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Database Provider

Authors

The Kid Should See This, U.S. Department of Energy

Grades

3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th

Subjects

Science, Engineering

Resource Types

  • Videos, 3 minutes, 32 seconds, CC, Subtitles
  • Articles and Websites

Regional Focus

North America, United States, USA - South, North Carolina

Fourth Graders Create a Solar Powered Classroom

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Synopsis
  • This video and article show how a fourth-grade class in Durham, North Carolina learned about solar energy, raised money to buy solar panels, and installed solar panels to power their classroom. 
  • Students will learn about renewable energy and see an example of successful and inspiring climate action at the classroom level. 
Teaching Tips

Positives

  • This video will inspire and guide students who want to install solar panels at their schools.
  • A short article provides several links, including a link to the class's Kickstarter campaign, which raised over $5,000 for the project.

Additional Prerequisites

  • Students should understand the environmental benefits of renewable energy and why it is more sustainable than electricity from fossil fuels.
  • Students should understand that every school is different, and some classes might face more obstacles to switching to solar energy than others.
  • The link in the article to energy.gov does not work.

Differentiation

  • Students could create a flowchart of the people that would have to approve a solar panel project at their school. Students could use this article on solar power in schools to gather information, then create a presentation for decision-makers on why their class would benefit from switching to solar power. 
  • Other resources on this topic include this digital book on solar energy and this Khan Academy video on solar energy technology.
Scientist Notes
This is a 4-minute video produced by the US Department of Energy and it showcases a 4th-grade class that researched and installed solar panels to make their classroom off the grid. This video was produced in 2013; now solar panels are the most cost-effective way to generate electricity. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.

  • Science
    • ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
      • 4-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment.
      • 5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
      • MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
    • ETS1: Engineering Design
      • 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.
    • PS3: Energy
      • 4-PS3-4. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.
  • Related Resources

    Reviews

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    • This is a great video and only a few minutes long! Although my class was not able to power our classroom with solar panels, it did serve as inspiration for other classroom action projects.
      2 years ago