Lesson 3: Energy Takes Many Forms
Overview
Students revisit the energy descriptions and maps they made for the interaction stations in Lesson 2 and identify the forms of energy involved. Students begin to consider the energy transformations that take place as energy is transferred.
Key Ideas
- Energy exists in many forms.
- Energy can move from one place, object, substance, or system to another.
- Energy can change from one form to another.
Lesson Goals
Students will:
- identify and describe different forms of energy including chemical, elastic, electrical, gravitational potential, heat, light, and motion.
- recognize that energy moves from place to place and changes forms to make things happen.
Lesson Resources
Download Lesson Plan (18 pages, 804 KB)
Student Handout 3.1: Forms of Energy (2 pages, 492 KB)
Student Handout 3.2: Frayer Model Template (1 page, 388 KB)
Student Handout 3.3: Energy Scenes (4 pages, 5.2 MB)
Teacher Resource 3.1: Interaction Stations Teacher Notes Identification of Energy Sources, Receivers, and Forms (2 pages, 508 KB)
Teacher Resource 3.2: Energy Scene Teacher Notes (5 pages, 512 KB)
Links
- The Seven Forms of Energy. This 4 minute video describes seven forms of energy: mechanical, heat, chemical, radiant, electrical, sound, and nuclear. These forms differ slightly from those introduced in this lesson. Be sure to discuss these differences when using this clip.
- Take an interactive quiz about energy flows
Connections to Maine Agencies
A Maine Energy Education Representative Program (MEEP) representative will come to interested schools, free of charge, to guide and support the concepts in this lesson:
- Electricity and the Environment presentation: Students become aware of electricity in this session. They make electricity from an apple in the Apple Battery experiment and then learn how electricity is made in the real world. Next, with MEEP's PV Fan and Mini-Wind Turbine activities, they make electricity from renewable resources. These activities can be combined with the Great Energy Debate and Energy Jeopardy in a full day workshop.
- Kid Wind: Students design and build their own mini wind turbine blades. They then compete to see whose design makes the most electricity.
Project Learning Tree (PLT) Energy Chains: Students explore how energy changes form as it moves from one object to another. This activity includes students acting out the energy transformations. Contact Patricia Maloney at PLT for more information.
For schools in Aroostook County, a Maine Public Service (MPS) representative will come to interested schools, free of charge, to guide and support the concepts developed in this lesson.
