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4th Grade  Project 7 weeks

Green Power Pitch Perfect

Sarah F
Updated
4-PS3-2
4-PS3-4
4-ESS3-1
3-5-ETS1-1
3-5-ETS1-2
+ 6 more
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The Challenge

When schools and nearby buildings use energy from fuels that release greenhouse gases, you add air pollution that contributes to climate change and can harm community health. The challenge is significant because people depend on electricity every day, but cleaner energy sources are not always easy to access, afford, or install quickly.

Challenge Question

How might we address pollution caused by our school’s energy use so that students, staff, and neighborhood families can benefit from a cleaner, more environmentally friendly energy solution?

Standards
  • [New York] 4-PS3-2 - Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
  • [New York] 4-PS3-4 - Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.
  • [New York] 4-ESS3-1 - Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
  • [New York] 3-5-ETS1-1 - Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
  • [New York] 3-5-ETS1-2 - Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
  • [New York] 3-5-ETS1-3 - Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
Competencies
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
  • Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
  • Academic Mindset - Students establish a sense of place, identity, and belonging to increase self-efficacy while engaging in critical reflection and action.

Learning Partners and Clients

The city sustainability office can serve as a client by sharing local pollution concerns, explaining current efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, and giving students feedback on which school energy ideas seem realistic and useful for the community. A nearby utility company’s community outreach team can act as both learning partner and audience by teaching students where electricity comes from, helping them compare cleaner energy options for schools, and responding to student questions about energy transfer and resource use. Together, these partners give students authentic information, feedback on prototypes, and a real audience for their final pitch deck.

Phase Outcomes

Phase Learning Outcome
Discover
I can investigate how our school uses energy by exploring campus hot spots, noticing signs of wasted electricity and heat, and asking questions about how these choices may add to pollution for nearby families.
Examine
I can gather information from the city sustainability office and the utility outreach team to learn where our school’s energy comes from and how it can affect air quality and the environment. I can observe and compare how energy moves through sound, light, heat, and electric currents in simple classroom investigations. I can research how energy from natural resources is used in schools and explain how different energy choices can help or harm our community. I can compare several environmentally friendly school energy ideas and decide which ones best fit our school’s needs, budget, time, and materials.
Engineer
I can develop a school-friendly clean energy model and planning guide that uses resources wisely and could help our community reduce greenhouse gases.
Do
I can use fair tests to collect data on how well our solution transfers or converts energy, track its results, and decide what the evidence shows about how it could reduce pollution at our school.
Share
I can share my team’s energy solution and pitch deck with city sustainability staff, the utility outreach team, families, and school leaders through a live presentation and question-and-answer session that explains our idea, our evidence, and how I grew as a problem solver, teammate, and speaker.