Energy Island and Environmental Awareness
Making A Difference In Our World
Learning Module
- Creator(s):
The focus on social importance and learning is the motivation for the revisions in my learning module that has been used in my classroom already. Lev Vygotsky focused on the social side of learning and language. The students will talking and working together in the revised lesson to deeper their meaning and understanding of the lesson.
This work is module that I have used in my classroom with my third graders. I use the book "Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed Their World" by Allan Drummond to teach renewable resources, nonrenewable resources, and energy conservation. The focus is to teach students to think about their environment and ways to save it. In my original lesson, I mostly focused on paper-pencil methods with very little room for collaboration among students. A majority of the lesson was teacher-led discussions.
Timeline- 1 hour each day for 3 weeks (15 days)
Sources
https://www.isbe.net/Documents/ela-standards.pdf
https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Grade3-Grade5.pdf
https://www.isbe.net/Documents/K-12-SS-Standards.pdf
Drummond, A. (2015). Energy Island: how one community harnessed the wind and changed their world. New York: Square Fish.
Vygotsky, Lev. 1934 (1986). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.. pp.110–111, 112–113, 127, 126, 135, 136, 142, 149–150, 171, 173, 166–167, 150. || Amazon || WorldCat
Standards
Key Ideas and Details
RI.3.1. Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
RI.3.2. Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
RI.3.3. Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
Craft and Structure
RI.3.4. Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
RI.3.5. Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RI.3.7. Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
RI.3.8. Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).
Writing Text Types and Purposes
W.3.1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
Speaking and Listening
SL.3.3. Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.3.4. Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
Social Sciences
SS.IS.7.3-5. Identify a range of local problems and some ways in which people are trying to address these problems.
Science
3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment
Intended learning outcomes for the student- The students will be able to understand Author's Purpose, ways to save the environment, and understanding renewable and nonrenewable resources. The student will be able to learn collaboration skills and how to work together to solve a problem.
Intended learning outcomes for the teacher- The teacher will be able to learn how to facilitate collaboration in the classroom in a meaninful way. Also, get the students to use a text to expand on a topic and think about Author's Purpose. The use of meaninful media will also help with engagement
Duration- 3 weeks
Students will be able to-
Procedure-
1. "Okay class, think about what energy does for us. Can anyone think of an example?" The class will then go into a discussion of every sources around them or items that use energy.
2. "Let's think about how our world would be if we didn't have energy. Imagine if you didn't have T.V. or video games. How would our world be different?" The class will go into a discussion about how our world would be different.
3. "What would be a good definition for energy? Talk with your shoulder partner and brainstorm some ideas for a definition. We will collect all our ideas to create one definition" The students will share their ideas.
4. "Thumbs up if you've ever heard the term 'renewable' before? Okay, let's discuss what the word renewable means". The student and teacher will discuss the definition and some examples.
5. The class will discuss different types of renewable energy sources and keep notes in their science journal. The teacher will show a short video to futher help with understanding.
6. Students will complete an exit ticket on "Renewable Energy Sources". Asking the definitions and types of examples of Renewable Energy.
The teacher will be drawing on scaffolding and background knowledge about what the student has previously learned or what they know about energy. With this information and sharing the information they know, the entire class can have a strong foundation to start the lesson.
By having students think about their life without energy, the students will be able to put themselves in a different lens. The students would have to think about how they'd do different tasks and get things done without energy. This will be very new for the students to grasp.
The naming and listing of renewable energy sources will give the students a basic understanding of the concept and vocabulary before we get futher into the lesson. By being able to discuss with partners to think of definitions and examples, the students are learning more collaboration skills to solve problems.
Teacher tips:
This day will be very similar to the first day about Renewable Energy sources.
Students will be able to-
Procedure-
1. "Okay class, let's remind ourselves about renewable energy. Raise your hand to share what you remember from yesterday." Allow students time to share from memory or their science journal.
2. "If renewable meant it can't be used up, what do you think nonrenewable energy would mean?"
3. The class will discuss different types of nonrenewable energy sources and keep notes in their science journal. The teacher will show a short video to futher help with understanding.
4. Students will complete an exit ticket on "Nonrenewable Energy Sources". Asking the definitions and types of examples of Renewable Energy.
5. Students will discuss and compare the two types of energy.
6. They will complete a short quiz classifying each type of energy.
This day will be very similar to the 1st day about Renewable Energy.
The teacher will be drawing on scaffolding and background knowledge about what the student has previously learned or what they know about energy. With this information and sharing the information they know, the entire class can have a strong foundation to start the lesson.
The naming and listing of renewable energy sources will give the students a basic understanding of the concept and vocabulary before we get futher into the lesson. By being able to discuss with partners to think of definitions and examples, the students are learning more collaboration skills to solve problems.
Teacher tips:
Allow the class ample time to discuss the two types of energy. Then, they will use this quiz to show their understanding.
Students will be able to-
Procedure-
1. "Class, let's think about why an author might write something. What do you think TV commercials are for?" Class will discuss advertisements and what they're trying to sell or get people to do.
2. "Why do you think an author would write something like "Captain Underpants"?" Class will discuss that it's funny and entertaining.
3. Why do you think an author would write an article on monkeys in the rainforest?" Class will discuss informing the reader with facts and information about the monkeys.
4. Discuss the 3 author's purposes: Persuade, Inform, and Entertain (P.I.E.)
5. Students will see some examples of writing samples and discuss which P.I.E. is being used.
6. This video can help deepen understanding.
The student's will be working with new terminology with Author's Purpose. For some, the concept may not be that new. Persuade, Inform, and Entertain may have been heard before. Differentiating and thinking about which purpose is used for different types of writing may be new for the students.
With their new knowledge, the students can apply this new knowledge to differentiate between different examples of writing. With this knowledge, they can also apply this to books and other works of writing.
Teacher tips:
1. Use an anchor chart to help the students understand. Here is an example-
2. Putting the information in a PowerPoint might help too.
3. I would recommend making the students bookmarks to laminate with the P.I.E. terms on them.
3. Show the students different examples using this document. Also, relate the P.I.E. to different books and novels read in class. I use PearDeck in my class so the students can interact with the questions.
4. Allow the students time to discuss with their partners and interact with the information.
Students will be able to-
Procedures-
1. What do you notice about the front cover? Write your observations in your reading journal"
2. "Let's think about the book "Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed The Wind and Changed Their World". What do you think the story is about?" Have students make predictions in their reading journal.
3. "We're going to start reading this book today. Pay attention to the different people and what they do on their island to make a difference."
4. Students will read different sections of the book and answer close reading questions.
5. Watch the video about the real Samso, Island and compare how they live with how you live in Aurora, Illinois. Write your comparisons in your reading journal.
6. After each reading day, the students will respond to a question each day on Google Classroom. The question will be along the lines of "What did you find interesting about the reading today?".
The class will learn about the geography and location of Samso, Denmark as they start reading the book. They'll quickly learn the island was once just like how they live. Over time they'll think and see how the island has changed.
Students will be comparing their own lives and where they live with the people of Samso, Island as they read the book. They'll be able to understand and apply their understanding to how things are so different and so similar in some areas.
Teacher tips:
1. Allow the students time to read and think about different parts of the book. Encourage them to jot down any notes or findings from reading in their reading journal to remember for later.
2. The close reading 1-3 is attached here.
3. For the close reading, encourage students to go back to the book to help them. Encourage accountable talk with their classmates to get the work done and discuss their answers.
4. While comparing their lives with Samso, encourage the students to compare many different factors. For example, the look and energy. Show some pictures to get them thinking.
5. Watching the Samso, Island video should help them compare with their town easier.
Students will be able to-
1. "Take a look at this image. How does it make you feel?" Students will share and jot down their feelings.
2. "What are some problems in our environment?" Discuss with the class and jot down some ideas
3. "Understand that we only get 1 planet. We need to think of ways to help save it. Let's think about ways to use renewable energy, recycle, and other ideas. Once you've thought about some ideas with your group partners, we'll be creating our new "Earth".
4. Allow students to listen to the fun song and brainstorm more with their groups.
5. "Class, you will use this Earth template to make your changes with your Earth. Make changes and comments to include your ideas. Be ready to present your ideas with the class"
Students will be critically thinking about their decisions and the world around them. They'll be relating this to a real-world situation because their choices and the people around them can affect them in the future.
The students will apply their ideas in a creative appoach to make changes to the Earth. They will then present and persuade the class with their ideas.
Teacher tips-
1. Allow students time to jigsaw their ideas with different groups to brainstorm and decide which ideas are the best to them.
2. Give the students ideas on how to properly present their ideas and help with their project.
Students will be able to-
1. "Today you will be reviewing your knowledge on renewable energy, nonrenewable energy, and author's purpose from your reading journal." Have students review and discuss the differenterms and examples with the class.
2. "Think about if you lived on an island and the power lines weren't working. What would be a great way to save your island? Discuss with your shoulder partner"
3. "Remember what we've learned so far and what you know about Samso Island. How could you use this knowledge to save the island you create?"
4. You'll need to include these elements in your brochures for your island:
5. Students will create their brochure and be reviewed by classmates before presenting using a rubric.
Students will use what they've learned in the learning module to apply it in this final project. The class will work on their brochure and critique each other's works with the grading rubric provided. This way the students will know what to fix before presenting.
Teacher tips-