This unit is anchored in the science vision statement of the New Haven Public School curriculum standards and frameworks. The principal objective of this unit is to use an interdisciplinary approach to prepare creative, critical thinkers who are able to use the scientific method and other problem-solving techniques as we study energy and the environment. This unit will provide the elementary school teacher in a dual language program with a framework that closely matches district-wide goals of literacy and numeracy to the study of energy, engines, and the environment focusing on integrated language arts, math, science, and library/media curricular standards. The list includes standards in the areas of scientific inquiry, life science, technological science, ecology, and historical perspectives in science.
This unit focuses on energy by allowing children to explore and become familiar with different sources of energy, its acquisition, transport, and how its use affects the environment and our lives. Through the use of concrete examples that contextualize and make meaningful a few energy principles and processes involved in their day-to-day living, students are able to understand how energy is an essential and integral part of why things work. Therefore, as we uncover and discover the world that surrounds us, we explain the reasons that the different forms of energy work the way they do and how it affects our everyday life in the classroom and at home.
A list of student, teacher, and electronic resources is provided for the implementation and extensions of the unit.
(Developed for Integrated Language Arts and Science/Social Studies, grade 2; please see Guide entry for recommended courses and curriculum areas)
