Energy Stewardship
Essential Questions and Big Ideas
What is Energy?
What are non-renewable and renewable energy resources? What is energy stewardship? What is energy conservation and why is it important? What is energy efficency? What is global warming? What are causes and effects of global warming What is climate change? What does sustainability mean? How do individual and community decisions and actions impact the environment? |
What is Energy? What are non-rewable and renewable sources of Energy?
Students Teaching Students
Students worked in small groups to research their assigned energy source. The yet created a tree map on their source which included: a description of the source, advantages, disadvantages, and interesting facts. Upon completion, each group presented their energy source to the rest of the class.
Common Core Reading Standards for Informational Texts: RI.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. RI.5.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently. |
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What is Energy Conservation? What is Energy Efficiency?
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Home and Classroom Energy Audit Students conducted classroom energy audits in their home and in our classroom to determine how much energy we use each day, week, month and year. An energy cost comparison was conducted on 60 watt incandescent, compact flourescent, and LED bulbs. We discovered that an incandescent 60 watt bulb burning continuously for one month costs $14.86, a 60 wattt CFL costs $3.52, and an LED costs $3.27.
We learned that we can conserve energy by turning out lights and we can be energy efficient bu using CFL or LED bulbs. |
What is Global Warming? What are the causes and effects of Global Warming?
Reading Informational Texts
Students completed 4-5 reading and response assignments to research the causes and effects of global warming and climate change as well as how to take better care of the environment. Students were allowed to select from a varity of non-fiction texts. Students completed a Reading Response and Reflection after each reading. The reflection consisted of four open ended prompts focusing on opinon of text, facts and details, interesting information, and information to use in persuassive essay.
Students were encouraged to create drawing to assist with comprehension. RI.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. RI.5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. |
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Individual and Community Impacts on the Environment. What can we do?
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Persuassive Writing We started with a read aloud of Hey Little Ant. Students identified persuasive elements of the story and we identified the meaning of persuade. Then we looked at some examples of persuasive writing by other fifth grade students. We used a rubric to critique the examples.
Finally we were ready to start planning our own persuasive writing. The persuasive map was used to pre-plan and organize information. The first and second drafts were composed and edited by a peer and/or teacher. The final drafts were typed on the computer. Completed essay were displayed on bulletin boards and became part of the Earth Day Garden Tour. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information. a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose. b. Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details. c. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically). d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented. |
Math Problem Solving: How many plastic forks does Hale Kula throw in the trash?
We were horrified and amazed to learn about the island of plastic trash floating around the Pacific Ocean and washing up on our beaches. We decided to investigate the amount of plastic we throw away in our school lunches. First, we brainstromed individually, about how to figure out the number of forks thrown in trash daily. What data did we need? How would we get it? What would we do with it? Then we brainstromed as a group and came up with a plan to collect the data. Finally, we each used the data to determine, on our own, how many forks and how many pounds of plastic we throw away every year at Hale Kula.
Common Core Math Standard Math.MP.1 - Make sense of problems and perservere in solving them. |
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Energy Stewardship Glogsters
Click on the Glogster thumbnails below to view each.
Earth Day: Student Garden Tour
Earth Day from Rachel Armstrong on Vimeo.