Conservation

Energy conservation in action

Make a plan to save energy and think about how you can share it.

Grade

Duration

1 hour

Type

Group work

Overview

A great way to save energy at home is to find out where and how we use it every day. An energy survey gives your students the information they need to be able to take action on saving energy.

Instructions

What you'll need

"Home energy survey" worksheet for each student
"Planning for action" worksheet for each group
"Group work evaluation" rubric
Materials to illustrate and share project ideas:
- Posters
- Models
- Digital presentations

The day before

Give each student a copy of the “Home energy survey” and review it with them. They’ll complete the survey on the first page with their families and then bring it back to school.

Stop, start, continue

Review the survey results in class. Ask the students if they discovered anything surprising.
Remind your students to keep the results in mind as they complete page 2 of the worksheet. The objective is for them to identify three actions: one they’ll start, one they’ll stop and one they’ll continue. Have students discuss their ideas with a partner, then share them with the class.
List all the ideas on the board. Get your students to group the ideas and come up with categories for their groupings.

Taking action

Next, get your students brainstorming ideas for a campaign that could help raise awareness of the ideas on the board. Some examples are:
- Create a poster display
- Design a multimedia presentation (slideshow or short video)
- Make an in-person presentation to other classes
- Set up a demonstration during breaks or lunch
Assign students to groups and ask each group to choose a campaign type to work on. They can use the “Planning for action” worksheet to start designing a campaign:
- What area of conservation will they focus on?
  - Electricity: lights, devices, computers
  - Water
  - Heat
- How will they spread the word?
  - Poster
  - Video
  - Presentations to classes
  - School announcements
- What is the conservation action they want people to take?
- What are the steps required to make it all happen?
- What are the signs of a successful action plan? How will they know their action plan was effective?
Have the groups present their ideas to the class.

Modify or extend this activity

Extension

Get your students to start a campaign from one of the ideas the class came up with that could make a difference in your school. Also choose one of the plans to raise awareness. Encourage your class to think about how they can include others in their grade or the school.

Curriculum Fit

Grade 9 Science

Curricular competencies

Questioning and predicting

Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest

Planning and conducting

Select and use appropriate equipment, including digital technologies, to systematically and accurately collect and record data

Processing and analyzing data and information

Experience and interpret the local environment

Evaluating

Consider social, ethical and environmental implications of the findings from their own and others’ investigations

Applying and innovating

Contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through individual or collaborative approaches
Transfer and apply learning to new situations
Generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving
Contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through inquiry

Communicating

Communicate scientific ideas, information, and perhaps a suggested course of action for a specific purpose and audience, constructing evidence-based arguments and using appropriate scientific language, conventions, and representations
Express and reflect on a variety of experiences, perspectives and worldviews of place

Assessment

Review and assess the “Planning for action” worksheets for completeness, effort and creativity.
Use the “Group work evaluation” rubric to assess your students’ action planning and presentations.

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