Lesson plan:
Students will be learning about solar power through the use of: articles, graphs, slopes, discussion. The
students will first learn about the non-renewable energies that we use today, and what problems they
create for humanity. They will also be placed in groups to think about how solar energy can help us stray
away from using up these non-renewable resources. Students will learn about renewable energies as a
whole and the different counterparts that will lead us to a sustainable planet. They will also discuss why
we need the other renewable resources (as there can be more sunlight in places than others, or even no
sunlight). They will then read an article which explains the pros and cons of using solar power to fuel our
electricity. Students will debate whether or not solar energy is important to humanity, as well as what
facts (from the article) to include in their argument. Once students have made it clear to others, or the
teacher has made it clear that solar energy is actually more beneficial than it is detrimental to our
planet, students will be given tables with x and y coordinates. The X-coordinates show the amount of
energy obtained in a given day, and the Y-coordinates are the amount of days that a solar panel has
taken in energy. Students will create a graph using the coordinates and once they have graphed their
data, they will have to find the line of best fit, which is the average slope that they energy is either
increasing or decreasing by. Once the students have sketched their line, they find the slope of the line
that they drew which clearly shows whether the data they have been given is gathering more and more
energy, has been decreasing in the amount of energy obtained, or is relatively the same amount over
each day. Once students have found their slopes, they share their answers with the rest of their
classmates, discussing both what their average increase or decrease in energy is, as well as what
possible events could cause such an increase/decrease. Once students have a clear knowledge of the
mathematical data, they will be put into groups and solve mathematical equations closely related to
their solar panel. These equations will both help students with their math knowledge, but also lets them
know how much energy is obtained through the use of solar panels compared to that of what we use
today. Students will be solving equations that can include the costs of a solar panel and the maintenance
required to keep them working, the energy obtained daily, monthly, or yearly, and the amount of energy
compared to that of other fossil fuels used today. When students are finished solving the math
equations, the teacher will ask what the students learned throughout the week and what changes
should be made so that we can have a more promising future.
Day 1: Students learn about how non-renewable energies and how they are effecting our world.
Students will work in small groups to discuss how solar energy would be a better solution instead of
using these non-renewable resources.
Day 2: Students learn about all of the renewable energies and how they will help better our world. They
also discuss why we need wind and tidal energy (which the major goal is that they explain that the sun is
mostly bright in Arizona, but in other states and other parts of the world, other energies would need to
play a vital role in collecting limitless energy, such as wind and water).
Day 3: Students will learn about the pros and cons of using solar panels to collect energy.
Day 4: Students will be given a table of energy values obtained by a local solar panel and asked to find
the line of best fit, as well as the slope of their line.
Day 5: Students work on mathematical equations that are related to their graph data, as well as costs
and maintenance required to keep a solar panel at work. Students discuss what they learned and how
we can use new energies to have a brighter future.