National Teacher Enhancement Project

Middle School Home Energy Audit

Project Homepage

NTEP Home - Project Homepage - Teacher Homepage - Student Pages

Abstract:

This set of lessons provides an opportunity for midlevel students to gain a basic understanding of how energy is turned into power, how power is measured using a meter, the costs of those units and the eventual reduction of energy consumption and cost to the consumer.

Introduction to Research:

By conducting energy audits of their own homes and completing exercises to gain baclground information, students begin to see the importance of energy in their daily lives. By using the Internet as a research tool, students gain develop research skills as they gain knowledge for their project. They use e-mail to collaborate with energy experts and share results with other students..

Learner Outcomes: After completing this unit, students will be able to:

Research Questions:

Students are invited to join a study of home energy use. Based on their data, they they will conduct energy exercises and audit. Technology will be an integral part of this project through the use of the Internet to research data and

Product:

Each student will conduct a home electrical energy audit and report their findings and suggestions on ways to reduce their energy consumption and/or improve energy efficiency in the home and community.

Assessment:

Before the project begins, students will complete an informal assessment to find out the level of prior knowledge. Pretest
We provide a project rubric to assess learner content outcomes. NTEP provides other research rubrics that you may use with any of the projects. In addition, at the beginning of the unit you may set guidelines for assessing daily work, for example, through a student journal.
In addition we provide a series of student worksheets that you may grade with our answer keys.
Created for the Fermilab LInC program sponsored by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office and Friends of Fermilab, and funded by United States Department of Energy, Illinois State Board of Education, North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium which is operated by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), and the National Science Foundation.

Authors: Sue Emmons, Powell Midddle School, Littleton, CO; Kevin Lindauer, Baker Middle School, Denver, CO; Janet Stellema, Monarch K-8, Louisville, CO; John Sepich, Scott Carpenter Middle School, Westminster, CO; Edited by Marge Bardeen NTEP II Project PI.
Webmaster: ed-webmaster@fnal.gov
Created: September 9, 1998 - Updated: July 30, 2001
URL: /ntep/f98/projects/nrel/index.html