E X P E R I E N C E
Name of Project:
Power to the People
Subject/Course:
Pre-AP Physics
O V E R V I E W
page 1
Duration:
8 days
Grade Level: 11th
Teacher(s): Kenric Davies
Other Subject Areas:
Unit Goal for Student:
Summary of the issue,
challenge, investigation,
scenario, or problem:
Students will be asked to produce a working model generator (i.e. wind generator, hydro generator, etc)
that makes use of electromagnetic induction as part of a proposal to a city government for implementation.
Enduring
Understanding(s)
New discoveries have the power to change how the world progresses.
Essential Question(s)
How does a new piece of technology become socially influential? How did the discovery of
electromagnetism change the world?
Curriculum Standards Bundle (Stage 1)
Content and Process
Standards (TEKS) to be
taught and assessed:
Highlight those targeted for
depth.
112.39 (c)
2E, 2K, 3B, 3E, 5D, 5G
5D - identify examples of electric and magnetic forces in everyday life;
5G - investigate and describe the relationship between electric and magnetic fields in applications such as generators, motors,
and transformers
Other Required Standards
to be taught and assessed:
(i.e. CCRS, Graduate
Expectations, Local
Objectives, etc.)
CCRS
ELA – I.A, II.B, III.A, V.C
MATH – I, II, VIII.C
SCIENCE – I.E, II, III.A&C, IV, V.B, VIII.C,D,E,& I
S. STUDIES - V
Authentic Learning
Elements to be integrated:
Check all that are targeted
in this unit.
Provide authentic context that
reflects the way the knowledge will
be used in real-life
X
Provide multiple roles and
perspectives
X
Promote articulation
Provide authentic activities
X
Support collaborative construction of
knowledge
X
Provide coaching and scaffolding
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X
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Provide access to expert
performances and the modeling of
processes
21st Century Skills/NETS
to be taught and assessed:
X
Promote reflection
Creativity and Innovation (NETS 1)
X
X
X
Communication and Collaboration (NETS 2)
Critical Thinking/Problem Solving (NETS 4)
A S S E S S M E N T
Entry Event to
launch inquiry,
engage students:
Assessments
Summative
Assessments:
Major Products
and/or
Performances
Resources Needed Materials:
Resources:
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Information, Media, or ICT Literacy (NETS 3)
Life and Career Skills
X
Digital Citizenship, Technology Operations and
Concepts (NETS 5and 6)
(STAGE 2)
page 2
Hook introducing the event
Teams of students will act as representatives from energy companies and will be tasked with coming up with a workable solution to a
city’s energy problem. They must develop a proposal for a plant that can generate electricity for the city, including a working model and
cost estimation, and present their proposal to a city committee to compete for a city contract.
Formative
Assessments
(During Learning)
Reflection
Methods
Provide for authentic assessment of
learning within the tasks
(Individual, Group,
and/or Whole Class)
Finished projects will include a written proposal, an oral presentation to a committee, and a working
generator model.
Classroom discussion, group discussion monitoring, student roles with group teaching
Magnets (one per group), wire if needed
Access to area wide maps showing terrain, Access to experts in engineering (city engineer) and electricity (power
company)
Students will work in groups and will reflect on their learning and experiences with in these
groups. Each student will have a specific role in the group and will have the opportunity to
reflect on how their contributions helped the group achieve their goal.
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L E A R N I N G
E X P E R I E N C E S ( S T A G E 3 )
This unit will take a total of eight (8) days to complete and will break down as follows:
Day 1: Students will be given the project information including the timeline and grading rubric. Students will be
given the opportunity to brainstorm, both as a class and in groups, ideas about what is already known about
generators and the local area.
Day 2: Students will be given time to work in groups on their design for the power plant. Mini-Sessions (15-20
min content sessions) will begin for the various roles in the group including
 Engineer – Magnetism and Intro to Electromagnetism
o Engineers will explore magnetic fields and poles through the use of compasses as well as seeing
Faraday’s initial discover of a current carrying wire creating a magnetic field.
 Planner – Maps of the City
o Planners will investigate areas surrounding the city for possible places to build their power plant and
will learn about zoning requirements.
Day 3: Student work and mini sessions continue.
 Engineer – Magnetic Flux and Faraday’s Law
o Engineers will explore the idea of magnetic flux and how it pertains to Faraday’s Law of
electromagnetic induction. Engineers will build their own galvanometer.
 Architects – Drafting and Design
o Architects will be given a helping hand in the areas of drafting blueprints and design elements for the
power plant
Day 4: Student work and mini sessions continue.
 Engineer – Electric Motors and Generators
o Engineers will investigate electric motors and discuss how these are similar to generators.
 Presenter – Presentation Methods
o Presenters will learn about different presentation methods including but not limited to Powerpoint and
Prezi. Time will also be allotted for discussing citation of resources both verbally and parenthetically.
Day 5: Student work and mini sessions continue.
 Engineer – The War of the Currents and the Transformer
o Students will learn about the war between Edison and Tesla for the country’s power transmission and
how the transformer was what gave AC current the advantage.
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Day 6: Student work and mini sessions continue.
 Presenter – Presenters will attend a session with the school board president who will discuss presentation
etiquette.
Day 7: Group evaluations and formative assessment.
Day 8: Student groups will present to a panel of judges to “compete” for the city contract.
 Panel includes Clay Barnett – Sherman City Engineer, David McGinnis – CEO of Grayson County Electric
Coop
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
After having completed this project once, it became apparent that there was no accountability on the students
who were not designated to be “engineers” to learn the physics. Each student was able to be consumed by their
project role that there was no overall desire or motivation to learn the physics. I believe that this is, in part, due to
the incredibly short time frame (8 days including one day of presentations) for a project of this scale. One way to
fix this problem would be to offer more formative assessments during the work days. One of the ways that this
could be accomplished would be in the way of short quizzes, possibly exit tickets, over what was discussed in the
engineering meetings one or two days after that meeting. I tried to integrate this project into my flipped classroom
which opens up another avenue for formative assessments in the way of online videos/quizzes to be completed
by all participating group members.
My original intent for this project was to show how influential electricity and power generation became to
society once the ability to mass produce and transmit it became financially possible. If you look at the Enduring
Understanding and Essential Questions, they follow this original intent and would be, in my opinion, possible if
you have more time to commit to this project. What this project ended up becoming for my students was a
showcase of how a group of people all with different specialties can come together to solve a problem. Each
person brings to the table abilities and knowledge that need to be applied and worked through in order to develop
a solution that is workable and adheres to all set constraints. I believe that this is actually a somewhat more
important lesson for the students that fits directly in with the 21st Century Skills and Authentic Learning elements.
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