Clean Energy Topic: Human Impacts
-
When and Why Do We Build Dams?
Students will demonstrate basic understanding of electricity generation and basic components of a hydroelectric dam. They will research, design and test turbines for hydroelectric generation. Students will research and defend(opinion stance) various people groups and social justice factors(tribal rights, salmon protection & energy access) connected with water storage, flood/irrigation support and electricity production/distribution.
-
Renewable City
This Renewable City Unit aims to help students dive in and actively explore sustainability, renewable resources, and how they might personally help solve our climate change problem. As students use multiple methods for investigating, creating, and thinking about these critical issues, they will be encouraged to develop pliable minds and action-oriented skills to address climate…
-
Community Project
Students decide on a community project they’d like to do to personally help with climate change or energy justice.
-
Tragedy of the Commons
In this lesson, students will engage in a simple game in order to model and understand Tragedy of the Commons. During the game, students discuss their ideas about sustainability.
-
Hydropower Dams: Learning Through Stakeholder Research
Students will take on the perspective of different stakeholders that are involved in hydropower development. They will use their scientific understanding and the needs of that stakeholder to communicate varying positions on the development of new dams.
-
Socratic Circle and Climate Change Phenomena
Students analyze their own ideas about climate change and sustainability using a Socratic Circle discussion then investigate a phenomenon to further make sense of climate change. Students’ ideas help shape their understanding of climate challenges and give space for discussion around what an equitable, sustainable community looks like.
-
Designing a Renewable City Model
Students will use their collective understandings built throughout an entire unit of sustainability topics to develop their own sustainable city. This lesson uses a variety of visual and physical hands on tools for students to make their ideas and climate solutions come to life. Students will wrap up their development by presenting their “Renewable City”…
-
Idea Game Generator
Students will select a combination of geogrpahies and technologies to be tasked with developing “land art.” In this process, they will creatively plan the integration of these technologies into the land in a way that allows for environmental and societal benefits. This planning activity can be launched into a larger unit of engineering design or…
-
Methane to Music
Students explore the phenomena of a Ruben’s Tube powered by renewable gas to understand how humans impact the flow of carbon in earth’s atmosphere. The lessons include topics of decomposers in a food web, compost, municipal waste, the and the carbon cycle.
-
Carbon Cycling and Human Impact
Students create a visual model of the carbon cycle with notation of carbon sinks and movement. They use this model to predict changes in carbon movement based on human activities.