In The Classroom
The curricular materials created for the School Power...Naturally program include 64 lessons that meet learning standards for New York State students in grades 5 through 12. For many of the lessons, you will see a sun symbol near the lesson title. This alerts you that these lessons make use of the Performance Data from the fifty schools participating in the program that have PV systems and data monitoring equipment.
Feedback from teachers is encouraged. Your involvement could help us improve lessons as needed. Give us feedback on how specific curricular activities work, or help us find new ways to use the data we are generating. Two types of Lesson Review Forms are available: one for lessons you have used in your classroom and the other for lessons you have read but not used with students.
The first four School Power…Naturally lessons are introductory Virtual Array Tour lessons to help teachers and students familiarize themselves with the PV system and data it generates, as well as prepare them for the energy lessons that follow. The PV system includes a Data Acquisition System (DAS) and software that provides information on system operation within schools in real time and in archival form.
The next 45 lessons are listed by level (Level II, lessons 1-22, are for grades 5-8; Level III, lessons 23-45, are for grades 9-12.) Within levels, the focus is on New York State 's learning standards for mathematics, science, and technology. For science, these standards include the Physical Setting and Living Environment components. Level II also has an interdisciplinary or General Energy component for subject areas other than science. Level III includes such lessons under the Living Environment's Environmental Considerations component. Level II teachers of Earth Science should examine Level III lessons that could be used at their level such as lessons 32-37. Level III teachers should examine Level II lessons that could be used at their level such as lessons 1, 2 and 6. When you examine the individual lessons, you will see that some of them make connections to disciplines other than science through the Extensions section.
The last 15 lessons are Solar Kit Lessons and are meant to be used with small PV demonstration kits that provide hands-on classroom instruction. The kit assembly instructions are simple enough for teachers to order components and assemble setups themselves. Listed in order of grade-level appropriateness from Level I to Level III, they match the New York State learning standards for mathematics, science, and technology. The Solar Kit Lessons can help teachers assist students as they inquire into such topics as:
- the motion
of the Sun across the sky
- how light
interacts with objects
- the movement
of light through the atmosphere
- how solar
panels are constructed and how they work
- the effect
of clouds on solar power
- solar electric
power system design
- the conversion
of radiant energy into electrical, mechanical, and chemical
energy
- electricity
and magnetism
- storing energy
- concepts
of work, power, energy, and efficiency
Virtual Array Tour Lessons
Lessons Level II
1. Energy Misconceptions
2. Our Dependence on Fossil Fuels
3. To Go Solar or Not to Go Solar!
4. Energy Conversion Games
5. Energy Resources: Where Are They and How Do We Get Them?
6. Energy Solutions: A Brochure
7. Junior Solar Sprint Series: Gears and Drive Belts
8. The Absorption of Solar Energy
9. How Photocells Work
10. Solar Energy in New York
11. Junior Solar Sprint Series: Electrical Power
12. The Chemistry of Refining Crude Oil
13. Junior Solar Sprint Series: Angle/Energy Amount
14. Energy for Earth: The Sun
15. Junior Solar Sprint Series: During What Part of the Day Can the Most Sun Power be Collected?
16. Heating and Cooling a Really Large Lizard
17. Leaves: All-Natural Solar Collectors
18. Leaves, the Sun, and the Water Cycle
19. What is pH and Why is it Important?
20. Using Environmental Models to Determine the Effect of Acid Rain on an Ecosystem
21. An Environmental Puzzle: The Carbon Cycle
22. The Greenhouse Effect
Lessons Level III
23. The Photoelectric Effect
24. Efficiency of Energy Conversion
25. Dependence of Light Intensity on Distance
26. Orienting a Photovoltaic Cell
27. Allocating Energy from a Photovoltaic System
28. Series or Parallel
29. The Photoelectric Effect in Photocells
30. Chemical Consequences of Burning Fossil Fuels
31. Avoiding Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Burning Fossil Fuels
32. The Sun: Earth's External Heat Engine: Astronomy Model, Part 1
33. The Sun: Earth's External Heat Engine: Astronomy Model, Part 2
34. Blocking the Sun: Earth's External Heat Engine and the Earth System
35. The Geology of Oil and Coal
36. The Geology of Oil: Topographic Mapping, Crustal Deformation, Rock Porosity, and Environmental Pollution
37. The Geology of Coal: Interpreting Geologic History
38. Temperature and the Tomato
39. Where Do Plants Get Their Food?
40. A Photosynthesis Timeline
41. Biomass Energy
42. Permit Trading
43. Considerations in Heating a House
44. Prospects for a Sustainable Energy Future
45. Heat Pollution and Communities
Solar Kit Lessons
Solar Kit Lesson #1 - Solar Cell Inquiry
Solar Kit Lesson #2 - Sunshine Timer
Solar
Kit Lesson #3 - Parts of a Solar Panel I
Solar
Kit Lesson #4 - Parts of a Solar Panel II
Solar
Kit Lesson #5 - Build a Simple Ammeter
Solar Kit Lesson #6 - Solar-Powered Battery Charger
Solar Kit Lesson #7 - Positioning Solar Panels I: Explorations with
Tracking
Solar
Kit Lesson #8 - Positioning Solar Panels II: Explorations with Stationary
Panels
Solar
Kit Lesson #9 - Properties of Solar Radiation: Reflection, Transmission,
and Absorption
Solar
Kit Lesson #10 - Properties of Solar Radiation: Direct and Diffuse
Light
Solar
Kit Lesson #11 - Power Maximum: An Electrical Determination
Solar
Kit Lesson #12 - Calibration Curve for a Radiation Meter
Solar
Kit Lesson #13 - Solarize a Toy
Solar
Kit Lesson #14 - Solar Cells as Control Devices
Solar
Kit Lesson #15 - Solar-Powered Electrolysis of Water and the Hydrogen
Economy
Lesson
Review Forms (optional):
1) Read and review a lesson without using it with students (148kb .doc)
2) Review a lesson you have piloted in the classroom (148kb .doc)
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