Energy Notions

This lesson is based on a focus group that was sponsored by SmartPower of RI. The goal of this focus group was to try and understand how individuals think about traditional and emerging energy technologies.

One really interesting finding from this study is that many people have a very hard time thinking about where our country might get its energy from once oil, coal and other resources run out.

In fact, a shocking result of this survey was that many people thought that after non-renewable fuels were exhausted we would be heading back to 18th Century technology using biomass as our major fuel to make fires.

 Energy Notions Lesson (PDF) - 0.5 MB

Helpful Links/Materials for this Lesson

SmartPower.org - This lesson was based on research done by SmartPower, a research and advocacy group trying to increase the amount of renewable energy that people use in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic States.

Department of Energy - This is the official site of the US Department of Energy. There is a ton of really useful very up to date information here, but it can get bit dense take your time and explore. They also have a kids section which is quite well done.

MichaelBlueJay.com - Interesting website on electricity, where it comes from and how to save it. Not super reader friendly but interesting and readable information.

HowStuffWorks.com - What you expect from How Stuff Works a nice background on electricity, generators and other electrical topics, but it can get bit confusing as all the info is surrounded by piles of ads.

Energy for Keeps - A great book on electricity from renewable and non-renewable resources. One of the best guides we have ever found for teachers and well worth the price.

NEED.org - The mission of the National Energy Education Project is to create and educated body of citizens who can make knowledgeable energy decisions. They have created a dazzling array of curriculum materials at all levels to do this. Definitely check out this website!

Alliance to Save Energy - This is a nice site from the Alliance to Save Energy. You can learn about energy and electricity consumption and how we can reduce the amount we need to live our lives. Lots of lesson plans here as well!

Brain POP.com - Brain POP is a great site for science shorts. Head to this page and click on the electricity icon. The site costs a little to use but it is great.