Shed light on the beauty of language with a great poetry activity. After learning about Austin Kleon's blackout poetry model, pupils respond to some of his poetry and use it as a model to produce their own. Young writers also share their...

Students read news reports and first-person accounts of a blackout in a large city and keep weblogs or journals. They take on different roles of people who live in the city or commute there to work and then use their journal accounts to...

Introduce young poets to Blackout Poetry. Much like Found Poems, Blackout Poetry challenges scholars to rethink the process writers may use to craft their poems. After watching a short video in which poet Austin Kleon describes his...

Students discuss the importance of power grids in power generation. In this physics instructional activity, students explain the impact of power failure. They investigate the power blackout in 2003 and discuss their findings.

After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...

Students describe the impact of modern technology inventions on daily life. They create a graph of the class's favorite item of technology and draw a picture of their favorite piece of modern technology.

What do Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Amanda Gordon have in common? They all believe in the power of words—the power of words to create change. After analyzing the rhetorical strategies in several poems and speeches,...

Students reflect on the role of electrical energy in their daily lives. They consider ways in which they might prepare for a blackout. They examine role of energy deregulation in the August 2003 blackout. Finally, they present this...

Students explore the concept of electricity in this activity based unit.  In this physical science lesson, students focus on electricity and electrical engineering. The teaching unit includes 5 activities to develop students...

Extra! Extra! Read all about past and present energy use in a classroom-made historical newspaper. Useful as a cross-curricular assignment between science, history, and language arts, the project is sure to get young journalists...

Students read an online CNNfyi.com article related to the energy crisis in California. They calculate the monthly cost of running household appliances. They develop a list of alternative methods of energy sources.

Middle schoolers investigate the correlation between our planet's weather and solar activity. They analyze and discuss data regarding the solar activity cycle, graph annual precipitation and temperature averages over a period of 100...

High schoolers study the causes of electricity shortage in California in 2000-2001. In this social studies lesson, students evaluate the effect of the deregulation process. They discuss the actions taken by the government to solve the...

Young scholars examine the relationship between solar activity and the Earth's geomagnetic field in producing the phenomena known as aurora borealis (Northern Lights) by reading and discussing "Earth, Wind and Fireworks." students graph...

Learners use the Internet to discover what electricity is and how it is made. They examine a site that discusses electricity and magnetism. They discover the ways electricity can be generated.

Young scholars brainstorm a list of electrical devices used in their home. They read an article about electricity usage in a heat wave. In groups, they create public service announcements promoting energy conservation. They share their...

Students research and assess past, present, and future decisions related to energy shortages by focusing on the California energy crisis as a case study. Students develop their own news articles about decisions that need to be made...

Students learn about human blood pressure. In this biology lesson plan, students gain an understanding of the relationship between hypertension and it's risk factors, demonstrate how pressure builds up in clogged arteries, and measure...

Junior high and high school learners study infrastructure and its relationship to the current economy. They review handouts, watch a PBS clip, and review case studies in order to answer provided questions and role play over...

For this dialogue about science and technology worksheet, students read aloud in pairs questions and answers about science and technology.

Fifth graders explore how the war affected American children. In this social studies lesson, 5th graders discuss how quotes made people feel about the war effort. Students write reflections on their reading.

Students complete a simulation on power grid reliability check. In this physics instructional activity, students discuss the consequences of power grid failures. They complete a simulation worksheet.

In this comprehension worksheet, pupils read The City of Ember introduction and chapter 1 and answer multiple choice questions about it. Students complete 14 questions.

Students write journal entries about eclipses with a focus on solar eclipses.