Kathleen C. Rende
Introduction
Any child who has had a ride in a car or a bus has a basic understanding that there is something that makes that vehicle go. They understand that you have to turn a key before you push on the pedals to move, and they have probably gone with a parent or caretaker to “gas up” the car so they know that fuel is required to make the car go.
The New Haven Public school science standards states that “students will develop an understanding of personal and community health, of the characteristics of changing populations, of the ecology of and uses of natural resources, of changes in environments, and of the uses of science and technology in addressing present-day local and global challenges”
(section 6.0, New Haven Public Schools Science Curriculum Standards). Energetic Energy
introduces students to these and many more concepts through an interdisciplinary unit aimed at engaging students in the scientific process. As they explore throughout the unit, they will be required to talk, write, draw, measure and calculate the concepts of this unit.
Unit Sequence
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1. The students will explore the idea of energy by creating models with the teacher of energy transforming into heat, then energy changing the composition of wood to waste.
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2. The students will explore the idea of a need for fuel to make a Stirling engine.
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3. The students will explore the idea of a need for fuel for the human body as they learn about different kinds of food and how they affect the body.
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4. The students will apply the idea of food converted to energy then to waste. This idea will be further explored as the topic of wood burning that creates waste is reintroduced.
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5. The students will briefly explore fossil fuels (oil and coal) and the engines that burn them to gain an understanding of where most of the United States energy comes from.
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6. The students will explore alternative energy and compare that with fossil fuels to determine what would be a more responsible choice for energy.
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7. Finally, the students will apply the idea of responsible energy choices to choices about the foods they put into their bodies.
