Curated OER
Energy
Wow! Colorful and simple, these 160 slides introduce the various forms of energy, along with a relevant image. Some of the images are animations, which help beginning physical scientists to visualize the flow of electrons or energy! This...
Science Matters
Solar Energy
The solar energy industry in the United States added more jobs in 2015 than the oil and gas extraction and pipeline industries combined. With the field growing so rapidly, it's essential to understand what solar energy is and how it...
Teach Engineering
Household Energy Conservation and Efficiency
Are your household devices eating up a lot of energy? Pupils investigate household energy efficiency through a set of activities. They find ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce consumption. This is the 21st installment of a...
American Chemical Society
The Periodic Table and Energy-Level Models
Teach your class to think of electrons as tiny packets of energy that travel in waves. Through a short video and diagram, participants see how electrons are located around the nucleus of an atom. They then get into groups and try to...
National Geographic
Conserving Energy through Grid Modernization
After learning about the technology of grid modernization, middle schoolers investigate its effectiveness in energy conservation. This is accomplished through a collaborative research assignment, resulting in a written summary and...
Science Matters
Forms of Energy
The amount of energy Americans use doubles every 20 years. The first lesson in a 10-part series teaches scholars about different forms of energy. They rotate through five stations with hands-on activities or experiments at each in order...
PHET
Energy Skate Park
Apply the concepts of conservation of energy to a skater to introduce a fun way the concepts apply to real life. Scholars build tracks, ramps, and jumps then analyze the various types of energy and friction. For an added challenge,...
Science Matters
Thermal Energy Flow in Materials
The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth instructional activity in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal...
Curated OER
Applications of Energy to the Real World
As an introduction to the concept of energy, this interesting and informative resource would be a terrific addition to a unit. Although there is quite a bit of information presented about kinetic energy, potential energy, and related...
Curated OER
Geothermal Energy in Latin America
Here is a wonderful series of lessons designed to introduce learners to the variety of renewable, clean energy sources used by people all over the world. Geothermal energy is the resource focused on. This particular sources of energy...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How is Flowing Water an Energy Source? Activity A
Here is a fun little exploration of the potential energy potential of falling water. Learners drop water from various heights using a straw, and they analyze the diameter of the splash. Pair this with two more activities of the same...
Teach Engineering
Energy Basics
Power up your lessons with an energetic resource. Scholars learn about work, force, energy, and power. They consider the relationships between these quantities through hockey puck scenarios and make calculations using formulas.
Teach Engineering
Energy Forms, States and Conversions
Even magicians can't make energy disappear. In a discussion-based lesson plan, young scientists learn about energy forms and conversions. They see how energy is neither created nor destroyed; it just changes forms. This is the 11th...
American Chemical Society
Exploring Energy
When asked to list everyday objects that require energy, most people list technology that use batteries or electricity. Through hands-on exploration, young scientists discover energy is much more than just circuitry. They play with...
Physics Classroom
Name That Energy
Many upper level tests require pupils to interpret written descriptions of scientific principles. Scholars practice the skill by working through three levels of difficulty. Each question covers kinetic energy, gravitational potential...
Concord Consortium
Energy Levels of a Hydrogen Atom
Tired of blowing up countless balloons to illustrate orbital shapes around an atom? Give your lungs a break and use an interactive instead! Learners observe s, p, d, and f orbitals through the first four energy levels using hydrogen as a...
Curated OER
Energy Misconceptions
The plan is that future physicists take an "Energy Misconceptions" quiz before completing a series of activities that are focused on energy concepts. The activities, however, are not outlined in this resource; only the quiz and detailed...
Smarter Balanced
Renewable Energy
Renewable and non-renewable energy sources are the focus of a series of activities that prepare learners for a performance task assessment on energy. Groups identify the various sources of energy and classify these sources as either...
Curated OER
Use Concept Maps to Teach the Transfer of Energy
Practical tips, lessons, and ideas for teaching the transfer of energy.
Teach Engineering
Energy Forms and States Demonstrations
Does a tennis ball have energy? What about a bowling ball? Demonstrate concepts of different forms of energy forms and states with a variety of objects. Using the equations for potential and kinetic energy, learners determine the amount...
NOAA
An Ocean of Energy
Young biologists trace the path of the sun's energy through marine ecosystems in the second part of this four-lesson series. Building on prior knowledge about producers, consumers, and decomposers young scholars are introduced to the...
University of California
Work, Energy, Power, Momentum
Planning a physics unit on energy can take a lot of work, luckily this instructional presentation is here to help. Covering everything from work and energy to elastic collisions and the conservation of momentum, this comprehensive...
Tech Museum of Innovation
Energy at Play
Get the ball rolling and challenge your class to figure out how to make a ball move. The instruction segment is between two STEM activities devoted to doing just that. The first is simple and involves making a ball move from some force...
Tennessee Valley Authority
Renewable Energy Sources
Not all energy sources are renewable, as learners investigate in this unit. Made up of six lessons that span a few weeks of instruction, the unit has learners examining US energy reserves and consumption, using data to draw conclusions...