Lesson Package | Energy in Our Lives - Grade 1 Science

Description

This unit introduces students to different forms of energy and how energy is used in their everyday lives. Students will learn about light, heat, sound, and electrical energy and identify examples of each in their surroundings. They will explore how these forms of energy affect the things they see and do. Through a variety of activities, students will develop a better understanding of the role energy plays in their daily lives. The unit is designed for Grade 1 students and covers Ontario Curriculum expectations.

This unit covers the following Ontario Curriculum expectations:

1.1 describe their own and their family’s uses of energy (e.g., to operate lights, video games, cars, computers); identify ways in which these uses are efficient or wasteful, taking different points of view into consideration (e.g., the point of view of a parent, a sibling, a member of their extended family); suggest ways to reduce personal energy consumption, and explain why it is important for people to make these choices

1.2 describe how the everyday lives of different people and other living things would be affected if electrical energy were no longer available (e.g., families, farmers, businesses and stores, a company that offers alternative energy sources such as solar-powered devices, the plants in a hydroponic greenhouse, the tropical animals in a Canadian zoo)

2.1 follow established safety procedures during science and technology investigations (e.g., keep workspaces neat and tidy by putting all tools, materials, and equipment back where they belong)

2.2 investigate how the sun affects the air, land, and/or water, using a variety of methods (e.g., standing outside on a sunny and a cloudy day and noting the differences; putting a dish of water in the sun and the shade and observing what happens) and resources (e.g., books, videos/ DVDs, CD-ROMs, the Internet)

2.3 design and construct a device that uses energy to perform a task (e.g., a kite that flies using the wind; a musical instrument that uses human energy to make sounds)

2.4 investigate and compare seasonal differences in the ways we use energy and the types of energy we use (e.g., we keep warm in winter by wearing a sweater and using furnaces and woodstoves; we stay cool in summer by sitting in the shade or going to places that are air-conditioned; we adjust the amount of light we need by opening or closing the curtains and turning lights on or off)

2.5 use scientific inquiry/experimentation skills (see page 12), and knowledge acquired from previous investigations, to explore the effects of light and heat from the sun (e.g., by growing plants in the presence and absence of sunlight; by feeling the temperature of dark papers that have been in the sun and in the shade; by covering a portion of a piece of colored paper and exposing the paper to the sun)

2.6 investigate how the sun’s energy allows humans to meet their basic needs, including the need for food (e.g., trace the flow of energy from the sun, which provides energy to plants, which make food for animals to eat, and then from plants and animals, which provide food for humans to eat)

2.7 use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including explore, investigate, design, energy, and survival, in oral and written communication

2.8 use a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, graphic, multimedia) to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes (e.g., use labeled diagrams to show what happened when plants were grown in varying light conditions)

3.1 demonstrate an understanding that energy is what makes the things they do or see happen

3.2 demonstrate an understanding that the sun, as the earth’s principal source of energy, warms the air, land, and water; is a source of light for the earth; and makes it possible to grow food

3.3 identify food as a source of energy for themselves and other living things

3.4 identify everyday uses of various sources of energy (e.g., food to help animals, including humans, survive and move; natural gas to heat homes and schools; petroleum to power cars and buses; electricity to power lights; batteries to power toys)

3.5 demonstrate an understanding that humans get the energy resources they need from the world around them (e.g., the wood, oil, and gas to heat our homes and cook our food) and that the supply of many of these resources is limited so care needs to be taken in how we use them