Teaching Materials – Energy Management & Efficiency

Energy Management & Efficiency

Students survey an electrical appliance at home in What’s The Cheapest Watt? Pooling class data, they then consider energy management decisions. In the end, they determine the cheapest Watt—the one that costs the least, preserves the most natural resources, and saves the most environmental pollution — is the Watt they never use.

Student Materials

Student Lesson & Response Guide (Microsoft Word)

Instructor Materials

Instructor Guide & Answer Key (Microsoft Word)
Practice Calculations – Student Blank (Adobe PDF) (Microsoft Word)
Practice Calculations – Answer Key (Adobe PDF) (Microsoft Word)
ELS Standards (Microsoft Word)
NGSS Standards (Microsoft Word)

In this lesson, students learn that It Pays to Save in Your Home. Students consider many common, potential energy saving situations in a home, research questions surrounding them, and report on their findings. Students learn which energy saving measures should always be applied first. They also learn that saving energy always comes before applying renewable energy technologies.

Student Materials

Student Lesson (Microsoft Word)
Student Lesson Summary Guide (Microsoft Word)
Student Summary Notes Guide (Microsoft Word)

Instructor Materials

Instructors Guide (Microsoft Word)
ELS Standards (Microsoft Word)
NGSS Standards (Microsoft Word)

In Building A Passive Solar Home, students design and build a home to take advantage of its natural surroundings and manage its environmental disadvantages. They learn about the concept of a home energy load profile. Students learn how seasonal changes, architecture, and landscaping can be used in the design of a home with a low energy load profile.

Student Materials

Student Lesson (Microsoft Word)
Student Response Guide (Microsoft Word)
Student Paper Design Templates (Microsoft Word)

Instructor Materials

Instructor Guide (Microsoft Word)
ELS Standards (Microsoft Word)
NGSS Standards (Microsoft Word)

Take your students on a field trip through places in your school they never see. Show students how energy systems are used to deliver and efficiently manage comfort in a building like yours in Commercial Building Energy Systems.

Student Materials

Student Lesson (Microsoft Word)

Instructor Materials

Instructors Guide (Microsoft Word)
Student Assessment (Microsoft Word)
YouTube Video
Video Script (Microsoft Word)
Drawing (Microsoft Word)
ELS Standards (Microsoft Word)
NGSS Standards (Microsoft Word)

Students research and report on the interesting and diverse energy resources used in their state and our country in Our Energy Resources. Excellent student research resources are provided.

Student Materials

Student Lesson (Adobe PDF) (Microsoft Word)
Short Reader Report (Adobe PDF) (Microsoft Word)

Instructor Materials

Instructors Guide (Adobe PDF) (Microsoft Word)
ELS Standards (Adobe PDF) (Microsoft Word)
NGSS Standards (Adobe PDF) (Microsoft Word)

Students learn about energy conservation, green building practices, and demand rate billing while conducting an energy tour of their school building. My School’s Energy Report Card also teaches them they are energy managers no matter what building they’re in.

Student Materials

Student Lesson (Microsoft Word)

Instructor Materials

Instructors Guide (Microsoft Word)
School Energy Management Basics Presentation ( PowerPoint)
Rate Schedules Master 2023 (Microsoft Word)
School Energy Management Basics Video (YouTube)
ELS Standards (Microsoft Word)
NGSS Standards (Microsoft Word)

Is it green, or is it greenwashed? Green and Greenwashing requires students photograph and describe examples of “green” and “greenwashed” products commonly marketed to them.

Student Materials

Student Lesson (Microsoft Word)

Instructor Materials

Instructors Guide (Microsoft Word)
ELS Standards (Microsoft Word)
NGSS Standards (Microsoft Word)

The Article Summary is an excellent tool for guiding structured student research and reporting on any selected energy or renewable energy topic.

Student Materials

Student Response Guide (Microsoft Word)

Instructor Materials

Instructors Guide (Microsoft Word)
ELS Standards (Microsoft Word)
NGSS Standards (Microsoft Word)

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CREATE expresses its gratitude to the Wisconsin Public Service SolarWise for Schools Program for sharing these Renewable Energy lesson plans with us.

To access additional Renewable Energy Education Resources, visit our Resources page.