Teacher & Student Materials > Powering a Warming Planet
What are our energy sources
135 minutes
In this lesson, students will learn about the transformation of kinetic and potential energy to electricity, the major energy sources including fossil fuels, and the importance of fossil fuels. Students will also understand that the transition to new energy sources is a long and slow process.
This lesson starts with a simple demonstration and students brainstorming what energy can we use to rotate the turbine to generate electricity. Then, students will learn about how engines and thermal power stations work. An important part of the lesson is for students to learn about how hydropower and wind power stations transform kinetic and potential energy to electricity. After a quick introduction to a variety of energy sources, students will work in groups to explore the three types of fossil fuels: what are they? Why are they important? How are they used? Students will also learn about energy use from a historical perspective: the change of energy sources is a slow and long process, and that’s why we cannot immediately give up using fossil fuels.
The use of fossil fuels is the major source of greenhouse gases and climate change.
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The hoover dam in the Quenching the Thirsty Planet unit.
Student worksheet 1.3 Fossil Fuels”
Student worksheet 1.3 How much energy do we use?
Materials: Teacher slides 1.3 What are our energy sources?
Start the lesson with a series of questions to discuss with the entire class:
Discourse opportunity:
Class discussion
The key concepts addressed in this part is the energy transformation between kinetic energy, potential energy,and electricity. Note:this is a place to elaborate on the transformation of energy.
Pair and share: How is energy transformed when water moves from the reservoir to the river? (Slide 9-11）
Introduce thermal power station (slide 12) and show students a short video about how engines work (Slide 13).
Discourse opportunity:
Class discussion
Materials: Student worksheet 1.3 Fossil Fuels
Whole class discussion:
Jisgaw: Fossil fuels
There are three sections in the article: coal, oil, and natural gas. Divide your class into three groups. Each group will be assigned to read one type of fossil and fill in the corresponding column on Page 3. After the group work, ask two students to stay at the table, other students go to the other tables to learn about the other two fossil fuels. They will need to bring back now knowledge learned at the other tables and share it with their groups.
Note: Direct your students’ attention to the first paragraph of the article.
Question 2: When all students fill in the table on Page 4, finish question 2.
Note: Make sure students understand why fossil fuels play an important role in our life. Answers are provided in the answer sheet.
This activity can be organized in two ways, depending on your students’ reading proficiency. If your students are good readers, they can read all three fossil fuels and fill in the table on Page 4.
Discourse opportunity:
Small group discussion; Group presentation.
Summarize how fossil fuels are formed (slide 16). Emphasize that the formation of fossil fuels takes millions of years.
Ask students to modify their model to include how fossil fuels are involved in the carbon cycle model (slide 17).
Present and discuss the class consensus model (slide 18).
This is a suggested pause point. You can stop the lesson and come back the next day.
Materials: Student worksheet 1.3 How much energy do we use?
Read the graphs about the global energy consumption and energy consumption in the US and in Israel. Emphasize that fossil fuels are our major energy sources.
Ask students:
Students work in small groups on “How much energy do we use? What energy sources have we been using?”
Students might need your assistance in question 3. you may need to demonstrate how to draw a dot in the graph and let them dram the rest.
DP: Access to public data
Discourse opportunity:
Small group discussion
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