RENEWABLE ENERGY EDUCATION MATERIALS. Teachers notes and activities for: Key Stage 2/Curriculum for Excellence Level 2 (age 7-11)

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1 RENEWABLE ENERGY EDUCATION MATERIALS Teachers notes and activities for: Key Stage 2/Curriculum for Excellence Level 2 (age 7-11)

2 Copyright 2014 RWE Innogy UK All pre-existing rights reserved. Developed by Lucy Power and Arran Sheppard of Rowanbank Environmental Education for RWE Innogy UK Ltd. Illustrations by Jemima Thewes and Tree Stewart Musso. Materials updated October 2013 Liability In preparation of this document RWE Innogy UK (Innogy) has made reasonable efforts to ensure that the content is accurate, up to date and complete for the purpose for which it was contracted. Innogy shall have no liability for any loss, damage, injury, claim, expense, cost or other consequence arising as a result of use or reliance upon any information contained in or omitted from this document. Any persons intending to use this document should satisfy themselves as to its applicability for their intended purpose. For each activity, it is the responsibility of the supervising teacher to carry out all risk assessments with regard to the activity and to make sure that any such risk assessment complies with the requirements of the particular institution in which it is being conducted. Innogy advises that any third party websites accessed through website addresses contained within these materials are not under the control of Innogy and Innogy is not responsible for the contents. Whilst at the time of preparing these materials Innogy endeavoured to check that the content of these websites was suitable there may be subsequent changes to the websites of which Innogy is not aware and any access to the third party websites is at your risk. The inclusion of any third party website address does not imply endorsement by Innogy of the website or any association with the website's operators or owners.

3 CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2 2. The greenhouse effect 2 3. Unsustainable frisbee! 3 4. Energy brainstorm 4 5. Art activity Painting a mural 4 6. Is it a good renewables day today? 5 7. Wind power Why are wind turbines so tall? How big is a wind turbine? Make a wind-sock 8 8. Hydro power 8 9. Solar power Show how different materials heat up in the sun Make a mini solar hot water heater Make a solar oven Make an eco-pledge Background information for teachers 11 1

4 1. Introduction These activities have been designed for Key Stage 2/Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Level 2 pupils. Although they have been designed to work as stand alone activities, pupils will gain most benefit from them if they are delivered as part of an overall lesson or project on climate change, the role of renewable energy and energy efficiency. The instructions for some of the bigger activities are an outline only and teachers will need to write a full lesson plan for their own students based on these outlines. For some of the outdoor activities teachers will need to choose a time when weather conditions are most appropriate (e.g. windy or sunny) to achieve the best results. The key objectives of the pack are to provide teachers with fun and creative ideas to present students with information about what renewable energy is, what the different renewable energy technologies are, how each technology works and the role of renewable energy and energy efficiency in helping to prevent climate change. Note These activities are part of RWE Innogy UK education programme, Teachers may find the accompanying fact sheets useful to help inform the activities. There are also a few notes at the back of this document that may be useful. For further information and activities please visit our sister company RWE npower at This resource has been designed to link with the national curricula in England, Wales and Scotland. 2. The greenhouse effect The natural greenhouse effect keeps the Earth's climate warm and habitable. Humans are enhancing the natural greenhouse effect by putting greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. Learning objective: To understand how the greenhouse effect works. Materials required One clear plastic yogurt pot or glass jar, two pebbles and a sunny day. 2

5 Explain that the pebbles represent the Earth (the children could decorate them). Tip: the darker the colour of the pebbles, the better the experiment will work. Place the two pebbles in the sun and the upturned yogurt pot over one of them. After half an hour or so get the children to feel the two pebbles to see which is warmer. The one under the yogurt pot should feel considerably warmer than the other. Explain that this is because the yogurt pot allows light to get in and warm the pebble up but does not allow all the heat to escape. This is similar to the way greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide, warm the surface of the Earth. This is known as the greenhouse effect. 3. Unsustainable frisbee! Learning objective: To understand how increases in greenhouse gas emissions due to recent human activities are enhancing the natural greenhouse effect and causing climate change. Materials required Approximately 100 paper plates with CO 2 written on them in big black letters. These can be reused over and over again to play this game. It should be explained that plants and trees, the oceans and the soil currently absorb huge amounts of the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) that humans emit. To stay in balance, the world s population can emit no more CO 2 than the Earth s natural systems can absorb. However, humans currently produce much more CO 2 than the Earth s biosphere (trees, ocean, soil) can absorb. This extra CO 2 that cannot be absorbed by nature is ending up in the atmosphere, where it is enhancing the Earth s natural greenhouse effect, which is causing global warming. How to play the game Split the class into two groups and get each group to stand in a straight line facing each other (there should be approximately a three metre gap between the two lines of children). The space on the floor in between the two lines of children is the atmosphere. Get one line of children to be nature, such as the trees, the ocean and soil. Explain that their job is to absorb the CO 2 that the humans emit (nature currently absorbs approximately 60% of our CO 2 emissions). Get the other line of children to be polluters, such as aeroplanes, cars, power stations, factories and houses. Give all the polluters a stack of CO 2 plates each. (Explain that CO 2 is a way of writing carbon dioxide.) 3

6 The rules of the game are that the children are not allowed to move their feet, or pick up any plates that land on the floor! The polluters (cars, planes etc.) then play unsustainable frisbee with nature (trees, ocean, soil), who catch some of the plates, but a lot of the plates (CO 2 ) are not caught (absorbed) by nature and end up on the floor (the atmosphere). This demonstrates that nature can only absorb some of the CO 2 that humans are putting into the atmosphere, and a lot of extra CO 2 is ending up in the atmosphere. This is what is enhancing the greenhouse effect, and causing global warming, which is making the climate change. 4. Energy brainstorm Learning objective: To get pupils thinking about where the energy we use comes from, whether it is from a renewable source, what we use energy for and energy efficiency. Materials required Piece of coal, wood, peat (if possible), cup of water, toy wind turbine (cost: approximately 1 from most toy shops or see: for how to make them). Get pupils to sit in a semi-circle. On the floor in front of them lay out a lump of coal, peat, a piece of wood, cup of water and a toy wind turbine. Ask pupils what these items have in common (They are all sources of energy.) Where does this energy/fuel come from? (Different time-scales, all energy forms currently used are originally solar energy, apart from tidal, geothermal and nuclear.) What is the difference between these fuels? (Renewable/ non-renewable sources; pollution/no pollution). Can they think of other types of fuel source? You can use pictures to help e.g. of a wind farm, nuclear power station, hydro, wave, tidal, biomass, pedal power, etc. It is good to focus on where you are based e.g. where Edinburgh s energy comes from: around Edinburgh there are wind farms (south towards the Borders); a coal-fired power station near Musselburgh; nuclear power station (Torness, near Dunbar); and if you look around town all the parking meters are solar powered! What do you use energy/fuel for? How do we use it? (Wastefully!) Some of the environmental problems this causes. (Local air and water pollution and climate change.) The importance of being energy efficient using less energy allows renewable energy to make a bigger difference! It s a good idea to have an outline structure for the brainstorm written up on a black board/white board/flip chart beforehand. E.g.: divide the board into the following sections: different types of fuel source list renewable and non- renewable in two separate columns. What we use energy for - list Environmental problems list The alternatives list 5. Art activity Painting a mural Learning objective: To get pupils to think about where the energy they use comes from, the environmental problems associated with using fossil fuels and the alternatives. The resulting mural can then be put on display, with a description of its purpose, to help educate other pupils in the school. Materials required two large bits of canvas one and a half metres by two or three metres 4

7 It can help to draw a basic landscape on the canvases before the children add their drawings. (See photograph below the blue and green landscape was painted on before the workshop with the children began.) Different coloured poster paint Paint brushes PVA glue Containers for paint Containers for water Lots of newspaper (to protect the floor) Scrap paper Colouring pens or pencils A two-stage mural Stage 1 The first section of the mural will focus on where most of our energy currently comes from (fossil fuels), how we use this energy (wastefully), and the associated environmental problems (climate change, deforestation, pollution, species extinctions etc.). For example, on this mural the children might draw a coal mine, power stations with big chimneys, cars, trucks, planes, buildings with all their lights left on, trees being cut down, polluted rivers and seas etc, etc. Stage 2 The second section of the mural will focus on the alternative ways we can produce energy (from renewable energy sources) and on ways we can use less energy. For example, on this mural the children might draw wind turbines, solar panels, hydro power dams, tidal turbines, wave power machines, people turning lights off, cyclists, people walking, people recycling etc, etc. Activity 1. Following the brainstorm session (see activity no 3), and before starting to paint on the actual canvas, give each child a sheet of scrap paper. Ask them to fill the page with a colourful illustration that is something to do with our current energy use. Refer to the notes made on the black board during the brainstorm. Spend approximately five to ten minutes on this drawing. 2. Give each child another sheet of scrap paper. Ask them to fill the page with another colourful illustration that is something to do with the alternatives. Again refer to the notes made during the brainstorm session. Spend approximately five to ten minutes on this drawing. 3. Lay out the two canvases (which have been pre-painted with a background landscape with hills, sea, rivers etc.). Lay the children s scrap paper pictures out around each canvas (picture one around canvas one; picture two around canvas two). 4. Split the class into two groups: group one to canvas one, and group two to canvas two. Get each pupil to sit next to his or her drawing. They are then given approximately minutes on each canvas to copy their scrap paper picture onto the canvas. 5. Then send group one to canvas two; group two to canvas one. Activity as above. 6. At the end lay out the whole mural, and do a re-cap of what each stage represents. 6. Is it a good renewables day today? Learning objective: To get pupils to take notice of the weather, and how this affects the potential for using renewable energy. 5

8 Keep a weather diary for a week or two. Get the children to take note of the weather on their way to school each morning. Every day write this up on a weather chart on the classroom wall. You could get the children to make weather stickers (e.g. sunshine, wind, rain etc.) to stick onto the chart. At the end of the couple of weeks, look back over the chart and see how many days were good for wind turbines, for generating hydro electricity, for solar power, for wave power (if near the sea) etc. Note: it does not need to be very windy for wind turbines to work, and it does not need to be hot for solar panels to work (they will produce some power even on cloudy days). See renewable energy fact sheets for more information on each technology. 7. Wind power Learning objective: To explore different aspects of wind power 7.1. Why are wind turbines so tall? Materials required One toy wind turbine between two or three pupils (most toy shops sell these for about 1 each, or you can make them - see Choose a windy day and take your class outside. Before giving out the toy wind turbines, demonstrate the activity yourself. Hold the wind turbine close to the ground and watch to see how fast it spins. Then hold the wind turbine as high up as you can. You should be able to see a clear difference in the speed at which the turbine spins (it should spin faster the higher up it is). Wind speed increases with height, which is why wind turbines are built on such tall towers. For acrobatic teachers!! 6

9 It helps if the pupils work in groups of two or three. If considered safe to do so, pupils could then give each other piggybacks and hold the wind turbines as high up as possible. Give each pair a wind turbine. Get them to experiment with finding where the strongest wind is in the playground. Talk about which way to face the turbine into the wind. Talk about the effects of turbulence for example, if there is a big building or trees in the direction the wind is coming from this will affect the power in the wind. Talk about ideal sites for wind turbines e.g. on rolling hills, by the sea or out at sea etc. Near to buildings, trees, steep hills etc. are not the best sites. 7

10 7.2. How big is a wind turbine? Learning objective: To understand the scale of modern wind turbines in relation to the school surroundings. Materials required A very big open space and a very long tape measure. Explain that the wind is stronger the higher up you go. This is why wind farms are often built on top of hills and why wind turbines are so tall. The amount of power a wind turbine produces also depends on the size of the blade, which is why wind turbine blades are so long. Take the children outside and get them to measure along the ground, 80 metres (the hub height of a typical modern wind turbine). Now measure 45 metres from this point in three different directions to where the turbine blade tips would be. This is how big a typical wind turbine is! 7.3. Make a wind-sock Learning objective: To make a wind-sock to find out from which direction the wind is blowing and also to give an idea of the wind speed. Materials required You will need a piece of thin card of approximately A4 size, tissue paper, string, glue/tape and materials to decorate the wind-sock. Decorate the card with drawings, stickers etc. Roll the card up, end to end, then tape or glue the ends together. Cut tissue paper in long strips, and glue around the bottom inside of the wind-sock. Punch two holes in the top of the wind-sock, directly across from each other. Feed string through the punched holes, and tie a knot at the end. Tie the wind-sock to the top of a pole and push the pole into the ground (you could also tie it onto a fence or onto the end of a broom and hold it up). Use the wind-sock to keep track of the wind direction. Find the prevailing wind direction (the direction the wind comes from most often) at your school. It can also be used to estimate how strong the wind is by how high the wind-sock is lifted. 8. Hydro power Make a water wheel Learning objective: To understand how hydro power works. Materials required Cotton reel, plastic yogurt pot, pencil, scissors, glue, two buckets, piece of hose-pipe. Method Cut four to six squares out of the top of a yogurt pot, the same width as the cotton reel. Make sure that you have one side of the square with the yogurt pot rim on it, as this will be the bit that is glued onto the cotton reel. Glue each piece onto 8

11 the reel, ensuring that they are regularly spaced. Push the pencil through the hole in the middle of the reel, making sure that it can spin freely. Fill a bucket with water and place it on a chair. Fill the hose-pipe with water and put one end in the bucket, keeping the other end held up high so the water does not come out. Place the other bucket on the ground. Get one person to hold the water wheel over the lower bucket, while someone else directs the hose onto it. Try increasing the height difference between the two buckets by placing one on a table, wall etc. You should see a difference in the speed that the water wheel turns. Explain that the higher the water is, the more energy is stored in it. This is why hydro power plants are often built in mountainous areas. 9. Solar power Learning objectives: To understand how solar heating works Show how different materials heat up in the sun Materials required Several different coloured pieces of card, including black and white. You could also try one covered in tin foil. Place the pieces of card in the sun and leave for half an hour or so. Feel how much each piece has warmed up. Explain that white surfaces reflect most of the sun s light, so do not heat up so much, whereas black surfaces absorb most of the light. Silver surfaces are also very reflective Make a mini solar hot water heater Materials required A cardboard box (a shoe box is ideal), an old bicycle inner tube (bike shops have lots of these!), a piece of old polystyrene packaging cut to fit the bottom of the box and some cling film. Cut the inner tube long enough to zigzag in an S shape inside the box (depending on the size of your box, this may be the whole inner tube). Try and keep the piece with the valve in it. Tie a knot in one end of the tube so that it is watertight, fill it with water and tie a knot in the other end. Place the polystyrene in the bottom of the box and lay the tube filled with water on top. Make a hole in the side of the box and push the valve through. Cover the top of the box with cling film. Place the box so that it is tilted to face the sun with the valve at the bottom. The valve can be used as a tap to check how hot the water is, by pressing it in. Check progress every 20 minutes or so and see how hot the water gets. 9

12 9.3. Make a solar oven Materials required A wooden box (or the wood and tools to make one) or a heavy duty cardboard box, polystyrene packaging (for insulation), a piece of glass (an old double-glazed window is perfect) or sheet of perspex, black paint, a big sheet of cardboard, silver foil, a cooking pot or baking tin that can be painted black and yummy ingredients with which to cook! The most basic solar cooker is a type of box, which works by retaining heat (a bit like a greenhouse). The box is insulated with a glass lid and the interior walls are painted black, to absorb the sunlight, transforming it into heat and warming up the air trapped inside. For solar ovens to work it does not need to be hot outside, you just need bright, direct sunlight. The most important factor is brightness, not heat. Making a solar oven and then cooking soup or a loaf of bread is a great activity to do with children. It is a simple and fun process, and there are lots of tips on the internet about making solar meals ( The most useful tip is - leave lots of time and make something simple! 10. Make an eco-pledge Learning objectives: To reinforce pupils knowledge and understanding of environmental issues. Get each pupil to choose something, or a few things, that they will do to be more energy efficient. They could write this on a card, decorate it and stick it up somewhere so it serves as a reminder. They could also each take it in turns to tell the rest of the class what they are going to do. This activity could be developed by getting pupils to design posters or post cards. These could be put up around the school to raise awareness about climate change and inspire other students to become more energy efficient. 10

13 11. Background information for teachers Power and Energy Energy is the ability or capability to do work or to produce change. Energy cannot be made or destroyed. There are several different forms of energy, including kinetic (movement), heat, light, sound, electrical and chemical. Any form of energy can be transformed into another form, but the total energy always remains the same. Power is the rate at which energy is used or converted. Units Energy is measured in joules (J) or kilowatt-hours (kwh) kwh are a measure of the quantity of energy used over time. E.g.. a heater rated at two kw used for two hours uses four kwh of energy One kwh = 3,600,000 J Power is measured in watts (W) One kilowatt (kw) = 1,000 W One megawatt (MW) = 1,000 kw = 1,000,000 W One gigawatt (GW) = 1,000 MW = 1,000,000,000 W The average household in the UK uses 4,700 kwh of electricity per year. Carbon, carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide equivalent When discussing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions there can be some confusion as sometimes amounts of carbon (C) are talked about and sometimes carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Carbon emissions measure just the C in the CO 2. To find the equivalent CO 2 multiply by So one tonne of carbon is contained in tonnes of CO 2. CO 2 equivalent (CO 2e ) is used when discussing other GHGs, and is a measure of their equivalent global warming effect e.g. one tonne methane = 25 tonnes CO 2e. UK electricity generation mix (2012) in the national grid Coal 38% Nuclear 18% Gas 28% Imports 3% Oil 1% Renewables 11% (wind = 5.4%; hydro = 1.5%; biomass = 2.7% landfill gas = 1.4% and solar = 0.3%) (Source: DECC UK Energy in Brief, 2013) 11

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