Renewable and Non-renewable Energy Resources
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http://www.leeric.lsu.edu/bgbb/7/ecep/sources/b/b.htm Name: Natural
Energy Sources This is a simple one-page website that contains useful and concise information, but is designed as a lesson plan complete with worksheet. The site first mentions the lesson’s learning goals, which is to learn about different energy sources and to distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources. The second section outlines the student objectives. The third section presents the actual concepts and information. This section describes many different sources of natural energy, including the Sun, wind, water, the Earth, and vegetation. The fourth section contains a printable word puzzle where users must find the hidden terms. The final fifth section contains a self-quiz whose answers are at the bottom of the webpage. This website is very simple but useful. The fact that it’s laid out like a lesson plan is a bonus for teachers. Explanations are easy for younger students to understand, but may lack the depth required by older students. Nevertheless, the concepts are presented in a very clear manner which can serve as review material for students of all levels. The images are very simple drawings, but they serve their purpose in illustrating the different energy sources. Overall, the site does a good job of presenting many types of natural energy sources, ranging from sunlight to ocean thermal gradients to biomass. The printable word puzzle and self-quiz are also good bonuses. This is a very nice site for both teachers and all students to use. |
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http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/index.html Name: California
Energy Commission – The Energy Story This is a one-stop shop for anything related to energy for both teachers and all students. There’s an incredible 20 chapters on the topic of renewable and non-renewable energy resources, and everything else in between including energy conservation, energy efficiency, and future of energy. From chapter 1 through 20, the following concepts are examined: definition of energy, electricity, static electricity, circuits, batteries, power plants, transmission systems, fossil fuels, natural gas, biomass energy, geothermal energy, hydro energy, nuclear energy, ocean energy, solar energy, wind energy, renewable versus non-renewable energy, energy for transportation, energy conservation & efficiency, and future sources of energy. From the always-present menu, users can also access sections on Science projects, games & activities, and other resources. Parents and teachers will appreciate the section containing resources and lesson plans devoted to energy. This website provides the most complete examination of energy and renewable/non-renewable energy resources. It’s very thorough and detailed, clearly geared towards older students. But there are plenty of links to other resources that may cater to younger students. Despite the site’s size, it’s easy to navigate thanks to its always-present menu. There are plenty of images, diagrams, and photographs that help illustrate the concepts. The concepts are thoroughly examined and some important terms are linked to interactive applets and Flash movies. This is an excellent site for both teachers and older students to use. |
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http://www.windpower.org/en/kids/index.htm Name: Wind
with Miller This fun and interactive website presents concepts, interactive applets, and hands-on activities for students. Its teacher’s guide states that it was developed primarily for students ages 12 to 14. The site begins with a crash course on wind energy, how wind is generated, and how wind turbines convert wind into energy. The second section describes each step of the process in great detail starting with an examination of literally every part of a wind turbine. It then examines in detail the different causes and origins of wind. The third section contains numerous suggestions for hands-on activities, which include online wind turbine simulations and instructions for building wind socks, turbines, generators, lattice towers, and kites. The fourth section of the site is an index containing all examined concepts. The final fifth section is a thorough teacher’s guide outlining how the site can be used with students, complete with professional hints and links to other wind resources. This website is extremely interactive. Users are forced to become active participants in the explanations and activities found throughout the site. It’s rare to find a website that is able to completely pull users into its world. Another rarity is that this website comes in English, Danish, French, Spanish, and German. Clearly a lot of work went into this website’s development. All images are large and colourful. Technical schematics are also colourful and well-labelled. Teachers will really appreciate all the suggestions for activities, while students will appreciate the thorough guidance provided by the fictional character Miller in almost every section. This is a very nice site for both teachers and all students to use. |
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Name:
DiscoverySchool.com This site contains complete lesson plans for studying Earth Sciences at any level from K-12, including objectives and suggestions for evaluation in each lesson plan. Teachers can look forward to lesson plans on Earth’s surface, geological phenomena, oceans, weather, and tectonic plates, but this is by no means a complete list of lesson plans that can be found on this site. If that wasn’t good enough, many of the lesson plans even contain suggestions for adapting the lesson for different grade levels. This is hands-down one of the best resources for all teachers, and not just Science teachers. The site is colourful and well laid out. All sections of the site are accessible from the always-present menu. Some of the important concepts even have sound files attached to them so that you can listen to its pronunciation. This site is mainly geared towards teachers. |
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Name:
The
Geological Society of America This site contains complete lesson plans for studying Earth Sciences at any level from K-12, including any required worksheets. Lesson plans are organized by specific topics in Earth Sciences. The section on rocks and minerals is impressive on its own. Lessons for each topic are also further subdivided by grade level. Most lessons appear to be lab-based and very hands-on. Finally, there are literally tons of links to other educational resources within each topic. This is another amazing resource for teachers, but definitely geared towards Science teachers only. The site is colourful and well laid out. There are so many lesson plans and resources that are listed that the site even provides a handy function to sort by topic or age group. If that wasn’t enough, the site also provides suggestions for readings and class discussions of critical issues. This site is mainly geared towards teachers. |