The following lessons represent a sample of the different elements that are part of this unit and with the main goal of having second language students understand and interact with the content regarding engines, motors, and the environment through a second language in a cross cultural environment. The main goal of these lessons is to develop second language academic proficiency. For such a purpose, close attention is placed upon key concepts, outcomes, assessments, appropriateness of language, lessons developed with the L2 learner in mind, and selected vocabulary.
As part of the concept development strategy, three types of lessons are demonstrated: 1) concept comprehension (presented in L1), 2) integrated group lesson, and 3) second language development.
Concept Comprehension: L1
This part of the unit will be introduced in linguistically homogeneous groups during the Language Arts block. This block of time is scheduled daily with the purpose of working on literacy on the dominant or L1 language. The reason to introduce this unit during this block of time is to provide students with the main concepts of energy, motors and the environment in the language they can best understand. This lesson will activate prior knowledge, and provide the student with some of the content concepts and vocabulary. Most importantly, because instruction is in their dominant language, the focus is placed on higher order thinking.
Integrated Group Lessons
Most of the unit will be implemented in mixed heterogeneous groups. The make up of each of the two separate groups (English and Spanish components), is of 50% L1 dominant and 50% L2 dominant students. Each of these groups will work through the rest of the lessons. Half of the integrated class in each of the classes will receive instruction during that week using L2. During one week, each of these groups receives all the lessons in one language (Spanish) while the other group is receiving instruction in the other language (Spanish).
Because the concept comprehension lesson was introduced in their first language, and then the groups were mixed 50/50, the students now have some prior knowledge activated and will be able to relate their new knowledge, some of the vocabulary, and more importantly, some foundation of the concepts to be explored throughout the unit.
Second Language Development
This component of each of the lessons is the most important one, given the type of a program in which it will be implemented. In order to ensure that all students acquire content area in their second language as they develop bilingualism and biliteracy skills, emphasis is placed on the linguistic goals to be met throughout the unit. This means that close attention is placed on listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Therefore, these lessons not only provide some key vocabulary, but also have explicit grammatical structures, and linguistic elements that are based upon district Language Arts standards. Those standards targeted as part of this unit can be found in Appendix A.
Key Concepts
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- Energy plays a key role in all facets of our lives. It plays an integral part of who we are and what we do.
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- Energy cannot be created from nothing and cannot be destroyed.
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- There are two types of energy: renewable and non-renewable.
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- A society cannot maintain economic growth and subsist without energy.
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- Societies are dependent on energy production and use. Without energy we cannot enjoy the advances of a technological society.
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- Without some form of energy, “raw” materials cannot be transformed and be utilized for their intended usage.
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- Everything we consume makes usage of energy in the production and manufacturing process.
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- Energy is needed to run machinery, to produce work or make more energy.
Introduction
In order to activate students’ prior knowledge of what energy is and the importance that it has in our lives, the unit will begin with the two poems I wrote and that are listed in Appendix C. These poems and the key concepts targeted in each lesson will be revisited throughout the unit and written on the blackboard. The key concepts will anchor the activities that follow and children will be able to explain in their own words the statements.
Having read the poem a couple of times, the teachers begins by finding out through questions what students know about energy, engines, and their importance. Some of the guiding questions could be:
What would happen if there were not light? What do cars and buses need in order to run? What happens when we turn on the switch? What does a light bulb (computer, television, elevator, etc.) need to work? What would happen if electricity did not exist?
As children freely respond, the teacher writes down the comments and makes a list of what the children know, and talk about. This will be repeated at the completion of the unit to evaluate how much information the students have gathered.
Next, the teacher will show the students three of the key concepts that will direct the discussion prior to a hands-on activity that will follow the whole class mini-lesson on renewable vs. non-renewable forms of energy:
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- Everything we consume makes usage of energy in the production and manufacturing process.
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- Energy cannot be created from nothing and cannot be destroyed.
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- There are two forms of energy: renewable energy and non-renewable energy.
The energy magnifying glass
Some traditional books, such as
Little Red Hen
can be read through an “energy magnifying glass”, focusing on the different types of energy that are either used by the characters, the different seasons when the story takes place, and the machines that are used throughout the story. This can serve as an additional way of bringing key concepts to life through story telling.
At the beginning of the story the Little Red Hen finds some grains of wheat. Because none of her friends help, she plants the grains and takes care of them through the spring and summer seasons all by herself. This is the perfect place to begin looking at the importance that the sun plays in the growth cycle, the seasons, the wind patterns. How the wheat converts the sunlight into the food allowing it to germinate, grow, and produce seeds, which will be the crop that once milled will allow her to make the bread she needs to feed herself so she can do her work. Here, the children will begin to understand that the energy is transferred from the sun to the plant, to the animal, to the person. That energy is not destroyed but transformed.
In this story we also have two forms of renewable energies being used, the sun as the plants chemically convert light, and the water mill where Little Red Hen brings the wheat to be turned into flour. Additionally, we can observe her working using different tools such as a hoe and a wheelbarrow, converting it into kinetic energy. When she bakes the cake, we can assume she is using wood, coal, or electricity. Thus, a simple story such as this can be used as the springboard to bring the children’s attention to the different types of energy that there are and how important they are in our lives.
Concept Comprehension
L1
Title: Renewal versus non-renewable types of energy
Students classify different types of energy as either renewable or non-renewable, as we look at how the objects make use of the energy, and why it is important. This lesson will be taught in the students’ dominant language first, as a whole class, followed by an activity where students will work in small groups.
To begin students will be offered a set of pictures including everyday objects (i.e. plant, car, giraffe, light bulb, internal combustion engine, campfire, wind turbine, snowcap mountain) and discuss how each of the objects makes use of either a renewable or a non-renewable source of energy. At the completion of this lesson, the students will come up with two groups of cards, one for renewable and another for non-renewable energies. This lesson can be later repeated by adding different cards. Once the students have a clear understanding of the difference between both forms of energy, each of them can be subdivided based on different sources of energy.
Performance Task I- Sources of Energy
The lesson plans have been further broken down into tasks and have been written with the student in mind. The descriptions give the student a clear understanding of what they are expected to do, how they have to do it, and how they are going to be assessed. The students will receive copies of the assessment by which they will evaluate their own work.
The performance tasks are to be given to the students prior to the beginning of the task. It is the road map that the student, will use to be able to perform what we are asking them to do. As part of the process the students will also be able to preview the assessment tool by which they will be evaluated. Please look at Appendix B for a sample of the rubrics.
Background: 86% of the energy consumed in the United States comes from nonrenewable sources of energy (i.e. fossil fuels) while only 14% comes from renewable sources. Energy produced from fossil fuels creates problems because of pollution and because there is only a limited amount in nature.
Task: You will work with your group in drawing, and writing a list of all the animals, machines, and objects you can think of. Afterwards, you will use the computer to access the World Wide Web to list the major sources of renewable and non-renewable energy. Finally, you will classify them according to what type of energy they make use of.
Purpose: To list the major sources of renewable and non-renewable energies and sort all the animals, machines and objects in your list into categories according to the type of energy they use.
Procedure: Access http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/whatsenergy.html
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- Read about the types of energy.
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- Create a list of the major sources of non-renewable energy
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- Create a list of the major sources of renewable energy
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- Brainstorm and write a list of as many machines and objects as you can.
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- Classify those machines and objects according to the type of energy they consume
Audience: Classmates and teacher
Assessment: Please see Performance Task Listing/Categorizing - Appendix B
Extension: Classify the machines and objects according to the source of energy they use (i.e. by oil, coal, natural gas, sun, etc.)
Home-School Connection: Students make a list of all the objects in their homes that make use of energy.
Integrated Lesson
Title: From mechanical to electric energy
Students will be able to demonstrate how mechanical energy is transformed into electric energy through the use of a dynamo. This lesson will be a demonstration lesson taught with a mixed group of students.
First, we will begin reading the poem
La energía es fundamental
. Next, we will read the following key concepts and look at ways in our lives that we use energy.
- Energy plays a key role in all facets of our lives. It plays an integral part of who we are and what we do.
- Societies are dependent on energy production and use. Without energy we cannot enjoy the advances of a technological society.
Energy cannot be created from nothing and cannot be destroyed.
We will follow by talking about how mechanical energy can be potential and kinetic. This will be modeled through the traditional game of a spinning top and the string used to make it turn. As a class, we will write a simple definition and look at how mechanical energy can be turned into electricity. Some examples of this can be a crank radio and a bicycle dynamo. A good technical drawing of all the components can be found at http://bwc.hkcampus.net/~bwc-ch/bicycle_dynamo.htm.
This is an important lesson in that a dynamo or electric generator is a key component of all the machines and the foundation of a technological society. This is in fact due to Michael Faraday’s discovery of the dynamo in 1831. Its function is that of converting one form of energy into continuous electricity.
Because of the availability of many kits to build a dynamo, we will follow Faraday’s lead and as a class we will build our own using one of the kits. We will also experiment with a dynamo bicycle light and a flashlight that makes use of a crank to light up a bulb.
We will finish the lesson by doing a shared writing activity where we will write down as a class some of our observations and what we learned. We will also look for machines that make use of a generator.
Second language development
Title: From wind to electricity
Students will be able to name the parts of a wind turbine, demonstrate how it works and how the wind power is transformed into electric energy through the use of the turbine. This lesson will be taught in the student’s second language.
First, we will begin with a shared reading activity of
El Viento
(Solano, 1986) and create an experiential chart about the wind. At the completion, we will be reading the key concepts of the unit.
- Societies are dependent on energy production and use. Without energy we cannot enjoy the advances of a technological society.
- Energy cannot be created from nothing and cannot be destroyed.
- Energy is needed to run machinery, to produce work or make more energy.
Next, we will take a tour of the multilingual Danish Wind Industry Association World Wide Web site pages related to
Wind with Miller
. Here we will be able to see an overview of the many interactive activities designed for children that explain the construction, elements needed to create a wind turbine and how they work. One of the most important advantages of this site is it can be accessed by the teacher in four different languages. Thus, the English component teacher can have all the students going over the activities in English, while the Spanish component teacher and students can access the activities in Spanish.
Performance Task II-Wind energy
Background: Our society depends on energy. Energy produced from fossil fuels creates problems because of pollution and because there is only a limited amount in nature.
Task: You will work with your group to create a schematic diagram of a wind turbine.
Purpose: To name the major components of a wind turbine, explain what is the purpose of each of the components in the production of energy and how a wind turbine works.
Procedure: Access http://www.windpower.org/es/kids/index.htm
- Click on “curso acelerado”.
- Create a list of the major components of a wind turbine
- Make a drawing of the wind turbine – aerogenerador and write the labels of each of the components.
Audience: Classmates and teacher
Assessment: Please see Performance Task Schematic Diagram- Appendix B
Extension: Create a schematic diagram for each of the components and label its components with a small description of their function.
Home-School Connection: Students make a list of all the objects in their homes that make use of energy.
Related L2 vocabulary: dibuja - draw, escribe - write, partes - parts, componentes – components
Core vocabulary: aerogenerador - wind turbine, torre - tower, gondola - nacelle , transformador – transformer, rotor, cimentación - foundation
Extended vocabulary: caja de engranajes (multiplicadora) – gearbox, veleta – wind vane, anemómetro - anemometer, motor de orientación – yaw motor, eje principal – main shaft, generador – generator
Specific language structures addressed (scaffold oral expression): ¿Cuáles son los components de…..? Los components de ……son…..¿Para qué sirve el/la……? La/El …… sirve para……
And then there were more
The following would be the sequence of the follow up lessons that would continue our exploration of different types of energy in our lives. Most of them do focus on renewable forms of energy, even though they account for a minimal amount of energy production to satisfy the need that out society has. However, it is an important part of this unit to explore the effects that our fossil fuel dependency has on the environment. One way of demonstrating this through the lessons is to focus on how much cleaner is the use of renewable sources of energy as compared to fossil fuels and other forms of non-renewable energies.
The following lessons will share the same structure as the previous ones and are here listed as extensions. All of them will begin with a poem or a book, followed by the key concepts to be discussed. Then, we will discuss what we learnt in the previous lessons and will relate what we are about to learn to our lives. When we begin to discuss the sun as a source of energy, we will be able to relate it to our own experiences. For example, how hot the water in a bottle gets when we leave it in the sun, just the same way as when we heat it on the stove.
There are great web sources that not only discuss the concepts, but also integrate graphics and sounds in an interactive way that make learning that much more exciting and fun. Please refer to the electronic resources listed on the back of this unit.
From Solar to Electrical
The sun is the cleanest and the most abundant source of energy. If we were to exploit the amount of energy that the sun produces in one minute, we would be able to meet the world’s energy needs for one year.
Students will follow Task I or Task II above using solar energy as the concept to explore. Students will explore Environmental Education Exchange site on solar, thermal, chemical, and photovoltaic energy http://www.eeexchange.org/solar/frameset.htm Later, students will experiment with a photovoltaic cell to make a light bulb work.
Energy Consumption Around the World
Students locate on a map the top five energy-producing countries.
Students locate on a map the top five energy-consuming countries
Graphing Energy Consumption Around the World
Students read a graph showing the amount of total energy consumed by each of those countries.
Students read a graph depicting the sources of energy consumption for each of those countries.
Last Word
Because of the lack of materials in Spanish, I suggest the teacher make tapes of non-fiction books in order to provide the student with many opportunities to listen to the principles involved. These could be used at the listening center after they have been introduced to the class. The following is a list of suggested strategies to meet the goals and objectives of this unit.
Language arts: Introduce the story as a read-aloud, focusing on listening skills, doing a shared-reading lesson, whole class, in guided-reading with smaller groups of students (make a copy of any of the stories in book format). As a listening center, taping a story. As a written prompt, consider re-writing a story like Little Red Hen bringing it up to the new millennium and have her using all non-renewable sources or only renewable sources of energy.
Art: Making new gadgets that use some of the components of wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, generators, etc.
Science: Comparing the temperature of rooms at school that face South or North. Make a prediction. Collect data. What is the difference? Why? Conclusions.
Social Studies: Timeline of inventions related to energy, maps, find places of birth of key inventors listed on this unit.
Games: Make a set of cards with the name of the scientist and the major invention or accomplishment they are known for. Create a series of bingo cards with different types of energy. Match games with sources of energy and different types within that source.