Lesson Plan - Power Play
Purpose: To examine alternative energy sources, properties of electricity and
how society uses and produces energy.
Grades: 5th grade and up
Equipment & Supplies: solar panel, light, blinking lights, parallel connectors,
connecting wires, wind turbine, fan, sparks, voltage probes, battery packs,
renewable energy kits, small wind turbine, alligator clips, motion detector
(optional), Renewable energy kits, Bio-energy kits, H20 cars, fuel cells, water
wheel kit, dish pan, water source
Standards:
Vocabulary: voltage, closed circuit, parallel circuit, velocity
Intro: Electricity and energy run our lives and we can’t live without it. It wakes us
up in the morning, cooks our food, allows for communication and travel, and
totally influences our behavior and survival. We are going to study properties of
electricity and sources of alternative energy.
Method: The students are divided into groups as they experiment with the
alternative energy kits and electricity kits. This class has a mixture of large group
lecture by the teacher and exploration by the students of the energy sources. The
exploratory stations can be varied and you can use the ones that meet the needs
of the group.
1. Lecture by teacher- Basics of electricity
 Electricity flows in a circular pattern and has to have a closed circuit to
work. Parallel circuits can also be built in such as the case with hair
dryer switches but still has to complete a circular path.
 Opposite negative and positive charges create electricity flow. Positive
and negative charges attract one another. To hook up 2 batteries a
positive end must be connected to a negative end.
2. Demonstrate how to test the voltage of a battery using the spark hand
held. Red probe on the positive end and black probe on the negative
end.
 Electricity is flowing from the positive end of the battery, through he
battery, out the negative end, through the black wire probe, into the
spark, out through the red probe wire and back to the battery. We have
created a closed circuit.
 Explain the uses of electricity and that voltages can be low like a 9 volt
battery, 110 for household use such as small appliances like toasters
cell phone chargers etc., 220 for large appliances such as
refrigerators, clothes dryers and air conditioners, 440 for industrial use
such as large store type refrigerators, schools and office buildings and
the voltage can be extremely high and extremely dangerous as over
3.
4.
5.
6.
head wires and power plants. Briefly explain how the stations work and
what is expected of the students when experimenting with the
alternative energy kits.
First exploratory station – Wind power. Students will experiment with
the large wind turbine. They can change the blades to change the lift
and drag of the wind, or change the wind speed and record the voltage
produced.
Second exploratory station – Solar power. At this station the students
use a solar panel to light a display of blinking lights. They can hook up
a series of panels and lights to see if they can get them all to work.
They can change the angle of the solar panel and measure the voltage
produced by the solar panel.
Third exploratory station – Small wind fan with a battery pack.
 The students will note how the battery pack and the fan connect
to create a closed circuit.
 They will hook the red wire to the red connection and the black
to black connection.
 They will note the speed (with the motion detector) and direction
of the wind.
 They can also measure the voltage of the battery pack with the
Spark voltage meter and alligator clips.
 Next the students will reverse the red/black connections and
note the wind change and direction.
Fourth experimental station – Electrocity. The students will use the
computers to play this game. They have 150 turns to build a city with
happy population, power, and community recourses. They have to
balance green sources with energy production and population needs.
They get a grade at the end in 4 categories.
7. Fifth experimental station – Water wheel
8. Sixth experimental station – Bio-energy windmill
9. Seventh experimental station – H20 cars
10. Eighth experimental station – fuel cell
Questions:
1. What are the reasons we get a low number on the voltage
reader or no reading at all?
2. What happens when you hook a red connection wire to a black
connector on the small fan?
3. What happens when you hook a red connection wire to a black
connector on the solar panel?
4. What are some practical uses for solar panels?
5. What is the voltage a battery tested?
6. What is the voltage of a combination of batteries?
7. What is the voltage the solar panel produced?
Check the voltage of the large windmill
Solar panel
Small windmill
Combinations
What are the reasons we get a low number on the voltage reader or no reading
at all?
What happens when you hook a red connection wire to a black connector on the
small fan?
What happens when you hook a red connection wire to a black connector on the
solar panel?
What are some practical uses for solar panels?
What is the voltage a battery or batteries tested?
What is the voltage the solar panel or solar panels produced?
Describe how you built your solar oven?
Explain how the solar panel cooked the s’mores?
Describe how well the s’mores were cooked?