, electronics, used motor oil, and more.

EPA tools let computer users "see" air quality information on a virtual globe:
Go to the Air Emissions Sources Web site: www.epa.gov/air/emissions
View information in Google Earth format about which facilities emit any of six common pollutants: http://www.epa.gov/air/emissions/where.htm 
See AQI forecasts and current conditions: http://www.airnow.gov/
View air quality information in Google Earth format: http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=google_earth.main
EPA is also using the Google Earth platform to display Acid Rain Program data: http://epa.gov/airmarkets/progress/interactivemapping.html 

Mineral Related Resources - Free materials on mining and minerals for educators are available from the Mineral Information Institute. They include a PowerPoint presentation "The Importance of Minerals and Mining," classroom demonstration ideas, one-page activities, and more.

GeoPlatform - a website produced by NOAA, Department of the Interior, EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard. It offers map-based real-time response information to the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. The website integrates information about the oil spill’s trajectory with fishery closures, wildlife data, and place-based Gulf Coast resources into an interactive map.

Operation: Infinite Potential - Sponsored by National Geographic, this project has students working alongside leading scientists to explore the challenges of energy generation, storage, and consumption. Through research articles, labs, field assignments, videos, online games and other multimedia, students can investigate and analyze emerging technologies designed to meet the needs of an energy-hungry planet.

Reading Connections

Recycling and Reuse: Our Impact on the Planet. Bowden, Rob.Waste. ISBN 0739831801. Publisher: Raintree Publishers. 2002. In this selection from the "21st Century Debates," subtitled "Our Impact on the Planet," science series author Rob Bowden provides readers with an analysis of the issues linked to waste management. Bowden provides background in areas such as waste disposal, pollution, recycling, and reuse. Grades 6-8. 

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. D'Aluisio, Faith and Peter Menzel. ISBN 1580086810. Publisher: Ten Speed Press. 2005. What does a family of 13 in Bhutan eat? How does a family in Greenland shop for the week? These questions and more are answered in this book that examines the dietary habits of 30 families from 24 countries. Grades 6+. 

The Cartoon Guide to the Environment. Gonick, Larry. ISBN 0062732749. Publisher: Harper Collins. 1996. Covers: chemical cycles, life communities, food webs, agriculture, human population growth, sources of energy and raw materials,waste disposal and recycling, cities, pollution,  eforestation, ozone depletion, and global warming—and puts them in the context of ecology. Grades 4+. 

Material World: A Global Family Portrait. Menzel, Peter. ISBN 0871564300. Publisher: Sierra Club Books. 1995. Menzel photographed average families in each of 30 nations, posed with their possessions gathered around them. These dramatic photos ask a fundamental question: Can all six billion of us have everything we want? Grades 4-8. 

If the World Were a Village: A Book About the World’s People. Smith, David J. ISBN 1550747797. Publisher: Kids Can Press. 2002. The book reduces the world’s population to 100 people and discusses how those people are categorized. Recipient of the Notable Books for Children Award. Grades 4-8. 

Dr. Art’s Guide to Planet Earth: For Earthlings Ages 12 and Up. Sussman, Art. ISBN 189013273X. Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing. 2000. This book provides a simple yet powerful way to understand how our planet works, and what we can do about today’s environmental issues. Grades 7+. 

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