T E
A C H E R ’ S
N O T E S
Focus:
Students explore energy: its sources
and its forms, how it makes things “go,” how it
moves from the sun to plants to animals, how
we use it, and how to conserve it.
Learning Goals:
Students will have opportunities to learn
• how to correctly use the terms energy,
electricity, muscle power, natural, the sun
• what energy is and that it is important to
life on Earth
• that different types of energy can make
different things “go”
• what wind power is and how it is used
• what water power is and how it is used
• why the sun is an important source of
energy for Earth
• what electricity is, why it is important, and how to
conserve it
Discussion Prompts:
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How do you use energy each day?
What types of energy do you use each day?
How do we use wind energy?
How do we use water energy?
How does the sun make wind?
How is the sun’s energy important?
Why is electricity important?
Why is it important to turn off things that use
electricity?
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Assessment Prompts:
• Do students demonstrate, in their discussions
and answers to questions, understanding of the
science vocabulary used in the cards for this unit?
• Are students able to carry out the skills of
scientific inquiry, following activity procedure
steps safely and accurately, making observations
when appropriate?
• Assess students’ responses during discussions.
- Do students understand that things require
energy to work?
- Do students recognize that there are different
types of energy that make things work?
- Can students identify how they use different
types of energy?
- Can students describe what wind energy is and
identify one way that we use that energy?
- Can students describe what water energy is and
identify one way that we use that energy?
- Are students able to identify reasons why the
sun’s energy is important to Earth?
- Can students explain what electricity is and how
it is made?
- Can students identify how we use electricity and
how we can conserve it?
Links to PCSP Student Book Power Station :
Card 1: see Lessons 1 and 2
Card 2: see Lessons 1, 2, and 5
Card 3: see Lessons 2– 4
Card 4: see Lessons 5–7
Card 5: see Lessons 6 and 7
Focus:
Students explore energy and its uses.
Introduce students to the
topic with the video that
shows a yacht using wind
energy. Discuss the video and
any comments or questions
students may have.
Activity Description: Text and a
visual ask students to think about
what makes a bicycle move.
Learning Goal: Students
explore the idea that muscle power
is what makes a bicycle move.
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Ask Students: What happens to
the bike when the boy uses his
muscles to pedal? (it moves ) What
would happen if the boy did not
pedal? ( The bike would not move or
would stop moving.) When the boy
pedals, what happens to the bike
chain? (it goes around ) When the
chain goes around, what happens to
the wheels? ( They move and the
bike and rider move forward.)
Activity Description:
A visual and text describe to
students that water moves the raft.
The people also use muscle power
to steer and paddle the raft.
Students click on the orange icon
and are taken to a drag-and-drop
activity.
Learning Goals: Students
expand their knowledge that water
can move an object—a raft—and
that muscle power can also move
the raft. Two sources of power affect
the movement of the raft at the
same time. Students then apply
their knowledge to identify different
sources of energy that make
different objects “go” or work.
continued next page
Assessment: Do students
understand that muscle power is what makes the bike move? Do
students also recognize that there are parts of the bike, other than
the pedals, that contribute to the movement of the bike, once
muscle power is applied to the pedals?
Activity Description: Four blank
text boxes appear in which students
can type in how they have used
energy today.
Learning Goal: Students identify
how they use different forms of energy
for different purposes.
Ask Students: How did you use
energy today? Did you use your muscle
power to make things move or “go”?
(e.g., walking to school, riding a bike,
eating, jumping, skipping, talking, and
so on) Did you use electricity today?
How? (e.g., lights, toaster, microwave,
computer, and so on) Did you use water
power today? (e.g., the power of
running water helps to clean our bodies,
our dishes, and clothes ) Did you use
wind power today? (If students flew a
kite, they did. Or if the wind was strong
behind them walking to school, it
helped push them along.)
Assessment: Can students identify
the different forms of energy they used
today? Can they identify how the
energy was used? Some students may
continued next page
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
2
Activity Description: This timed activity asks
students to drag and drop the labels (electrical power
and muscle power) to match the energy being used by
people or objects in the picture. Students click on a
orange icon to play a timed, jigsaw puzzle activity. They
drag puzzle pieces into place to re-create the illustration
shown in the first activity.
Learning Goal: Students identify the forms of energy
that are used by people or objects in each example in the
illustration.
Ask Students: Can you write a list of three ways that
muscle power is used in the picture? Can you write a list of
three ways that electrical energy is used in the picture? Can
you think of other activities that use muscle power or
electrical power that you don’t see in the picture?
Assessment: Are students able to accurately identify
objects in the picture that use electrical energy? And can students
accurately identify which activities in the picture use muscle power?
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
continued from page 2
Ask Students: What is one type of energy
that makes the raft move? (moving water )
How can you tell that the water is moving?
( Because the water is wavy and choppy,
which indicates that the water itself is moving
and gives it power.) What is a second type of
energy that moves the raft? (muscle power
applied to the paddles ) For the drag-anddrop activity, ask students not only to identify
which type of energy makes each object “go,”
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
continued from page 2
benefit from drawing pictures with labels
of their energy use: Do their pictures
and labels clearly indicate the type of
energy they used and how it was used?
but also ask what happens to the object when
it “goes.” For example, students first identify
that electricity makes the coloured lights “go”.
Then ask them: What happens to the lights
when electricity makes them “go”? (they
light up )
Assessment: Can students identify that
different sources of power make different
types of objects “go”? Can students describe
what happens to the different objects when
they “go”?
3
Focus:
Students explore wind and water energy.
Activity Description: A visual and text
describe to students how, in the past,
windmills used wind power to grind flour
and to pump water. The first yellow arrow,
which reads, “Click to look inside” takes
students to a page of text and visuals to
learn more about the parts of a windmill
and how they work. The second, which
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Activity Description: Students
click on the orange icon associated
with each image. For each image,
students are taken to a page that
describes where the energy comes
from to make each object “go.”
Learning Goal: Students expand
their understanding of how different
forms of energy make different objects
work or “go.”
Ask Students: What type of energy
makes the paraglider “go”? (wind
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
reads, “Click to see more,” takes students
to a page with a visual and text that show
modern wind-farm windmills, which are
used to generate electricity.
Learning Goals: Students explore how
wind power has been used in the past and
how it is used currently. Students identify
continued next page
energy ) What type of energy makes the
fan “go”? (electricity ) What type of
energy makes the sprinkler work? (the
energy in moving water ) Can you think
of other things that “go” because of
wind energy? (windmill, sailboat ) What
other things “go” because of electricity
or because of water? (falling water
makes turbines “go” to make electricity;
water can carry a raft down a river;
electricity powers almost all of our
devices—computers, TVs, and so on)
Introduce students
to the topic with
the video of a
windsurfer using
wind and water
energy. Discuss the
video and any
comments or
questions students
may have.
Assessment: Can students explain
what types of energy make the objects
shown in the pictures “go”? Can
students come up with their own
examples of how wind, water, or
electric energy makes things “go”? (Ask
students to think of three examples in
the classroom or at home and draw
pictures of objects that “go” due to
forms of energy.)
4
continued from page 4
parts of older-style windmills and associated
vocabulary (e.g., sails, driveshaft, millstones)
Ask Students: What is a windmill? (a
structure, or building, that has sails to capture
wind power ) What jobs did windmills do in the
past? (grind flour, pump water ) What job do
windmills do today? (make electricity) What
type of power do we use to make windmills
work? (wind power ) Sailboats have sails to
catch wind to make the boat move. Windmills
don’t sail on the ocean, so why do we say that
windmills have sails? (windmills also “catch”
wind to use wind energy to do work )
Assessment: Do students understand that
wind energy can be used to do different jobs?
Can they identify one or more examples of how
wind energy was used in the past and how it is
used today?
Activity Description: Students fill one balloon with
water and another balloon with air (they blow it up).
Students place two table tennis balls on a line. They
hold the necks of each balloon tightly and point them
towards the balls. They release the necks of the balloons
at the same time to push the balls forward using wind
and water energy from each balloon. Students measure
how far the balls moved. Students click on the orange
Think icon to find out which form of energy moved the
balls furthest. (Ask students to describe to you which
form of energy moved the balls the furthest—prior to
clicking on the Think icon.)
Students click on the orange icon at the bottom right
corner of the page. They are taken to a timed word
scramble activity in which they drag and drop letters to
unscramble the words for four forms of energy: heat, light,
electricity, and water.
Learning Goals: Students measure and identify which
form of energy (wind or water ) has more power to move
the table tennis balls. Students reinforce vocabulary terms
while identifying four forms of energy.
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Ask Students: Which form of energy moved the balls
the farthest? (water ) How do you know? (students
measured the distances the balls moved ) What are the
four types of energy shown in the word scramble? (light,
heat, electricity, water ) Can you think of other forms of
energy not found in the word scramble? (muscle power,
wind power )
Assessment: Can students identify the four forms of energy in the word
scramble? Did students carry out the activity procedure steps safely and
accurately, including measuring how far the balls moved in their balloon test?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
5
Focus:
Students explore the sun’s energy.
Activity Description: Text and
visuals describe to students that the
sun’s energy travels in straight-line
“rays,” and that solar panels on the roof
of a house can capture this energy to
heat the water used in a home.
Learning Goals: Students explore
how the sun’s energy travels and how
that energy can be used to heat water in
a home.
our homes? (with solar panels ) Have you
ever seen a solar panel on a house or a
building? (Students may or may not have
seen these; they may also have seen
smaller solar panels on devices such as
parking meters. These solar panels
change the sun’s energy into electricity to
power the parking meter.)
Assessment: Are students able to
explain how we can use the sun’s energy
to heat water in our homes? Do they
Ask Students: How does the sun’s
energy travel? (in straight lines ) How can understand that the sun’s energy travels
we use the sun’s energy to heat water in in straight lines?
Introduce students to the topic
with the video that shows plants
receiving sunlight. Discuss the
video and any comments or
questions students may have.
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Activity Description:
Students are shown a four-panel
energy chain, which starts with
the sun helping plants to grow,
continues with cows eating
vegetation, and is followed by a
girl drinking cow’s milk, and ends
with the girl having energy to live
and grow. Students click on an
orange arrow icon and are taken
to a blank four-panel layout.
Students are asked to drag and
drop four images into the correct
order to make an energy chain.
Activity Description: Text and a visual
describe to students, step-by-step, the
process by which heat energy from the sun
generates wind. Students then click on an
orange icon near the bottom of the page,
which takes them to a story about the
characters, “Sun” and “Wind.” The story
poses the question: which is stronger, Sun
or Wind? The story ends definitively,
suggesting that Sun is stronger than Wind.
Learning Goals: Students explore how
the sun’s heat energy creates the wind.
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Students develop literacy skills by reading
a story that reinforces the idea that the
sun creates wind.
Ask Students: How does the sun make
wind? (as a class, go through each of the
four descriptive steps. When you feel
students understand the concepts, ask them
to draw pictures—on their own or with a
partner—to express their understanding of
how the sun makes wind.) Can you tell me
or a partner what happens in the story of
Learning Goal: Students
explore energy chains and the
role that the sun’s energy plays in
providing energy to plants and
animals.
Ask Students: Where does
the sun’s energy fit into each
energy chain? (always at the
beginning ) Can you think of
your own energy chain and
draw a picture of it?
Assessment: Can students
describe that the sun comes at
the start of energy chains? Are
students able to “see” the
continued next page
continued next page
6
Activity Description: Students plant a sweet potato
in a pot. They place the pot in a box that is cut out like a
maze. Students keep the lid on the box, except when
watering, and, over time, they will see the potato plant
sprout out of the box. (Note: This activity will need to be
monitored for a few weeks for students to make
observations of plant growth.)
Students click on another orange icon and are taken to an
illustration of a farm field. Students click on four things in
the field to read short text pieces that describe how the
vegetables and animals (and people) use the sun’s energy.
Learning Goal: Students reinforce their understanding
that the sun’s energy helps plants and animals to grow
and live.
Ask Students: Just after students put the potato plant in the box, ask
them: What do you think will happen to the plant over time? (likely it will
grow through the maze and out of the hole in the box ) After the plant has
grown, ask: Why do you think the plant grows out of the box like that? (it is
seeking sunlight—energy from the sun—to help it grow ) How does the
sun help the plants and animals in the farm field? (sunlight helps vegetables
and plants to grow; animals eats plants for the energy they contain )
continued from page 6
movement of energy through each
energy chain and explain the steps to
you? Are students able to think up and
draw their own energy chains and
explain their reasoning to you?
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Assessment: Were students able to follow activity procedure instructions
safely and accurately? Were students able to predict how the plant would
grow out of the box, and were they able to recognize why the plant grew
out of the box? Can students describe to you how the sun’s energy helps the
plants and animals in the farm field?
continued from page 6
Assessment: Do students understand that
Sun and Wind? How does Wind try to get the the sun’s energy creates wind? Can students
describe to you the steps involved in how wind
man’s coat off? (blows strong wind at the
man ) How does Sun get the coat off the man? is made by the sun? Did students comprehend
and could they relate some of the main events
(shines down until the man is too hot and
in the story of Sun and Wind?
must remove the coat )
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
7
Focus:
Students explore electricity and its uses.
Activity Description: A visual
and text describe that lightning “is
nature’s electricity,” which we often
see during big storms.
Ask Students: Have you ever
seen lightning flash in the sky? What
is lightning? (electricity found in
nature )
Learning Goal: Students explore
lightning and that it is a form of
electricity found in nature.
Assessment: Do students
understand and can they explain that
lightning is electricity?
Introduce students to
the topic with the
video that shows
household items being
switched off. Discuss
the video and any
comments or questions
students may have.
Activity Description: Students
are shown three visuals (a TV, a
lamp, and a computer). They are
asked to drag and drop text
statements onto the matching visuals
to identify how to save electricity
when using these devices.
Activity Description: Text
and visuals describe to students
1) that touching a metal door
handle can give you an electric
shock, and 2) how to make static
electricity using a plastic pen
and some tissue.
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Learning Goal: Students
explore static electricity and
how it is made.
Ask Students: Have you
ever felt a small shock when
you touched a door handle?
What did you think it was? Why
do the pieces of tissue stick to
continued next page
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Activity Description: A visual and text
describe to students how electricity is
made at a hydroelectric power plant.
Students click on a yellow arrow to find
out more about how the water pushes past
the blades of a turbine, making it spin, and
how the spinning turbine makes electricity
that we can use.
Learning Goal: Students expand their
knowledge of how electricity is made at a
hydroelectric power plant.
Ask Students: How does water help
make electricity at a power plant? (Do
students recall the idea of water power
from the first topic in this unit? The energy
in the moving water turns the blades of the
turbine, which creates the electricity.) How
are the blades of a turbine like the sails of
continued next page
Learning Goal: Students reinforce
the idea that turning off electric
devices is a good way to save
electricity.
Ask Students: When you are
finished using a device, such as a
computer, what should you do to save
electricity? (turn off the device ) Can
you think of other devices that use
electricity? How can you save
electricity when you use those
devices? (turn them off )
Assessment: Are students able to
read and comprehend the text
statements in the activity well enough
to match them correctly to the visuals?
Are students able to describe why it is
important to turn off electric devices?
Can they come up with examples of
other electric devices?
8
continued from page 8
a windmill? (Ask students to think back to
their work learning about wind energy and
windmills. Wind energy pushes the sails of
the windmill around, which is similar to
water energy pushing the blades of a
turbine around.)
Assessment: Can students explain to
you or a partner how electricity is made in
a power station? Do students understand
how water energy helps to create
electricity? Are students able to make
meaningful connections between the sails
of windmills and the blades of turbines?
Activity Description: Students draw
pictures or cut out pictures from a magazine of
devices that use electricity. Students write
down the device they would miss most if there
was no electricity. Students then click on an
orange icon, which takes them to a screen with
images of electric devices found in the home.
Students identify devices that use electricity by
clicking on the pictures. Text labels appear that
name the devices.
Learning Goals: Students reinforce their
knowledge of devices that use electricity.
Students describe what electric devices they like
to use and why they would miss them if there
was no electricity.
Ask Students: What electric device would
you miss most if there was no electricity? Can
you think of other things at home that use
electricity that you don’t see in the picture?
Assessment: Are students able to identify the
objects in the home that use electricity? Were
students able to articulate in speech and writing
which electric device they would miss most if
there was no electricity?
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
continued from page 8
the pen? ( When you rub the tissue on the pen, you
create static electricity.) What happens when you pull
off your hat in winter? ( Often, a static charge will be
created between the hat and the hair, causing the hair
to stand up. This is another example of static
electricity, just like the pen and tissue.)
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Assessment: Do students understand and can they
explain that when they feel a shock from a door
handle, they are feeling an electric shock—static
electricity? Do they recognize that the pieces of tissue
are attracted to the plastic pen because of static
electricity?
9
Focus:
Students explore how to save
energy and why saving energy is important.
Activity Description: Text and a visual
describe to students that we put fuel in cars.
Fuel is made from oil and some oil is found
under the ocean. Students click on the orange
arrow icon at the bottom of the screen.
Diagrams and text describe three stages in
the creation of oil under the ocean over
millions of years.
continued next page
Activity Description: Text
and a visual describe to students
how they can actively reduce
their electricity consumption, and
improve their physical health, by
playing outdoor games rather
than watching TV.
continued next page
Introduce students to the
topic with the video that
shows a city lit up at night.
Discuss the video and any
comments or questions
students may have.
Activity Description: Students
are asked to drag and drop the
correct text label onto each picture.
The text labels suggest ways of doing
each home activity in a way that
does not require electricity. When
students complete the drag and drop
part of the activity, they are asked to
write down other ways they could
save electricity.
Activity Description: Text and visuals
describe to students how geothermal energy is
used to make electricity.
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Learning Goal: Students explore an
alternative way of producing electricity:
geothermal energy.
Ask Students: What does geothermal mean?
(Geo is an old word that means Earth; and
thermal is another word for heat. So, geothermal
means “Earth heat.” We use the steam heat from
within Earth to generate electricity.) Water turns
turbines to make electricity, because water has
power. Wind turns turbines to make electricity,
because wind has power. Why do you think steam
can also turn turbines to make electricity?
( Because steam also has power.) Can you explain
continued next page
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Learning Goal: To expand
students’ understanding of how to do different tasks without
electricity—in order to save energy.
Ask Students: What kind of energy do you use when you
mow grass using a push mower? (muscle power ) What kind of
energy do you use when you wash dishes by hand? (muscle
power ) What kind of energy do you use when you mix batter by
hand? (muscle power ) What kind of energy do you use when
you dry clothes on a line? (energy from the sun ) Can you think
of other jobs you could do by hand instead of using electricity?
(chop wood, dry your hair with a towel rather than a blow dryer,
sing a song or play an instrument rather than using a stereo )
Assessment: Are students able to read and comprehend
the text in the activity to correctly match the labels with the
pictures? Can students identify and write down their own
ideas on what else they could do to save electricity? Do
students recognize that, even if you don’t use electricity,
some form of energy is always needed (such as muscle
power) to do jobs?
10
continued from page 10
Learning Goals: Students identify that fuel
made from oil powers our cars. Students then
explore how oil under the ocean was formed.
Ask Students: What do we put in our cars
to make them go? (fuel or gas ) What is fuel
made from? (oil ) Can you describe to a
partner how oil is made under the ocean?
How do we take the oil out of the ocean?
( We drill with oil rigs. )
Assessment: Are students able to describe
what fuel is made from and how oil forms
under the ocean?
continued from page 10
Learning Goal: To expand students’
understanding of how they can reduce their
electricity use.
Ask Students: What outdoor games do
you like to play? (You could ask students to
participate in developing a class list of
outdoor games for all seasons.) Can you help
save energy by playing these games? How
so? ( Yes, because these games do not use
electricity.)
Assessment: Are students able to explain
which outdoor games they play and how these
activities can contribute to saving energy? Do
students actively participate in developing a
class list of outdoor games?
Activity Description: Students are asked to make a
poster to encourage others to save energy. Students click
on an orange icon and are taken to a screen with three
posters. They click on each poster separately and write
down how people could save energy in each context.
Learning Goals: Students reinforce and expand their
ideas about how to save energy, specifically, electricity,
water, and fuel for cars.
Ask Students: If you wish to develop the interactive
activity posters as a class, ask students: What would you
say on a poster to tell people ways to save electricity?
What would you write on a poster to tell people how to
save water? What would you say on a poster to tell
people how to save fuel for their cars? (Students can
each use one suggestion from the class discussion as the
focus of their own poster.)
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Assessment: Are students able to make useful
suggestions on ways to save electricity, water, or fuel?
Are students able to develop their own energy poster
successfully by 1) identifying the focus of their poster and
2) communicating their ideas effectively through pictures
and words?
continued from page 10
to a friend how water turns to steam underground?
Can you explain how we use that steam to make
electricity?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Assessment: Are students able to explain that
steam has power, which is why we can use it to make
electricity? Can students explain to you or a partner
how water turns to steam underground and how we
use that steam to make electricity?
11