Module 4: We Love Our Energy
We Love
Our Energy
UNDERSTAND
Objective: to understand that humans use energy every day to do and make all kinds of things
Vocabulary: power
Reading: Earth Hour
Movement Activity: The Three Sisters Dance
Earth Friends Lesson
Module 4: Lesson 2
Begin Lesson
move & discover: 8 minutes
Earth’s Energies
This is a repeated activity the children can do at the beginning of the lesson each week. This will help familiarize them with the different sources of energy that Earth provides.
We get energy to make and move and change things from Earth through our land, water, air, and sun.
LAND: Stomp your feet. Feel the land. We can dig up fossil fuels, like coal and oil, that we find buried deep down underground and burn them to make energy from fossil fuels. We can also pump up very hot water or steam that we find deep underground to make what is called geothermal energy.
WATER: Can you move your body like a wave? Throw your hands up in the air like a big, tall wave. Now let your hands come down like a wave crashing. That's called hydropower energy and that comes from moving water. Water moves from up to down, like waves on the ocean or falling down a waterfall. There is a lot of water all over Earth that can give us energy.
AIR: Can you blow on your hand in front of you? Can you feel the air move on your fingers? The air is full of wind, and wind makes energy that we call wind power. Changes in Earth’s air temperature make wind.
SUN: Close your eyes. Can you see? The sun gives Earth a lot of light. We need light to see, and light also gives us energy. It's such a bright light we can't look right at it, but it can sunlight up our world and we can make that light into energy through solar power.
Curious Question
I wonder what we use energy for. What things move? What do we make?
Allow the children to share what they think uses energy.
Main Lesson
Humans use energy every day. We need energy to make things move and go and work. We call this energy power.
Power is for:
turning lights and devices and tools on and off
moving trucks and cars and boats and planes
making things in factories
heating and cooling our homes and buildings
sit & learn: 5 minutes
The Three Sisters Dance
This movement activity is an opportunity to introduce children to traditional ecological knowledge by learning about the Three Sisters Dance that Indigenous cultures use to celebrate and honor the growth of corn, beans, and squash plants for food.
Materials Needed: bean, squash, and corn seedlings
Preparation: Either in a large space indoors or out, clear out an area for dancing.
We are going to use our energy to dance for our plants. A long time ago, before humans had factories and big farms, we had to grow all of our food. Indigenous peoples were very close with the land, and they danced to help their most important plants grow. These plants are called The Three Sisters, and we are growing them too. We are growing corn and beans and squash. We are going to honor the energy these foods give us by dancing and sharing our energy with our plants. Corn grows tall for the beans to climb. Beans give the corn and squash nitrogen to make healthy soil. Squash shades the soil to keep it moist and keep predators away from the corn and beans.
Play music and allow the children to dance for the plants. Dancing may look like anything, so allow every move as long as it respectful of others and the plants.
Closing Sentiment
Humans use energy for all kinds of things every day. We need power for our houses and cars and to make our things. We also need food to power our bodies.
move & discover: 7 minutes
placed
based
You can invite an indigenous person from your community to come in and share their knowledge of the 3 Sisters or what their peoples did to help plants grow.
Use the photo book to show the children the different kinds of energy we get from land, water, air, and sun.
End Lesson
Teachers in the Classroom
Teacher Activity
Energy Detectives
Walk around the classroom and ask the children to find out what uses energy. What is moving? What do we turn on and off? What is growing?
Examples: humans, animals, toys that move or roll, lights, heat or air, toys that turn on and off, mobile devices, plants.
Throughout the Week
Discuss: the ways the classroom is using energy each day. When are we not using energy?
Explore: the energy you can find outside in nature. What energy comes from the sun? What energy comes from the air? How about water?
Create: a toy incline. Using blocks or tubes or books (anything found in the classroom or outside), create an incline to see how toys (vehicles, balls, blocks) roll and slide down an incline faster than when they move across the floor. Which one has more power?
Reading: Earth Hour
Vocabulary: energy, power
Good Choices
I can pay attention to when I'm using energy to do things.
I can watch how things move and ask an adult where the power comes from.
I can learn about the fruits and vegetables that come from where I live.
Vocabulary:
energy: Energy makes things move, change, and grow.
power: Humans use energy every day. We need energy to make things move and go and work. We call this power.
Families at Home
Discover: what in your house uses energy. This week, the children were energy detectives at school. You, too, can walk around your home and find out what uses energy. Prompts: What is moving? What do we turn on and off? What is growing? Examples: humans, animals, toys that move or roll, lights, heat or air, toys that turn on and off, mobile devices, plants.
Explore: energy in nature. No matter the weather, you can find a source of energy in nature. The wind can move things. The sun can provide heat and light. Lightning is nature's electricity and thunder is a wave of sound. Water is always flowing.
Create: a tin can phone line with a friend. Many of us do not have landlines anymore, but this is still a great way to show how sound waves (a form of energy) travel.
Materials Needed: 2 tin cans without lids; 6 ft. of string or twine; 2 paper clips; a friend to talk to
First, ask 2 people to stand about 6 ft. apart and talk into the tin cans without the string.
Next, poke a hole into the center of each can (you can use a hammer and nail or a drill to do the job). Then thread one end of the string through each hole and tie a paper clip to it (this prevents the string from slipping back out after too many tugs).
Now, ask 2 friends to stand apart and talk into the tin cans to see what happens. Did the sound change? What happens when your hand is on the string? What about if you pull the string tight.