Overview: Title: Save a city with Renewable Energy!

Target Audience: 7th grade Life Science gifted Project Description: The unit will take approximately two and a half weeks to complete. The topic of the unit will be Environmental Science and Renewable Energy. We open the unit by launching the project with a Bill Nye video talking about renewable energy. The first two lessons create a foundation about the Earths atmosphere and the energy available. This is the groundwork that students need have in order to understand how the final project is relevant to what we are learning in class. The first lesson is a Benchmark lesson describing the compositions and structure of the atmosphere and how it protects life and insulates the planet. The next lessons topic is about how energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed over time. Moreover, we placed these lessons at the beginning of the unit so that students get a sense of the atmospheres characteristics, the importance of energy and what inferences the atmosphere. The last half of the week, as well as the following week are devoted to learning about the energy cycles such as the water cycle, photosynthesis, cellular respiration and the carbon cycle. These lessons are important because we will discuss the different steps in each cycle and how energy is cycled through. An emphasis will be on how energy is supplied and used. The renewable energy types will be incorporated into these lessons. One requirement of the project proposal is that they need to discuss which cycle is involved with their renewable energy source. Therefore, these lessons are pivotal for their understanding of their renewable energy source. We will also touch upon the different renewable energy sources when they are related to the lesson. There will be two days during the unit, two checkpoints, in which students will have to turn in sections of their project so that I can make sure that they are on track with their project. The first checkpoint is on the Friday of the first week. At this checkpoint, we will like for students to turn in their energy type, an outline of advantages/disadvantages, two examples of how their energy sources have been used in the past and a list of headings for their brochure. We will grade these sections, therefore we expect a hardcopy from each group. I will incorporate an investigative lesson the day after the cellular respiration lesson. This is on the Thursday of the second week. For the investigative lesson, the students will be separated into their project groups and will have access to a laptop where we will have designated pre-loaded resources about their energy mechanism. This is to help them find age-suitable material and not be discouraged by too technical explanations. This class period will give the students a chance work on their energy mechanism and ask me questions. The second checkpoint of their final project will be the following Monday. The students must turn in an outline of proposal, outline of mechanism of energy and outline of brochure. This is to assure that students will be ready for their proposal presentations on the next day, the final Tuesday of the lesson.

We incorporated an investigative lesson the last day of the first week for students to apply what they have learned thus far in the week. The first check point is the second Monday of the three week unit. We will be checking to make sure that students have chosen their renewable energy type, have an outline of advantages/disadvantages, have two examples of past energy, and have a list of headings the brochure will include. The second checkpoint is the Monday of the third and final week. At this checkpoint we will be checking for a proposal outline of mechanism of energy and an outline of brochure. The field trip is on the last day of the second week. The field trip is placed here so that students will have already reviewed and gained a strong understanding on the Earths atmosphere and what cycles are involved with making energy available and sustaining life. Therefore, when the students attend the EnergyWhiz Olympics at the Florida Solar Energy Center, they will have a strong understanding on the different renewable energy sources such as solar energy and hydropower. This site will bring to life the application of solar energy and hydrogen energy. The EnergyWhiz Olympics is a setting in which hundreds of students come from all over Florida to participate in renewable energy competitions. The events that take place include the Bright House Solar Energy Cookoff, the Junior Solar Sprint, Energy Innovations and the Hydrogen Challenge. At the EnergyWhiz Olympics, we will ask students questions about what they are observing and encourage students to ask questions to the student teams presenting the apparatuses they designed. These questions will encourage critical thinking and collaboration. Going on this field trip is both educational and a memorable way of learning about renewable energy. Student parents will be encouraged to attend as chaperons because we will be taking all of my science classes
on this field trip. Therefore, adult chaperons will be needed.

The last week of the unit will consist of one benchmark lessons as well as the presentation proposals, the brochures and unit exam. The last day of the unit will be a unit test covering the lessons from the past two and a half weeks. The last lesson will reiterate the importance of the theme of the final project which is to persuade how a specific renewable energy source can sustain a city. The lesson is about the impact humans have had on Earth, such as deforestation, urbanization, desertification, erosion, air and water quality. I also plan to touch upon how political, social, and economic concerns can affect science, and vice versa. Moreover, these final lessons will tie the unit together by looking at the factors that affect the Earth and how human have changed it over time. Science teachers, nonscience teachers, other students and parents of students will be encouraged to attend the proposal presentatons. The groups of students will present their proposal and persuade the audience to support their company and its choice to use a specific renewable energy source to sustain their struggling city. This presentation is essential because it will show us and the audience that the students fully grasp what we have been learning in class. They will apply what they have learned to this possible

futuristic scenario. By listening to their peers, students will learn about each renewable energy source. The brochures will be turned into us, the teachers, to assess. The proposal presentation will be given by the student teams on the Tuesday of the third week. The unit exam on the last day of the unit will test students on the concepts they have learned. This will be another way to evaluate and assess if the students have gained the skills we intended to teach them as teachers. Final product: The final product will have several components. Essentially, the driving question that students need to answer with their project is How will you power a city with renewable energy? The scenario that will we present to the students will be that it is 1000 years from now and our Earth has run out of all of its fossil fuels. Students will choose a renewable energy type that will be able to sustain their struggling city. To begin with, the students will be assigned to groups of four students. They will choose a renewable energy type from the following: solar power, wind power, hydropower and biomass. No two groups of students in the same class can have the same renewable energy type. As a group they will create a company that is in charge of promoting the renewable energy type they chose. The final project consists of a brochure and a proposal presentation. Therefore, the students must turn in hard copies of the brochure. The intended audience of the brochure is the so called residents of the struggling city. Therefore, the students will be advertising their renewable energy type by explaining to the residents how this type of energy will be their solution. It will also include the advantages and disadvantages of using the renewable energy type. The proposal presentation is the second component to the final project. It will be presented orally as a group. The proposal will include an introduction of their company and the renewable energy source they are promoting. In addition, it will have the mechanism that contributes to making energy available such as how the water cycle must be involved in hydropower. It will include the advantages and disadvantages of using the renewable energy type. These may include cost, environmental benefits/drawbacks and accessibility of that renewable energy. These presentations must be convincing and be given in a persuasive manner because the goal is to get the audience to want to support their company and its claim that their renewable energy type is most effective. These final proposal presentations will be given on the last day of the three week unit. The students will present their renewable energy proposal to an audience, convincing them that their chosen renewable energy will save the city. These projects will be presented to the middle school community. Other teachers including science and nonscience teachers are welcome come and view the presentations. The parents of the students will also be encouraged to come. This project will first handedly deal with real-world issues. Although, the project scenario is extreme, it is an authentic representation of what can result if humans continue to deplete the Earth of its fossil fuels. Renewable energy sources are clean natural sources

of energy that provide a lower environmental impact and can constantly and continually be replenished. By learning about the challenges and problems Earth is facing today, students can make a difference tomorrow. Rationale: This project is significant because nowadays different countries are taking advantage of renewable energy. Many of the renewable energy types such as solar power, wind power, hydropower and biomass are being used today as a source of energy such as electricity to positively impact and improve Earth and the way humans live. Knowing about these different energy types will positively impact students by encouraging them to use their critical thinking skills and develop problem solving skills. Although, fossil fuels have not yet run out on Earth, they are being used rapidly. Alternatively, renewable energy is mostly available everywhere and unlike fossil fuels is a cleaner option. Renewable energy sources such as sunlight and water are clean products. Similarly, wind power does produce harmful gases. By doing this unit project, students will become informed about these renewable energy types that are becoming introduced around the world today. By working with their fellow peers in teams will model the real world and how different communities or companies work together to make an effective claim or push towards a similar goal. Students will learn the benefits of using these new sources of power and electricity that can improve the Earths air quality, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and address global warming. Brainstorming with their fellow classmates will be an opportunity for students to ask questions and share ideas concerning how their cities can rely on an alternative source of energy. The lessons students will learn in class and the research they will complete will emphasize the importance of this change in energy sources. This project is directly associated with improving the community. Students will give presentations to adults such as teachers and their parents, therefore the students will be informing the adult community of their learnings and findings. This project hopefully will give students the knowledge and determination to help Earth use renewable energy sources.