Construct the Building Blocks of Your Green School
Unit Plan for Baker Credit
Mandy Kern
Objective: Through an electricity unit, taught during a high school agriculture mechanics class,
students will also gain an understanding and appreciation for energy conservation.
Goals: At the completion of the unit, students will be able to:
1. Identify renewable and nonrenewable resources
2. Compare and contrast alternative energy sources
3. Calculate the amount of energy (in watts) that different appliances at home and school
use.
4. Record energy usage while utilizing thermometers, watt meters, and light meters
5. Complete an energy survey for the a classroom in the high school and identify changes
that a teacher can make to make the room more energy efficient
State Approved Agriculture Mechanics Course Profile
XI. Electricity in Agriculture
3 2 1 0 1. Identify common used tools and equipment in electricity
3 2 1 0 2. Properly demonstrate the use of electrical tools
3 2 1 0 3. Distinguish between AC and DC currents
3 2 1 0 4. Identify common terms used in electricity
3 2 1 0 5. Understand the basic fundamentals in AC wiring to NEC code
3 2 1 0 6. Calculate the number of watts used by a device or a circuit (M)
3 2 1 0 7. Calculate the number of watts-hours used by a device or a circuit (M)
3 2 1 0 8. Calculate an electrical bill for a given set of devices (M)
3 2 1 0 9. Draw various wiring diagrams for different circuits
Kansas Science Standards:
Benchmark 3: The students will understand the basic interactions of matter and energy.
Indicators: The students will understand:
10 4. Electrons flow easily in conductors (such as metals) whereas in insulators (such as glass)
they hardly flow at all. Semiconducting materials have intermediate behavior.
5. There are different forms of energy that change from one form to another.
Kansas Math Standards:
Standard 1: Number and Computation
Number and Computation – The student uses numerical and computational concepts and procedures in a
variety of situations.
Benchmark 3: Estimation – The student uses computational estimation with real numbers in a variety of
situations
Benchmark 4: Computation – The student models, performs, and explains computation with real
numbers and polynomials in a variety of situations.
Standard 2: Algebra
Algebra – The student uses algebraic concepts and procedures in a variety of situations
Benchmark 2: Variables, Equations, and Inequalities – The student uses variables, symbols, real
numbers, and algebraic expressions to solve equations and inequalities in variety of situations.
Day 1
Anticipatory Set:
Modified from The Everything Green Classroom Book by Tessa Hill
Generate power from a potato
Materials Needed:
● One low-voltage LED clock
● Two zinc-coated galvanized nails
● One large potato, halved
● Two short pieces of copper wire or two pennies
● Three long pieces of insulated copper wire
Remove the battery from the clock
Poke a nail into each half of the potato
Poke a piece of copper wire (or penny) into each potato. The wire and nail should not
touch
4. Use a long piece of wire to connect the copper wire of one potato to the positive terminal
of the clock’s batter compartment
5. Use another wire to connect the nail in the other potato to the negative terminal in the
clock’s battery compartment
6. Use the third wire to connect the nail in one potato to the copper wire in the other potato.
7. Try the experiment with other foods (lemons, pickles), light a bulb, etc
Activity Validation:
Almost everything has energy or can be used to help create it. This will serve as an introduction
to students that alternative energy sources can and should be sought out to help relieve our
current energy consumption.
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Instruction:
Energy PowerPoint – Key Terms
● Electricity Defined, Light, Heat, Conductor, Insulator, Amp, Volt, Watt, Ohm’s Law,
Magnetism and Electricity, Circuits, Electrical Safety
Engaging Activity – Smart Board (SB) Activity
1. Take the definitions of Watt, Amp, Voltage and mix the words on SB
2. Students work in pairs to rearrange the words to create what they believe to be the
electricity term definitions
3. Provide examples of each type of measurement
Activity Validation:
It is important to know the difference between amp, volt and watt before students can take an
energy audit of appliances and the school classrooms. Students need to understand how to
calculate wattage and know how to use equations and find missing values amp x volt = watt
Video Resource:
From unitedstreaming.com by Discover Education
Inserted into PPT instruction after appropriate slide/term
● Generated Electricity: Understanding Electromagnetism
● Inside a Power Plant: Understanding the Power of Electrons
● Understanding How a Light Bulb Works
Review:
Energy is as much a part of everyday life as water and air, but where does it come from? How
does it impact the environment? How can people create it and use it more responsibly?
Day 2
Anticipatory Set:
Modified from Project Learning Tree- Renewable or Not?
● Hand students several green and orange sticky notes
● Green sticky notes should be placed on items in the classroom made from renewable
resources
● Orange sticky notes should be placed on items in the classroom made from nonrenewable
resources.
● Check answers to see if all students agree with color codes
● Identify what renewable resources could be used to replace those made with
nonrenewable resources
Activity Validation:
High School students often know what resources are renewable and nonrenewable, this will give
them a chance to apply their knowledge and also a chance to show them some innovative new
products – especially agriculture bi-products like ethanol, soybean crayons, corn plastic, etc.
Instruction
Power Generation: Key Terms
● Generators, Turbines, Electromagnetism, Energy Use, Supply and Demand,
Environmental Concerns with Power Generation, Use of Natural Resources, Renewable
and Nonrenewable resources
Rotating turbines attached to electrical generators produce most commercially available
electricity. Turbines may be driven by using stream, water, wind, or other fluids as an
intermediate energy carrier. The most common usage is by steam in fossil fuel power plants or
nuclear power plants, and by water in hydroelectric dams.
Power Generation:
1. Coal – Most common source of electricity world-wide
2. Nuclear – Industry and method of energy production from nuclear fission. Nuclear
reactions generate thermal energy or heat which is converted to kinetic energy by means
of a steam turbine and then a generator for electricity production.
3. Solar – Just the tiny fraction of the Sun’s energy that hits the earth (around a hundredth of
a millionth of a percent) is enough to meet all our power needs many times over.
4. Wind – We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propeller
on the top. The wind blows the propeller round, which turns a generator to produce
electricity.
5. Water – A dam is built to trap water, usually in a valley where there is an existing lake.
Water is allowed to flow through tunnels in the dam, to turn turbines and thus drive
generators.
6. Geothermal – hot rocks underground heat water to produce steam. We drill holes down
to the hot region; steam comes up, is purified and used to drive turbines, which drive
electric generators.
Have a class discussion talking about each one individually making sure students know where
the power comes from and how it causes the generator to turn and transmit the energy.
Show how power is produced from start to finish. Key Terms: generating station, transformer
(step-up and step-down) and distribution. Notice what happens at transformers.
http://www.adogreencom
Lab:
With a grant I received – I will be purchasing Power House: Sustainable Living in the 21st
Century Science Kit. I have not seen the kit yet, but it claims to come with 70 hands on
experiments and 20 building projects. A model green house that is energy efficient and selfsustaining can be built. The kit focuses on the heat and light energy from the sun, the energy
from the wind, as well as with electrochemical and plant energy. You will learn how to transform
and use these forms of energy.
Activity Validation:
The green industry is rapidly growing and is a very realistic career option for students studying
agriculture mechanics. This will allow students to physically see the difference that renewable
energy sources can make in electricity production. The model house can be operated with wind
energy, a living roof can be planted and solar panels can be installed.
Conclusion/Review
●
●
Review the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources
Read from p. 70 in Project Learning Tree starting with “When people recycle or reuse
natural resources….
Day 3
Anticipatory Set
Students will each complete the Household Emissions calculator found at
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html
Activity Validation
The calculator will allow each student to estimate the current total household emissions, explore
actions that can be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and waste disposal and
provide them with a dollar amount for taking reduction actions.
Instruction
Watt Does it Cost?
Modified from Environmental Science Activities Kit by Michael L. Roa
● Using the student handouts in the book – students will look at a variety of appliances
within the classroom and their homes and record any electrical data (amp, volt, watt) the
appliance provides
● Students will use the equation amp x volt = watt and convert into KW/hour
● Utilizing information from utility bills, students will then figure how much it costs to
operate the appliance for the average amount of hours and kw/hour the appliance uses
● Students will answer the questions on the back of the student handout.
Activity Validation
Students will use math skills using equations in an applied manner and also see what the true
cost of electricity is for several small and heavy energy users in the home and school. Students
will learn how to search and find energy requirements for appliances and how to determine how
the electric company determines their household bills.
Lab
Using wire demonstration boards – students will correctly wire several sets of switches, lights,
outlets. Students will be introduced to the Rules of Thumb for wiring electrical circuits – if these
are followed in order, most electrical items can be wired.
1. Connect the white (ground, neutral) wire from the source to the load (it should not be
connected to any controlling devices/s)
2. Connect the black (hot) wire from the source to the first controlling device.
3. Connect the black (hot) wire from the last controlling device to the load.
4. Connect the controlling devices
5. Connect the green or bare (ground, grounding) wire from the source to all controlling
devices and the load.
Activity Validation
This is one of the mandatory course indicators that is to be taught during a high school
agriculture mechanics course. After learning about how electricity is generated and sources of
power, students can learn a life skill that they can use in their own homes to make minor repairs.
Conclusion/Review
Student Pages from Activity 39 – Energy Sleuths starting on p. 169 in Project Learning Tree will
be used
● Each student will draw one of the energy source topics (fossil fuels, oil, biomass,
hydropower, etc) and read the short description
● Write a song, story or rap to share with classmates over their energy source
● Must include availability, technologies for extracting or processing it, economic
potential, pros and cons of its environmental and social impacts
● Will be shared during next class period.
Day 4-6
Anticipatory Set
Students will share the song, story or rap that they started at the end of the previous class
Instruction
As a class – we will conduct an energy audit of the agriculture education building. We will use
the forms from Project Learning Tree’s online lesson and student handout.
http://65.109.144.97/GreenSchools!/Energy%20Elementary%204-24-09.pdf
Reducing energy use saves natural resources and can save your school money. This investigation
will help you find out what uses the most energy at your school and ways that energy is wasted.
It will help you find ways to save energy to make your school more environmentally friendly and
sustainable. Sustainable practices are those which meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Materials Needed:
Kill-A-Watt EZ, Light Meter, Thermometer
Once the audit is completed – we will discuss our findings as a class – identifying things like
how many foot candles are being used in the classroom and what the recommended amount is for
reading and learning. We will also create an audit of the outdoor facilities – with external lights,
signs and the agriculture department greenhouse. We will then create an energy audit
recommendation – much like what we would receive from a professional.
Assessment:
Each student will choose a classroom within the high school. They will make an appointment
with the teacher for a time that will best work for them and using the materials, complete the
energy audit from the online Project Learning Tree lesson. They will create a recommendation
form for each teacher for way that classroom can reduce its energy consumption and save the
school money.
Students will be assessed on the accuracy of their data, reliable readings, professional interaction
with classroom teacher, and realistic energy audit recommendations.