Wadsworth, OH - Educators' Workshop

Wadsworth OH thumbnail
Location:
Wadsworth, OH
Grade Level:
4-12

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Wadsworth, Ohio in July 2016. Partnerships were at the heart of bringing Solar 4R Schools’ education program to eight teachers across five schools in Wadsworth City Schools is expected to reach over 500 local students in the first year. Representatives at Solar 4R Schools connected with Wadsworth City Schools through the Alcoa Foundation, which is also supporting the district’s PRIME initiative (http://www.smeef.org/prime/... Read full project narrative >>

Evansville, IN - Educators' Workshop

Evansville IN solar car in sun thumbnail
Location:
Evansville, IN
Grade Level:
6-8

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Evansville, Indiana in Spring 2016. Solar 4R Schools partnered with I-STEM and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC) to bring this workshop in May of 2016 to schools lacking access to some of the curricular materials available to many schools throughout Indiana.

Thirteen middle school teachers from four EVSC schools spent the day collaborating, planning, and building solar cars to help people “survive a zombie apocalypse.” The materials... Read full project narrative >>

Denton, TX - Educators' Workshop

Denton TX teacher wind circuit
Location:
Denton, TX
Grade Level:
K-6

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Denton, Texas in Spring 2016. BEF’s Solar 4R Schools program and the City of Denton’s Sustainable Schools partnered to provide a STEM teacher training that enabled renewable energy programming to reach 10 educators from 9 schools across the District with substantial science kits – which are now available to teachers through a lending library hosted through Denton Sustainable Schools. The City of Denton, Denton Municipal Electric, and Denton Independent School... Read full project narrative >>

Chandler, AZ - Educators' Workshop

Chandler, AZ Solar Car
Location:
Chandler, AZ
Grade Level:
PK, 1-8

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Chandler, Arizona in Spring 2016. The Solar 4R Schools team had an opportunity to work intimately with the East Valley Chapter of the organization Engineering for Kids. Educators spent time designing the heating compartment for a solar oven (even overheating leftover pizza) and enjoyed tremendously the time spent designing and redesigning solar cars to work in the bright Arizona sun! East Valley Engineering for Kids expects to reach 150+ students over the course... Read full project narrative >>

Arkadelphia, AR - Educators' Workshop

Arkadelphia AR solar circuit thumbnail
Location:
Arkadelphia, AR
Grade Level:
6-12

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Gum Springs/Arkadelphia, Arkansas in Spring 2016. This workshop was hosted by the Henderson State University STEM Center. The STEM center, alongside numerous others throughout the state, acts as a resource provision entity for teachers in the Central-Southwest portion of the state.  Beginning with recruiting nearly all 6th-12th grade science teachers from the immediate Arkadelphia region area, the STEM center then branched out to enroll teachers from areas as far... Read full project narrative >>

Thomas Jefferson Middle School

play structure with electricians
Location:
Vancouver, WA
Grade Level:
5-8
Technology Type:
solar
PV System Size:
9.75 - kilowatts

Thanks to support from Clark Public Utilities Green Lights Customers, Solar 4R Schools managed the installation of a 12 kW solar photovoltaic system on Thomas Jefferson Middle School's play structure to supply the school with clean, renewable energy and a real-world learning opportunity. Educators at the school received a customized renewable energy teacher training from Solar 4R Schools in 2016, complete with hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. A total of 15 teachers... Read full project narrative >>

Analyze Data and Draw Conclusions

Average Rating:
0
Unit:
Solar Cars
Intended Grade Level(s):
4-6
Subject Area(s) Covered:
Science
opinion
reasons
point of view
writing
analysis
qualitative
quantitative
data
cause and effect
observations
conclusions
Estimated Activity Length:
1 hour
Learning Goal(s):

Students will determine how differences between solar cars affected their functionality. Students will make claims based off of quantitative and qualitative data. Students will engage in scientific talk based off of their own observations when constructing and testing solar cars. Students will complete a journaling activity that outlines their processes relating to making conclusions.

Relevant Common Core Standard(s):

Students have performed the investigation and will now analyze their data. They will accomplish this through a journaling activity that requires them to use the data collected from the actual races. The will

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Collect Data...Then Compare and Contrast

Solar Car Race
Average Rating:
0
Unit:
Solar Cars
Intended Grade Level(s):
4-6
Subject Area(s) Covered:
Science
investigation
fair tests
Laws of Motion
forces
Energy
energy transformation
variables
mass
Engineering
Estimated Activity Length:
1 hour
Learning Goal(s):

Students will:

  • Compare and contrast forces acting on the system by examining the results of the solar car races.
  • Explain the mechanics of gear ratios and demonstrate the most useful ratio to use when constructing solar cars.
  • Explain the benefits of employing a pulley-system in their car construction. Students will understand the importance of selecting measurable, specific variables to compare in their data collection process in order to make evidence-based claims.

Students will race different iterations of solar cars: geared and pulley-system cars using varying gear ratios. Students will have the opportunity to make predictions, record data, and explain the results

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Build Solar Cars

Average Rating:
0
Unit:
Solar Cars
Intended Grade Level(s):
4-6
Subject Area(s) Covered:
Science
investigation
fair tests
Laws of Motion
forces
Energy
energy transformation
variables
mass
Engineering
Estimated Activity Length:
50 min
Learning Goal(s):

Students will construct a geared solar car, a pulley-system solar car, or both. Students will make verbal predictions about the outcomes and viabilities of different types of solar cars. Students will pinpoint the independent, dependent, and control variables in their solar car testing process.

Students will build their solar vehicles. There are many options for them to do this, depending on the specific variables hoping to be tested following the construction and material-selection process.

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Solar Cars Science Investigation

Average Rating:
0
Unit:
Solar Cars
Intended Grade Level(s):
4-6
Subject Area(s) Covered:
Science
investigation
fair tests
Laws of Motion
forces
Energy
energy transformation
variables
mass
Engineering
Estimated Activity Length:
50 min
Learning Goal(s):

Students will design an investigation to test solar vehicles. They will determine which particular materials they will use in the testing of their chosen format. Students will allow for redesign to take place by determining variables that can be manipulated in a measurable format. Students will determine data that will be useful to collect in the testing of their vehicle design.

Students will design a science investigation to test solar car with a pulley or with a variety of gear sizes. In the previous lesson, they were introduced to the different types of systems that can be

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