Our Future Is So Bright...We've Got To Study Solar Energy!
My students need 20 K'NEX Education - Investigating Solar Energy Sets and cardboard pizza boxes to explore clean, alternative energy resources and enhance their awareness of solar energy and conservation.
Our student population is a diverse selection from across our county-including all ethnic groups, various socio-economic backgrounds, and multiple learning styles. Burke County Schools are designated as Tier 2 or distressed, due to unemployment rate, median household income, and percentage growth in population.
We teach advanced lessons utilizing critical thinking skills focused around Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Agriculture, and Math (STEAM).
Our goal is to ensure that our diverse learners are ready for the challenges of the 21st century. We strive to prepare our students to be competitive, collaborative, and productive global citizens that think creatively and are well equipped for the next stages of their lives.
My Project
According to Energy.gov, the solar industry added more than 73,000 jobs in 2016. Solar energy has a lot of benefits over other forms of electricity generation that produces air, water, and land pollution. The requested materials will enhance student learning by providing hands-on experiences with opportunities to understand that solar power is renewable, clean, and inexhaustible. Using the 20 K'NEX Education - Investigating Solar Energy Sets, students will collaborate and build fully-functioning replicas of real-world solar energy systems. They will research and use the engineering design process to imagine, plan, create and improve models of solar ovens using pizza boxes and recycled items.
During this unit of study we will incorporate the Next Generation Science standards as our students explore and develop a deeper understanding of solar energy and energy conservation.
In addition, students will demonstrate a deeper knowledge and understanding of society’s impact on the natural world, and hopefully gain inspiration to find effective energy resource solutions for our future. As non-renewable resources wane, there will be a growing need for future engineers to be able to harness the power of alternative energy and ultimately decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Browning and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
