Teaching Sequence

15 minutes	Presentation
5 minutes	Closing quiz

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

1. Begin this activity by breaking the class into four groups and asking each group to think of 5 personal actions we can all take to help address climate change. Give groups 1 minute to think of their actions. Ask groups to share their suggestions and write these on the board. Suggestions could include:

Ride your bike or walk
Catch the bus/public transport
Eat less meat
Buy less stuff
Buy secondhand or share
Save water
Use less energy
Use renewable/green energy

Looking at the suggestions, discuss with your students which actions feature the most. Focus your discussion on energy, discussing the following with your students:

How often does energy feature?
What suggestions about energy were made?
What role does energy play in helping to fight climate change?
What is renewable/green energy?
What role does renewable energy play in fighting climate change?

2. In the next part of the activity, students will work in groups to investigate the role that alternative energy takes in helping fight climate change. Break the class into 6 groups and give each groups one of the following renewable forms of energy to explore:

Solar panels
Wind turbines
Hydropower electricity
Biomass for making fuel
Geothermal for making electricity
Electric cars

Students should spend 20 minutes investigating their energy type and creating a short (1 minute maximum) Prezi presentation on the energy type they are investigating. The presentations should include:

A description of their renewable energy and the technology used;
How and where this technology is currently being used;
What are the problems with this technology (e.g. does it have technological limitations or does it have community opposition);
How is this energy renewable and how does this energy help fight climate change?
Supporting images or video.

Ask students to share their presentations with the class. Students can use the Peer Assessment Rubric to assess the presentations of other groups.

Reflection

Students should complete the quiz on the Student Worksheet. Set a stopwatch to 5 minutes, and ask students to swap their completed with another student for marking.

Homework

Choose one or more of the following:

1. Ask students to complete the PMI chart (available on the Student Worksheet).

2. Invent a new type of renewable energy:

Working independently or in groups ask students to create a new form of alternative energy that they would like to use. For example, students students could create a way to harness the energy generated from riding bikes. How could that energy be captured and used to power, for example your laptop or charge a battery on the bike that helps you motor up the hills as you ride?
It doesn’t matter too much if the energy they create is not a realistic or viable idea; the aim here is to encourage your students to think creatively about alternative forms of energy and to justify the technologies they suggest.
Students should create a marketing brochure for their energy, describing the main features of their energy, what technology it uses and how it will help fight climate change.
Consider asking students to share their ideas with the class.

Extension

Ask students to find create a glossary for the renewable energy they are investigating. This glossary can be shared with the class.

Earth Hour - Climate Change and Renewable Energy

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