Energy 4th Grade

Lesson Plan

Teacher: Natalee, Heather, and Breana

Date: 11/6/15

Overview & Purpose

Students will go to the park and learn about the four different types of
energy. The types of energy include thermal, potential, kinetic, and electrical.
The students will be seeing real life examples and getting an explanation of
the different energies and where they can be found.

Education Standards
1. 4.1.1 Describe and investigate the different ways in which heat
can be generated.
2. 4.4.3 Investigate how changes in speed or direction are caused
by forces: the greater the force exerted on an object, the greater the
change.

Objectives
1. Given the four different types of energy, students will be able to
define the meanings and know examples of the energies.

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2. Given the four different types of energy, students will be able to
name objects/situations that give of that energy.
3. Given the types of energy, students will be able to complete the
wordsearch without any problems

Materials Needed
1.
2.
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6.
7.

Park
Swingset
Sun
Vehicle
Powerlines
Pencil
Paper

Assessment
Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the 4 different types of energy
by completing the crossword that is given at the end of the lesson. The
students should also be able to answer the question, What is energy? in
their journals for College Mentors for Kids.

Procedure
1. The students will arrive at the Purdue Stewart Center and break
off into their grade levels for College Mentors for Kids.
2. The students will have their snack time and restroom break
before catching a City Bus to take them to Happy Hollow Park.
3. Once arriving at Happy Hollow the students will be introduced to
the lesson defining the four different types of energy (thermal,
potential, kinetic, and electrical).
4. At the park, the students will view demonstrations of the 4
different energy types. The heat from the sun will be used to
demonstrate thermal energy, the motion of the swings will be used to
demonstrate potential energy, the actions of the vehicle will be used to
demonstrate kinetic energy, and the power lines will be used to
demonstrate electrical energy.
5. The teacher will demonstrate how energy relates together by
going through the actions of the vehicle.
6. The students will then break off on their own and fill out the
crossword puzzle and answer the journal question of the day.

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7. The students will then catch the City Bus back to campus and
then go back to their elementary school.

References
Our lesson plan was inspired by a lesson that Natalee had done previously to
this class. We decided as a group that her idea was the best and could be
easily taught to the students involved in the College Mentors for Kids
program. As a group, we used two different websites to compile material to
make our own lesson plans. We also had previous knowledge that we used to
benefit our lesson plan to guide it towards younger students.
What is electrical energy? (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from
http://www.eschooltoday.com/energy/kinds-of-energy/what-is-electricalenergy.html
Kinetic and Potential Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Kinetic_Energy_vs_Potential_Energy

Stem
Article One: Potential Energy is Stored Energy
In this article it describes potential energy and the ways that potential
energy is used. The article also gives examples of different places that you
can find potential energy and its importance. The article also talks about the
different types of potential energy that can be found and defines these
types. The value of this article was important to us so that we could
understand fully and define potential energy for our lesson plan. This article
helped us provide the right definition for potential energy and point us in a
direction of examples of potential energy.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/potential_energy.htm

Article Two: Kinetic and Potential Energy of Motion

This article describes potential and kinetic energy while they are in
motion. It also describes the importance of all four of the different types of
energy while giving different examples and explanations. This web page is
designed more like a lesson plan, giving the objectives and different uses of
the information provided. The value of this article is to give the teacher the
proper knowledge that they need to be able to teach a lesson and give them
the information on how to make their own lesson with the information that is
provided. We utilized this article in our lesson plan by determining the
importance of potential and kinetic energy and the motion that it makes.
Lesson: Kinetic and Potential Energy of Motion. (n.d.). Retrieved November
6, 2015, from https://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?
url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_energy/cub_energy_lesson01.xml

What inspired this lesson was that the lesson is designed for fourth
graders. We found our information on a couple of education websites
designed for students in their age group. These websites were able to aid in
the information that we used in the project. The technology that was used in
this project was video tools on our phones.
Most of the knowledge and examples that we used in this project was
from previous knowledge or found on educational websites for kids. The
teaching method that was used in this project was to use something that
kids like to do and use is as a learning method for them to relate to. Kids love
recess, and to play on the playground. So we pulled examples from their, and
eventually they would be able to put their knowledge to test which would be
to play on the playground.