Here you will find all of the work we have done on our unit covering Energy in Our Lives.  I will try to include a brief explanation of the lesson, as well as any worksheets we have used.

Remember that the lesson plans are found on the grade 1 page.
 

Lesson 1

What is Energy?

 

 

 We used out first lesson to discuss the concept of energy, and briefly touched on the fact that we need energy in order to do things.  We used the example of going outside at nutrition break (using our energy), then coming in for lunch (getting more energy).  We discussed other situations in which we have heard the term energy, and followed that up by making a list of words that we associate with energy.

 

Lesson 2

The Sun

 

 

 

 We started today learning the words to Raffi's "Mr. Sun".  We then brainstormed information we knew about the sun (provides light, warmth, energy etc).  We discussed what the world would be like without the sun and what would happen to people, animals and plants (none would be able to live).  Finally we discussed the fact that the sun is the single most important energy source to the planet Earth.  At the end of class students were to draw pictures to show the importance of the sun and what the sun does for us.

Worksheet

 

Lesson 3

Energy Chains

 

 

 

 

 After reviewing the concept of energy and the idea of eating to get energy, we talked about different foods and how they get the energy inside them.  This led to a discussion about the sun and how the sun gives energy to the plants, and in the end is the source of all our food energy.  Once the concept of food energy from the sun was taught, we discussed "energy chains" as a means of following the path the energy takes to get to all living things.  The students reinforced their learning by completing three activities on a worksheet.

Worksheet               Answer Key

 

Lesson 4

More Energy Chains

 

 

 

 

 At the start of class each student was handed a card with a word on it.  We played a game in which each student had to find their source of energy (another student, i.e., if they were a frog they would need to find an insect).  Once everyone had found their food source we sat down and found that we were all sitting in radial lines around the student holding "sun."  The sun then passed "energy" to the people near by, all of whom were plants.  The plants then passed that energy back to the animals behind them.  This reinforced that all energy for living things comes from the sun.  The students then sat down and drew their own energy chain.

Worksheet

 

Lesson 5

Sources of Energy

 

 

 After reviewing energy chains we discussed where different things get the energy they need in order to function.  For example, a car needs gasoline, we need food etc.  The terms "source of energy" or "input" were then introduced.  The students then worked on matching sources of energy to the object that uses that energy.

Worksheet               Cut-Outs               Answer Key

 

Lesson 6

Output

 

 

 We reviewed the idea that energy can come from many places, and that things need energy to function.  We then sat down and looked at a fan and a toaster.  We determined that they both have the same source of energy, but the purpose of them was different.  We learned that when you put energy into something you get an "output", and in this case we had moving air from the fan, and heat from the toaster (we also noticed the toaster hummed, sound, and when the lights were off it glowed, light).  Our conversation took most of our class, so we used the rest of the time as a finish up period.

 

Lesson 7

More Output

 

 Similar to our sources of energy worksheet, after a review of concepts, we did two activities to get a better understanding of output.

Worksheet               Cut-Outs               Answer Key

 

Lesson 8

School Energy

 

 

 Today we discussed energy use in the school.  We talked about how energy is used in the school, where the energy comes from, and how it gets into the school.  This was all leading up to a "school energy tour."  Mr Taylor, the school's caretaker, was kind enough to take us into the boiler room and other areas of the school to show us where we could find the school's energy sources.  We got to see how fire alarm system works, among many other cool things.

 

Lesson 9

Energy Video

 

 In class today we watched two short videos about energy.  the narrator gave us a lot of information about energy, and types of energy (some of which was a bit beyond us), but the most important part of the video was watching what energy can do - "Energy makes things happen."

 

Lesson 10

Thank You Mr. Taylor

 

 We started class by discussing all of the cool things we saw when Mr. Taylor took us on the school energy tour.  Following that, we used our science time to practise our writing and made thank you cards.  Thank you Mr. Taylor, it was awesome!

 

Lesson 11

Camping Without Electricity

 

 

 

 

 Today we talked about camping.  We started by having a conversation about things you do while camping, and then talked about the different "levels" of camping (motor home vs. backpacking).  I told the class about an annual camping trip I take with my family, where we canoe into our site and can only take things we can carry with us.  As a class we pretended we were all going on a camping trip like this.  We talked about how we would prepare, and what things we would take with us.  On our worksheet we showed some of the things we would not be able to use, and how we would replace them (no shower, so swim in the lake to stay clean, no stove, so cook on the fire).

Worksheet

 

Lesson 12

Energy at Home

 

 

 

 Over the past few weeks we have talked a lot about energy at school.  Today we talked about energy at home.  Each student will have brought home a small booklet that is to be filled in over the next week.  We talked about what information is needed to complete the booklet, and we also talked a lot about making sure that we have an adult helper when doing this work.  If you need to print the booklet at home, it comes in two pages, which when printed on both sides of a piece of paper, then folded, will form the pamphlet.

Worksheet               Note

 

Lesson 13

Plants and the Sun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We had a conversation today about what plants need in order to grow and stay healthy.  We then looked at two relatively similar plants.  We drew pictures of both plants, then put one in a nice sunny location, and the other in a closet.  Over the next three weeks we will be watering both of the plants and monitoring the changes that occur.  We will use our plants booklet to document our findings.  To print the booklet, double side your pages, flipping the second and fourth page, then place pages together and fold in half.

Worksheet

I will be doing an oral conference with each student during lesson 15.  Today a note went home with all of the questions we will be discussing.  Try talking about these things at home to see what your grade 1 student knows.

Review

 

Lesson 14

Energy Moving Things

 

 Today we made fans.  We played with our paper fans, and discovered that by using energy that we get from food (which gets its energy from the sun), we can make the air move.  The moving air could in turn move an object.  Follow the energy:

Sun - Plants - Animals - People - Muscles - Fan - Air - Ball

 

Lesson 15

Conferences

 

 We used today's period to start our conferences.  Meanwhile, we used the rest of our time to get caught up on any incomplete work, both in science and in other subjects.

Lesson 16

The Affects of the Sun

 

 

 One week has passed since we started observing our plants.  We brought the plants out to have a look at how they are doing.  We then made our next set of drawings in our plants booklet.  At the end of class today we set up a couple more experiments to see what else the sun can do.  We half overlapped two pieces of paper and taped then on the window.  We then placed a cup of water on the window sill with our plant, and another one in the darkness with the second plant.  Also, any of us who had not done our conference did so during our work time.

 

Lesson 17

People Using Energy

 

 

 Our lesson today began by talking about how humans use the energy they get from the food we eat.  Most of the time humans use their food to create movement, but we also use it to grow and to do things like using our senses.  Our worksheet today helped us to practise writing some moving words and spelling the words for our senses.

Worksheet               Answer Key

 

Lesson 18

Manual Toys

 

 

 

 

 

 Time to play!  Today's lesson started with a table full of toys.  One by one we volunteered to demonstrate how the toys worked, and also we explained how they worked using our scientific knowledge.  In the end we determined that all of the toys that were presented to us were operated by using energy from our muscles (which of course we get by eating, and the food gets the energy from the sun.)  Our next task was to categorize the toys into "push" toys and "pull" toys.  When we were finished we discussed how sorting can be important for scientists.  Our last task of the day was to sort some pictures of toys be making up our own categories.  We cut out the pictures and glued them onto lists.

Worksheet               Cut-Outs

 

Lesson 19

Wind-Up Toys

 

 

 It has now been two weeks for our plants.  We once again brought them together and drew how they looked (lots of changes happening).  Then it was back onto the shelf and into the closet for them.  Then, on to more play time.  Today we were looking at wind-up (and some pull-back) toys.  We just took the remaining time we had to explore how the toys work and talked about how we still use our muscles, but the toys store the energy for future use (just like how we eat food and store the energy).

 

Lesson 20

Wind-Up Toy Experiment

 

 

 

 Back to our wind-up toys today, but this time we were doing an experiment.  We wound our toys a set number of times, and then we measured how far they travelled.  We pulled them back set distances, then measured how far forward they moved.  With this experiment we discussed the concept that the amount of energy output is related to the amount of energy input.  We also talked about taking in too much energy.  If we wind out toys too much they can break.  Just like people, if we take in too much energy, we can not use it properly and it converts to fat in our body.

Worksheet

 

Lesson 21

Safety

 

 

 

 

 We started today's class by looking at a series of pictures.  As each picture was shown we were asked:  What is in the picture?  What uses energy?  What is the source of energy?  What is the energy output?  What safety precautions are necessary when using this item?  We then talked more about safety rules in general (don't sit too close to the TV, don't shine flashlights in people's eyes, etc) and how our senses can warn us it there is danger (we can smell smoke, see fire, feel heat, etc).  At the end of class we made a poster to show using some type of energy safely.

Pictures               Poster Template

 

Lesson 22

Plant Finally

 

 

 

 It has now been three weeks since we started our plants experiment.  For the last time we brought our two plants together.  We made our final drawings and we discussed the appearance of our plants.  As it turns out, neither of the plants faired too well in our experiment.  We discussed reasons as to why both plants appeared to have died (they were pulled from the ground and re-planted, we forgot to water, etc).  Although they did not do well, we still found that the plant in the sunlight had more green left than the one in the darkness.  Next we answered the questions at the back of our plant book.  To finish class we got a head start on our next lesson...

 

Lesson 23

Making a Toy

 

 

 

 

 Today we are making a toy.  All of the instructions are in the file below, but here is a quick summary:
  • We cut out gingerbread man shape from a thin cardboard box.
  • We taped straws across his hands.
  • We fed a string through the straws.
  • The string was hung from a doorknob and when the string ends were pulled back and forth, then man climbed up the string.

Template               Instructions

 

Lesson 24

Limited Resources

 

 

 We started today by reviewing energy sources.  We then learned that we call some sources of energy "resources".  Next we talked about the fact that some resources that give us energy do not run out (like the sun, or wind), but some resources can run out (like oil).  To help learn more about resources we watched a video called "Learning About Natural Resources".

 

Lesson 25

Using Energy Wisely

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The first thing we did today was review the idea that some of our energy sources will not last forever.   We then thought about what would happen if we ran out of some of these things.  That led us to understand the importance of being "energy wise" (not being wasteful with energy).  It also helped us to understand why John T. Tuck has been doing "Eco Challenges" in the school.  Our worksheet today showed us some examples of ways we could use energy more wisely.  We also had a chance to look at many of the things in our homes that would not work if we ran out of some of our resources.

Worksheet               Answers

At the end of class today we were told that we will be ending our unit soon.  We were given a review sheet with all of the things that we have learned about energy, and asked to make sure we know the things on the review.

Review

 

Lesson 26

Review

 

 

 

 

 We used today's class to review all of our work from this unit.  We did this in a series of games.  The first game was a true/false game. This game involved a "T" and an "F" being taped to the wall, then we were given a statement and had to move to the "T" if we thought it was correct, or the "F" if we thought it was wrong.  Following that we worked together to complete a chart that listed a series of objects.  Our job was to figure out what the source of energy for each object is, as well as the output produced.  The last activity was to work in groups to answer a series of questions.

Practise Questions

 

Lesson 27

End of Unit

 

 

 This is our last energy lesson.  Starting today we will show that we are energy experts.  This lesson will actually take place over about three lessons, using the first 15 minutes or so of each.  Over the next few periods, at the start of each period, we will answer some short questions about energy.  We will use the remaining time in each lesson to start our unit on Daily and Seasonal Changes.

 
   
This concludes our unit on Energy.  Our next unit is Daily and Seasonal Changes.