National Teacher Enhancement Project
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Janet Stellema, Monarch K-8, Louisville, Colorado
Class: Ms. Stellema's 7th grade Life Science classes consisting of 5 sections (47 minute class periods) with a total of 155 students of all ability levels including special ed and gifted and talented. Monarch K-8 is located in Louisville, Colorado surrounded by a middle and upper middle class community.
School year: Fall 2001
Curricular Areas & Goals: Primary emphasis will be on Science and will meet State Standards 1,2,5,6. Other areas will include math, language arts and social studies. Curriculum goals are to have students understand energy needs and consumption and to have an understanding of fossil fuels and alternative energies.
Technologies Available: Monarch K-8 has a computer lab (currently being used most of the day to teach computer classes, a writing center (which must service the entire K-8 population) and two computers per classroom (which have internet access).
Length of Unit: 4 weeks
Project: The project will begin by students entering the room with the lights off. They are told that when they woke up this morning the world was without electricity!! They are to write a creative writing story that tells what their day would be like. After this activity has engaged the students, an informal assessment is given to find out the level of students previous knowledge. Students are introduced to the project by means of the scenario and challenged to begin their investigation.
The class will meet each day for 47 minutes and the groups will be heterogeneous groups selected by the teacher. Students will be involved in a variety of tasks which include using the student pages, searching the internet for information, using library resources and conducting an energy audit. They will do group evaluations weekly and keep daily logs of work accomplished.
The role of the teacher is a facilitator who checks to see if the students are on the correct path or if she can help direct their learning. At the end of the four weeks, students will present their findings and recommendations in an oral/visual format.
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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 Middle School, Littleton, CO; Kevin Lindauer, John F. Kennedy High School, Denver, CO; Linda Lung, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO; John Sepich, Scott Carpenter Middle School, Westminster, CO; ; Janet Stellema, Monarch K-8, Louisville, CO; Edited by Marge Bardeen NTEP II Project PI.