When the Grid Goes Down and Stays Down

Puerto Rico Power
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Intended Grade Level(s):
7-8
Energy Content:
Electrical Grid (Transmission & Distribution),
Sources of Energy
Learning Goal(s):

  1. Students will understand the general structure of an energy grid

  2. Students will develop an understanding of the living conditions in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

  3. Students will collaborate to brainstorm needs to support safety, health and comfort in a natural disaster setting.

  4. Students will identify energy resources that one might desire to have in order meet the needs they identify. 

Unit:
Chemical Differences in Emergency Energy Sources
Lesson Number:
1
Pedagogy & Practice:
Empathetic Engineering,
Phenomena-Driven Instruction,
Research-Secondary,
Social-Emotional Learning
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices:
1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems
Other Subjects Covered:
ELA: Informational Text,
ELA: Speaking & Listening,
ELA: Writing,
ELA: Vocabulary Development,
Social Sciences: Analysis,
Social Sciences: Multicultural Studies
Estimated Activity Length:
1 hour 20 min
Files Associated with this Activity:
PDF icon ChildersLesson1 .pdf
PDF icon GridGOLesson1.pdf
PDF icon Lesson1_Graphic Organizer.pdf
Description:

Through an examination of media published in the five months following Hurricane Maria in 2017, students will develop an understanding of the electrical grid, the vulnerabilities of a grid system, and the immediate and long-term challenges of living without an electrical grid. This lesson will lay the foundation for the rest of the unit, establishing emergency energy sources and disaster resilience as the anchoring phenomena for the unit.