Maine Energy Education Curriculum Project

Funded by Efficiency Maine, a program of the Maine Public Utilities Commission

The Maine Energy Education Curriculum Project is a three-year project (2007-2010) to develop and disseminate an energy education curriculum for students in grades 4-8; PowerSleuth. PowerSleuth units, consisting of 8-9 lessons that follow a conceptual storyline, use Maine's energy context, and follow an inquiry-based instructional model, have been developed for three grade spans: Energy Lights Maine Grades 4-5, Energy Heats Maine Grades 6-7, and Energy for Maine Grades 7-8. Lessons align with the Maine Learning Results and national standards, are developmentally appropriate, and address commonly held misconceptions students have around particular energy concepts. Materials and additional supporting resources are available to teachers at no cost through this companion website.

Development of the Maine Energy Education Curriculum was guided by and is reflective of:

National (Benchmarks for Science Literacy, National Science Education Standards) and Maine State Standards (2007 Maine Learning Results)
Research-based findings related to energy topics, including commonly held understandings and ideas
What has been determined to be developmentally appropriate for targeted students
Appropriate (inquiry-based) pedagogy and rich learning contexts
Interests of and relevance to Maine students
The needs of Maine teachers for a coherent Maine Energy Education Curriculum, which includes professional development training, educational resources, and access to ongoing statewide support

Project Objectives:

To develop a set of coherent, standards-based, research-informed energy education curriculum materials for Grade 4-8 teachers. Specifically, three individual curricular units, each consisting of 7-12 lessons that follow a conceptual storyline mindful of Maine students and designed with consistent pedagogy, will be developed for the following grade spans: Grades 4-5 (print), Grades 6-7 (print), and Grades 7-8 (print and multi-media components).
To develop a companion website to the Maine Energy Education Curriculum to connect and support grade 4-8 teachers and students.
To provide varied structures (face-to-face and online) and opportunities for professional development for grade 4-8 teachers using the Maine Energy Education Curriculum, including "train the trainer" online workshops and support for implementers of the curriculum.