Electrical Energy LessonPlan
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TOUCHSTONE ENERGY ® Kids Super Energy Saver Program DESCRIPTION: This lesson plan is centered on understanding how energy is used and how electricity is generated. The lesson involves a set of activities that can be done at school and available at www.TouchstoneEnergyKids.com. GOALS/OBJECTIVES: This lesson provides students with a basic understanding of: • Energy and electricity • How energy is generated and used • How electricity is delivered to a home or school TEACHING NOTES: Energy is the ability to do work or perform tasks. Energy can be found in many different forms. The most common forms of energy are light, heat, sound and motion. Our bodies use energy every day to do things like walking to school or picking up a pencil to write something. We also use energy in our homes, schools and communities to power the lights and heating/cooling systems. This type of energy is created by electricity generated in power plants and from renewable energy sources. Electricity is generated when millions of electrons transfer their energy along a wire. Electric power companies, like Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, make the electricity and then transport it to your home using their power distribution lines. Electricity is generated by using energy from different types of fuel. The burning of coal, wood, oil or gas are the most common types of fuel used to generated electricity. However, electricity can also be generated by harnessing the power of renewable sources like water, wind and solar power. Once the electricity is generated, it is transferred along cables to a substation transformer that sends it to your home through distribution lines. Round containers called Line Transformers, convert the high energy in these lines to a lower energy suitable for use inside homes and buildings. We use this electricity in our homes for lights, cooking and watching TV. We also use this electricity to run the furnace, the air conditioning and water heater. Energy Page 1 of 3
description
Electricity
Transcript of Electrical Energy LessonPlan
TOUCHSTONE ENERGY®
Kids Super Energy Saver Program
DESCRIPTION:
This lesson plan is centered on understanding how energy is used and how electricity is generated. The lesson involves a set of activities that can be done at school and available at www.TouchstoneEnergyKids.com.
GOALS/OBJECTIVES:This lesson provides students with a basic understanding of:
• Energyandelectricity• Howenergyisgeneratedandused• Howelectricityisdeliveredtoahomeorschool
TEACHING NOTES:
Energy is the ability to do work or perform tasks. Energy can be found in many different forms. The most common forms of energy are light, heat, sound and motion. Our bodies use energy every day to do things like walking to school or picking up a pencil to write something. We also use energy in our homes, schools and communities to power the lights and heating/cooling systems. This type of energy is created by electricity generated in power plants and from renewable energy sources.
Electricity is generated when millions of electrons transfer their energy along a wire.Electric power companies, like Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, make the electricity and then transport it to your home using their power distribution lines.
Electricity is generated by using energy from different types of fuel. The burning of coal, wood, oilorgasarethemostcommontypesoffuelusedtogeneratedelectricity.However,electricitycanalso be generated by harnessing the power of renewable sources like water, wind and solar power.
Once the electricity is generated, it is transferred along cables to a substation transformer that sends it to your home through distribution lines. Round containers called Line Transformers, convert the high energy in these lines to a lower energy suitable for use inside homes and buildings. We use this electricity in our homes for lights, cooking and watching TV. We also use this electricity to run the furnace, the air conditioning and water heater.
Energy
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TOUCHSTONE ENERGY®
Kids Super Energy Saver Program
TEACHING NOTES (Continued):
Ifanelectricchargecaneasilyflowthroughsomething,itisreferredtoasaconductor.Mostmetalsare considered conductors of electricity. Water is also good conductor of electricity and that means so is the human body. Since our bodies are made up mostly of water, electricity can easily move through our bodies on its way to the ground. If an electrical current can not easily pass through an objectit’scalledaninsulator.Mostnon-metallicitems,likerubbersandplastics,areconsideredinsulators.
Electricity travels at the speed of light, so if a person comes in contact with electricity he/she will feeltheelectricaljoltimmediately.Electriccurrentflowingthroughyourbodycancausedamagetoyour nerves and tissues, so it’s important to be very careful around electricity.
How Electricity Gets to Your Home or School
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TOUCHSTONE ENERGY®
Kids Super Energy Saver Program
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:
Havestudentsvisitthe“• Energy Facts” section of www.TouchstoneEnergyKids.com. This could start out as a class activity, and become an individual or small group activity. Havetheteacherclickeachofthethreepicturessothekidscanseewhatisthereandtalk about it collectively. Then let each student choose one thing they learned from each icon and draw their own picture which describes them, either from scratch or using one of the coloring pages from the third icon on the web site. For example, in the Energy Saving Tips maybe it was planting a tree, and in the Renewable Energy section maybe it was the windmills. The student(s) could then incorporate both of these into one of the “EnergyColoringPages”soittellsastory.Havestudentslookaroundtheroomandidentifyalloftheitemsthatrequireenergy.•(Ex: lights, computers, heat, electric clocks, etc.) The teacher can compile the list for all to see or have each student write the list. This list can then be referred to, expanded upon, and utilized in other activities.Havestudentscompletetheenergywordsearchonthe“SuperEnergySaver”activity•sheet. Then have students work in groups of two to craft a paragraph that uses all the words at least once, and tells a story about how to conserve energy.Havestudentsread“• Josh and Sarah’s Electric Adventure” and create a book report. (www.touchstoneenergykids.com/storybook.php) First, have students discuss their ideas as a class and help students construct a general outline. Printoutthe• TogetherWeSaveHome and have students circle all of the items that requireelectricity.(www.togetherwesave.com) Then have each student write or describe at least one way they could help conserve energy with each item. Expand this activity to involve the whole class – each student shares one idea and the teacher keeps track, displaying the ideas collectively.
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