Renewable Energy Resources

Age Level

10th grade

Standards

Language Arts: Utilizes print and electronic resources to generate data. Demonstrates proper grammar and usage. Cites research using the MLA guidelines. Effectively presents to an audience.

Science: Identifies energy sources.

Social Studies: Recognizes factors that influence voter's decisions.

Economics: Understands the nature and functions of product markets.

Objective

Investigate a variety of renewable energy resources, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of each.

Materials

“Renewable Energy Resources” Activity Hand-Out

Also Needed

• Computer with Internet access
• Pencil
• Paper

Do

Students will go online and read articles (keywords: renewable + energy + resources + community ) to answer the following questions related to renewable energy resources:

• What are the environmental benefits of renewable energy?
• How much would it cost a household to adapt to using or installing renewable energy strategies?

Reflect

After students have read the articles, ask the students the following questions:

• Why do these reports suggest that communities should begin to look at alternative energy resources?
• There were [five] sources of energy described on [this site]. What are they?
• What are the benefits of using renewable energy technologies?
• Why aren't some renewable resources widely accepted today?
• What is meant by “environmental costs” and “social costs?” What are examples of each?
• What energy resource is the cheapest in the long run? In the short run?

Apply

Divide students into teams of five. Each team will be responsible for researching one of the following: solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and hydropower. Distribute the activity hand-out and explain the entire scope of the lesson to students. Explain the final product (the vote), as well as all steps leading up to that.

 

Source: South Carolina Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom