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Inspiring Change – at home and
at school |
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In a Nutshell:
Students review the causes and effects of greenhouse gases,
and then look at energy use and conservation practices in their
homes and at school. This lesson includes three activities: a
home energy audit, a transportation campaign, and an investigation
in the school. Each of these activities offers students the opportunity
to develop a plan to conserve energy and/or reduce emissions. |
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Goal:
To increase awareness of energy consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions. |
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Background Learning:
Teachers should be familiar with the basic
science of climate change, potential impacts, and possible solutions
as reviewed in:
Teachers may want to check out some of the
sources we drew upon in developing this lesson:
Intermediate level students should be familiar
with the basic science of climate change as reviewed in:
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Learning Outcomes:
Click on the icon for your territory to review the learning outcomes that are addressed by this lesson:
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Introduction to Lesson Plan:
This lesson has been divided into three activities: a home energy
audit, a transportation campaign, and a school action plan. Teachers
may choose to do any or all of the activities.
If the students have not done any activities about climate change,
greenhouse gases, or energy consumption, review the basics with
them, as outlined in Intermediate Backgrounders #1 and 2.
You might find it helpful to refer to High School Backgrounders
#2 and 3, and Intermediate Backgrounder #3 in your preparation
for the lesson. For intermediate level students, you may choose
to make copies of the intermediate backgrounders for the students
to read themselves.
Once students have a basic understanding of the causes of climate
change as outlined in Intermediate Backgrounder #1, you might
ask them to brainstorm what things may be affected by climate
change and why this would be of concern to us. If students need
some guidance, you might put some key words on the board, such
as ice, water, land, animals and plants. Lead students to a general
understanding of the effects and to the conclusion that we can
help the environment by making responsible choices.
Download and make copies of the backgrounders and student handouts
needed for the activity(s) you’re planning to do.
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Activity:
Activity One: Home Energy Audit
- In this activity students will look at the use of energy
in their homes and ways that they can conserve energy. Have students
brainstorm and make a list of what things in their home use
energy.
The teacher could then ask the students to classify these things
as heaters (oven), motors (blender), or neither (radio). Which
group do they think tends to be the energy hog?
- Share some
of the energy saving devices available (refer to the student
handout for the audit attached to this lesson)
and
explain how these help to reduce the amount of energy used
in the home.
- There are two student handouts for this activity:
an explanatory letter for parents, and a sample of a home energy
audit. You
may wish to change or adapt them to reflect your community
situation. Have students take home the letter and “Home Energy Audit” form
and complete the audit with their parents. Give the students
a date to return the audits to school for the next part of
the lesson.
- When the Home Energy Audits have been returned to school,
divide the students into groups and have them list their
top five energy wasters and their top five energy helpers, which
can then be collated into a class summary.
- Have the groups
list their ideas on ways to reduce the energy consumption and
to make a reduction plan.
- Each student can write an action
plan for his/her family or make a poster about an energy saving
tip. These tips can be
put
together to make an Energy Saving Booklet that each student
could take home to share with their family. Another possibility
would
be to have each student work with their family to come up
with an action plan that the student describes and submits in
writing
or pictures. Plans could include: actions, time frames for
completion, and who is responsible.
Activity Two: Transportation Campaign
-
 In this activity, students will learn about vehicle emissions
and how we can reduce the production of greenhouse gases by
our choices. Students will create a campaign to help the people
in
their community understand and make those choices.
- Have a question and answer period with the students about
car pollution. Depending on their grade and what they’ve
already covered, guide them toward the understanding of the
facts listed
below.
Transportation Facts:
- When we drive cars and other vehicles with engines, pollution
is released into the air from the exhaust pipe. Sometimes
we can see or smell the fumes. These fumes are “emissions,” because they are emitted or sent into the air.
- Vehicle emissions contain carbon dioxide, the second
most common greenhouse gas. It has no color or smell. Scientists
believe
that carbon dioxide is the main cause of climate change.
- Vehicles create carbon dioxide because they burn
fuel (gas or diesel). The more fuel that is burned, the more
carbon
dioxide that
is released into the air.
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There are over 15 million cars, trucks and other vehicles
driving around our country – that’s a lot of
fuel being burned!
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Ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting your engine
(idling = leaving your engine on when you’re not
driving, just waiting for somebody or something).
- Idling causes unnecessary emissions and is not better
for the engine (like many people believe).
- One busload of passengers takes 40 vehicles off
the road, saving 70 thousand litres of fuel.
- Vehicles with smaller engines produce fewer emissions.
- Carpooling reduces the number of vehicles on the
road and therefore reduces emissions.
- Walking or biking eliminates the production of greenhouse
gases.
- Have students create a campaign to reduce vehicle emissions
in their community. Ideas for a campaign might include:
- Writing letters to parents and friends
- Putting up posters for students and staff in the
school (encouraging them to walk, bike, carpool, or take
the bus)
- Making a sign for the school parking lot (about
idling)
- Putting up posters in community areas (public library,
etc.)
- Making notices for their parents to post in their
workplaces
- Creating educational stories, poems, or dramas to
share with others
- Learning about electric and solar powered cars
- A survey of the number and types of vehicles bringing
students and staff to school
- Teachers may wish to contact another northern community
class or a class in a more populated southern community such
as Vancouver
to see if they would be interested in completing the activity
together. Ideas and accomplishments could be shared through
the student exchange
portion of the website.
Activity Three: Reducing Energy Consumption at School
- In this activity, students will be looking at ways a school
can reduce its’ energy consumption. They will be identifying
current practices at the school as well as identifying new ways
to conserve. Students will also look at ways to monitor the school’s
energy consumption and how they can help in this area. Begin
with a brainstorming session where the students list ways that
they
see the school conserving energy. List questions the students
may have about energy conservation in the school as well. For
example,
what types of light bulbs are being used?
- Next, send groups of
students off to check with a variety of people in the school
to find out about energy saving methods
being used. They may wish to talk to the principal, the secretaries,
the custodians, the recycling club members, and so on. Once
the students have regrouped, have them share the information
that
they gathered.
- Ask students how they can help to reinforce the energy saving
methods in the school or if they have ideas for new ways of
conserving that are not being currently used by the school.
- Have students form an Energy Watch Team to assist with the
reduction of energy consumption. (Action plans could include:
actions, time frames for completion, and who is responsible.)
-
 As an Energy Watch Team, the students may participate in a
number of activities:
- A “Bright Ideas Squad” could be on the
lookout for energy waste and could write up proposals for
new energy
reduction plans and present these to the administration.
- A “Light Patrol” could make “Switch Off” reminders
for the light switches around the school. This group could
take responsibility for turning off lights that are not
in use around
the school.
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A “Heat Patrol” could monitor the classroom
thermostats and report any severe fluctuations.
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A “Drip Catchers Group” could make posters
for the water source areas reminding people about conservation.
They
could also check for leaky taps or other water wastage
and report their
finds to the administration.
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A “Teaching Group” could prepare a presentation
on how we can conserve energy at school and at home. They
could
construct models out of recycled cardboard to demonstrate
their ideas. Other
presentations could discuss the use of solar power
and wind. This group may wish to investigate local energy
conservation
practices,
such as wind turbines or solar panel uses.
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Handouts:
Click on the icon for the complete set of handouts that support
this lesson:
Student Handout #1: Home Energy Audit Parent Letter
Student Handout #2: Home Energy Audit |
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Student Web-Exchange:
On the student
web-exchange, students could challenge other
classes to do the Home Energy Audit and share their ideas for
conserving energy at home. Photos of posters may also be included.
Students doing the Transportation Campaign could pair up with
a class in another community and share their ideas and accomplishments
in writing and with photos.
Students could post their school action plan and some photos
of their efforts around their school. (Please note: parental
permission must be obtained before posting student photos.)
Click on the icon for information on how to post material.
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Evaluation:
Activity One: Students can submit their completed Home Energy
Audit along with a written summary, action plan, or pictures
of how they will help conserve energy at home. Students may also
be evaluated on group cooperation, contributing to the discussion
and on their knowledge of the causes and effects of greenhouse
gases, how climate change will affect their community, and so
on.
Activity Two: Students can be evaluated on their understanding
of vehicle emissions and how they contribute to global warming,
as well as their contribution to the campaign - posters, letters,
poems, stories, dramas, collection and display of data (if a
survey is done).
Activity Three: Students can be evaluated on their contribution
to the school action plan (group cooperation, letters, presentation
of staff interview results, posters, written/oral summaries of
their findings as a member of the Energy Watch Team, teaching
projects, etc).
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Enrichment Ideas:
Social Studies / Science:
Field Trip: Take students out to visit a power (or solar power)
station, electric company, or wind turbine.
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About the Author:
Rantin’ Raven is an educational consulting company established
by three elementary teachers from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
We are Catherine Hines, Ellen Johnson, and Lorrie Peterson and
together we have over 50 years of experience working with children.
Our company has self-published material specifically geared for
Math and Language Arts. We have also produced cross-curriculum
units, educational kits, and programs for various organizations.
We have made presentations and conducted workshops for Whitehorse
schools, parent groups, and at the Yukon Teacher’s Association
Conference.
Rantin’ Raven Educational Consulting:
52 Cedar Crescent, Whitehorse,
Yukon Territory Y1A 4P3
Phone: (867) 667 - 4673
E-mail: rantinraven@northwestel.net
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