Oh No Another Blackout in Egrstown Has Happened Again!
MereDyth Chaves
P.S. 197M, HarleM NY
Introduction:
In this unit students will investigate what might cause electrical systems to fail. The students will design solutions to improve the electrical system in the town of Ergstown to prevent blackouts from occurring. Ergstown has a problem with blackouts. During a blackout, all the power in the city goes out. The mayor of Ergstown has enlisted your help to figure out how to prevent all of the blackouts that are happening in his town.
Task:
Students will learn and investigate about different types of electrical energy and its forms. The students will use an energy conversion simulation to create a system of light and sound to help the town of Ergstown. After the students have learned about different forms of energy and the path of electrical flow, they will write an essay to the Mayor discussing their plan and solution on how to prevent frequent blackouts in Ergstown.
Process/Resources:
1: Reading About Energy Converters (25 min.) Students revisit the reference book to gather information that may help them come to a better understanding about the function of electrical devices and answer the Investigation Question. Students read about various electrical devices and record their input and output energy forms in their notebooks.
2: Energy in Electrical Systems (25 min.)
Using the Energy Conversions Simulation, students create systems with light and sound as output energy forms. Students observe energy input and output graphs as their systems function. This enables students to correlate the amounts of energy entering and leaving the systems in different forms and come to a deeper understanding of the concept of energy conversion. This activity includes an On-the-Fly Assessment to assess students’ comprehension of the concept of energy conversion.
3: Reflecting on Learning (10 min.)
Drawing on the day’s reading and the Sim activities, students reflect on what they have learned thus far about the electrical system and the function of electrical devices as energy converters.
4. Discuss the function of the Electrical System
5. Students will use what they learned in all previous lessons to write an essay to the Mayor discussing their plan on how to prevent the blackouts in the town of Ergstown.
Essay must include an Introduction, 2 body paragraphs with evidence to support your reasoning for your plan, conclusion, and a diagram of your electrical path to prevent the blackouts.
6. Students will present their solutions to the class once essay is written.
http://www.citationmachine.net/
You can use the following rubric to assess letter to the Mayor of Ergstown to determine if they understand how electrical systems work? The rubric I created is based off the Teacher’s College Writing Program. Click on the following link to access the rubric.
Conclusion:
The Mayor of Egrstown thanks you for helping him solve the problem of the blackouts that were occurring in Ergstown. He looks forward to using your plans to fix the problem of the blackouts in town
Standards:
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
NGSS Practices
- Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems
- Practice 6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.A: Definitions of Energy:
- Energy can be moved from place to place by moving objects or through sound, light, or electric currents. (4-PS3-2, 4-PS3-3)
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
- Systems and System Models
- Cause and Effect
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS-ELA)
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-Math)
CCSS-Math Practices
- CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.