Sustainability

Which method of generating heat would be best for our community?

Evaluating the advantages and challenges of various methods of generating heat in our communities.

Activity Image
Grade
8
Duration
1 hour
Type
Class discussion

Overview

In this activity, students evaluate various power sources for generating heat in the homes and buildings in their communities. Students use criteria to create a visual rating of aspects of various power sources that are currently used in their communities to generate heat. To conclude the lesson, students will suggest which power source might be best for their community.

Instructions

What you'll need

  • Digital projector and screen
  • "Recommending a power source for generating heat in my community" worksheet
  • "Rating a power source for generating heat" worksheet
  • "Profiling a power source for generating heat" worksheet
  • "How is natural gas used to create heat in our homes?" handout
  • "How is geothermal used to create heat in our homes?" handout
  • "How is solar power used to create heat in our homes?" handout
  • "How is hydroelectricity used to create heat in our homes?" handout
  • Sample profile graph

  1. Begin this activity by asking your students to suggest which power sources are used to provide heat in the homes and buildings in their community. In B.C., these might include sources like: natural gas, geothermal heat pumps, hydroelectricity, and/or solar electricity.
  1. Provide each student with a copy of the worksheet "Recommending a power source for generating heat in my community". Draw students’ attention to the “My first thoughts” section and ask them to use the ranking ladder to rank the power sources from least desirable to most desirable. Encourage them to note any reasons to support their rankings.
  1. Invite groups to share their ratings with the class. As students share their thinking, co-develop or present criteria for deciding which power source is the most desirable. Criteria could include:
  • Cost for consumers
  • Efficiency
  • Reliability
  • Impacts on the environment (e.g., air quality, water quality, soil quality)
  • Impacts on wildlife
  • Impacts on human health
  • Control of energy (i.e., centralized or decentralized)
  • Security of fuel
  • Safety
  • Convenience (e.g., on demand vs. intermittent access to electricity)

Note the criteria on a whiteboard or chart paper for use later in this lesson.

  1. Assign each group with one of the power sources for generating heat. Provide each group with the handout for their assigned method, and a copy of the worksheet "Rating a power source for generating heat". Briefly explain that their challenge is to rate the desirability of their assigned power source for generating heat in homes and buildings by following these steps:
  • Note the criteria created earlier in this lesson in the left-hand column of the activity sheet.
  • Use information from briefing sheets to identify advantages and challenges in each criteria. 
  • Rate the power source using each criteria (a 0 represents “significant challenge” and a 5 represents “significant advantage”).
  1. Invite groups to share their ratings with the class, encouraging them to suggest one advantage and one challenge of their assigned power source that was especially surprising.
  1. Direct students’ attention back to the worksheet "Recommending a power source for generating heat" and the “Second thoughts” section. Ask them to reflect on their initial ratings. Would they keep or change their initial decisions? What reasons would they give for their decision?
  1. Provide each group with a copy of worksheet "Profiling a power source for generating heat". Explain to students that their task is to create a visual representation or profile of their assigned power source for generating heat by following these steps: 
  • Label each end of a line with one of the criteria used to assess the power source for generating heat. The ends of each line should have different labels (e.g., impacts on water and efficiency). Additional lines could be drawn on the graph if more criteria are used.
  • Record the rating for each criteria on the chart. After each rating has been noted, instruct students to draw a continuous line to connect the ratings (a Sample profile graph has been included to show what the graph might look like for various methods of heat generation).
  1. Invite groups to share their visual profiles with the class. Discuss what the profiles reveal about the power sources for generating heat.
  1. Guide students’ attention back to the worksheet "Recommending a power source for generating heat". Draw students’ attention to the “My final thoughts” section and ask them to use the ranking ladder to decide which method of generating heat would be best for their community. Remind students to use the information and evidence from this lesson to support their thinking.
  1. Conclude the activity by inviting students to reflect on their learning about the various power sources. Invite students to suggest which power sources might best support conservation and sustainability in their community and the province. 

Modify or extend this activity

Extension

  • In Step 4, consider providing more time for your students to investigate power sources further online.
  • Examine the way that tectonic plates contribute to producing and accessing geothermal energy.
  • Have each group create a visual representation of their learning that encourages their school or communities to make important changes towards using their recommended power source for generating heat. 

Curriculum Fit

Science 8

Big ideas

  • The theory of plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains Earth’s geological processes

Content

  • Plate tectonic movement

Curricular competencies

Questioning and predicting
  • Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest
Processing and analyzing data and information
  • Experience and interpret the local environment
  • Seek patterns and connections in data from their own investigations and secondary sources
  • Use scientific understandings to identify relationships and draw conclusions
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 personal or collaborative approaches
  • Generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving
Communicating
  • Communicate ideas, findings, and solutions to problems, using scientific language, representations, and digital technologies as appropriate

Teaching Notes

This activity assumes that educators have a basic working knowledge of renewable and non-renewable energy resources and their effects on climate change. The following websites may be helpful for more information: 

Assessment

Throughout the activity, consider how well students:

  • Contribute to respectful group discussion
  • Make decisions together and support their decisions with reasoning
  • Work together as a group to share their thinking and reasoning
  • Thoughtfully recommend which power source for generating heat would be best for their community

Join the Power Smart for Schools community to access:

  • Email newsletter to keep you up-to-date
  • Special events and contests with great prizes
  • Premium, time-limited education resources
  • Dashboard to organize and save your favourite activities and lessons
Sign up