Search

Contact

Donate

Exploring Renewable Energy Resources: Water Power

Student structures created in this unit. From left to right; a KidWind wind turbine, a posterboard with a green space and a blue waterway that has tiny home models incorporated, and a student model of a playground. In the back is a Powerwheel.
Learning Goals

Learning Goals

  1. Creativity and innovative thinking are essential life skills that can be developed. (VA: Cr1)
  2. Designers develop excellence through practice and constructive critique, reflecting on, revising, and refining work over time. (VA: Cr3)
  3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved. (3-5-ETS1-3)
  4. Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. (3-5-ETS1-3)
  5. Define and delimit engineering problems. (3-5-ETS1-A)
  6. Develop possible solutions. (3-5-ETS1-B)
  7. Optimize the design solution. (3-5-ETS1-C)
  8. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research,
  9. reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W 4.10
  10. Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of the object. (4-PS3-1)
Materials List

Handouts

Classroom Supplies

  • Powerwheel
  • Water source
  • Electrical connections
  • Multimeter or other energy measurement tool
  • Band of lights to connect to waterwheel
  • Computers with Internet access

Group Supplies (4-5 per group)

  • Plastic spoons
  • Cardboard boxes
  • Scissors
  • Water source
  • Tape
  • Optional: KidWind Hydropower kit
  • Optional: Screwdrivers
  • Optional: Plastic or other blade materials

Important Links

Lesson 5 of 7 / 3-4 periods of 1 hour

This lesson appears as a part of the following:
– Water Power Implementation Toolkit

This lesson allows students to understand why water is a renewable resource and how it can do work to create energy. Before creating their own hydropower model, students also observe, make predictions, and test a power wheel; learn about regional and national hydropower sites in a scavenger hunt; and research information and issues about hydropower plants to share using a group jigsaw process.

 

Renewable City

Download Lesson