Lesson Overview
Students will learn about energy in this lesson, with a focus on how energy use impacts the environment. First, students will investigate energy and global climate change. Next, they will examine their individual impact on the environment by calculating their carbon footprint and creating a personal conservation plan. Finally, students will work in teams to design and produce a public service announcement that informs the public about the environmental impacts of energy consumption and conservation.
Throughout the lesson, students will use their Engineering Portfolios to keep track of their research and plan out their public service announcements. It is recommended that students use a printed version of the Engineering Portfolio to complete the activities. As an alternative, an editable Word document is also available if teachers would like students to type directly into the document. [If this option is used, be aware that pagination may change based on the length of students' responses. In this case, students should refer to the titles on each portfolio page to ensure that they are working on the page that corresponds to the online activity.] Some activities that involve sketching or completing graphic organizers will still need to be printed and completed offline.
Links to the Engineering Portfolio document can be found in the Student Resources section of the website.
