Lessons

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  Just Turn It Off

  K-2  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students will probe the problem of what happens to a battery-operated flashlight when it is not turned off.
• 

  Inventions 1: Edison and the Light Bulb

  K-2  |  Hands-On
  This lesson is the first of a two-part series on technology and inventions
• 

  Energy Sources and Use

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students distinguish between renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy while comparing the benefits and drawbacks of each.
• 

  Power Up!

  3-5  |  Interactive
  In this lesson, students compare and contrast different energy sources and the trade-offs of using them.
• 

  True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  This lesson shows that products and objects have lifespans so we need to recycle, reuse, and re-imagine new purposes for them.
• 

  Energy for You

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students will learn about the sources of the energy that supply their community.
• 

  How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate

  6-8  |  Audio
  The lesson introduces students to the scientific basis of climate change.
• 

  Too Bright at Night?

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students will consider the negative consequences of nighttime lighting, enabled by the invention of electric lights at the close of the 19th Century.
• 

  Green Roof Design

  9-12  
  In this student-centered learning model, students work collaboratively in small teams to design a heat- and water-conserving “green roof” of plant material for an urban apartment building.

Tools

• 

  Power Up!

  3-8  |  Interactive
  This interactive challenges students to think about the positive and negative consequences of various types of power.
• 

  Kilo-What?

  3-8  |  Interactive
  This resource provides an introduction to electricity and power plants.
• 

  AC/DC What’s the Difference?

  6-12  |  Website
  This resource from PBS takes a look at the differences between alternating currents (AC) and direct currents (DC).
• 

  Communicating and Learning about Global Climate Change

  6-12  |  Video
  This 12-minute video produced by AAAS features a number of experts on global climate change talking about its impacts to our planet.
• 

  Tech Topics: Electricity

  6-12  |  Interactive
  This site provides an introduction to electricity as well as a discussion about how electricity is converted into heat energy, light energy, and motion energy.
• 

  Your Carbon Diet

  6-12  |  Interactive
  This interactive allows students to learn about how we use different energy sources and how it affects not only our environment but also our budget.
• 

  Going Green: An Earth Day Bibliography

  K-12  |  Teaching Aid
  SB&F has put together a list of our top environmental books to help the consumer make informed, eco-friendly choices and to encourage children to take an active role in saving the environment.

Science Updates

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  Night Lights

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, hear why bright nighttime lights could also be bad for women's health.
• 

  Talking Lights

  6-12  |  Audio
  Fluorescent lights could be used for more than illumination if their flickering patterns turned into code.
• 

  Solar Power from Moon

  6-12  |  Audio
  Solar power is clean, abundant, and becoming cheaper and more efficient all the time. Unfortunately, however, the sun isn't always there when you need it—like when it's cloudy, or it's raining, or it's nighttime. In this Science Update, you'll hear about an ambitious plan to get around that problem.
• 

  Electricity from Sewage

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update we learn how researchers are using leftover material—wastewater—as a way to generate electricity.
• 

  Killer Windows

  6-12  |  Audio
  Keeping windows dark might help prevent birds flying into them.