Inquiry Lesson Plan: Engage, Explore, and Explain

Teacher Candidates: Topic: Grade Level:

Maria Ramirez 4th 1 hour

Title of Lesson: (Phrase as a driving question)

How is solar energy created?

Standard:
PO 2. Differentiate renewable resources from nonrenewable resources.

Content Statements: (Worded for clarity, these must all be evaluated for achievement)
Students will be able to describe the following:
Solar energy is clean and renewable energy.
Solar energy is used to make electricity.
Solar energy is more energy efficient and cost effective.

Process Skills: (Skills are you introducing or reinforcing: ex: observation and measuring)
Observation
Design
Collecting of Data
Recording of Data

Lesson Summary:
The students will design a solar cooker and will discover how solar energy is collected.
Students will also learn about how solar energy is created. The students will create a
solar cooker by designing a prototype that will later be tested. Following that, they will
answer some questions along with it and fill in a diagram.

Background Knowledge: (What do students need to know to complete this lesson?)

Students should already know prior knowledge about what new energy is. Teacher will
build on background knowledge of students to further their understanding. Students
should already know what solar energy is, basic information about the benefits, how it
affects cost, the environment and its accessibility.

Students should be able to recognize and explain that solar energy is a form of free
energy obtained from the reflection/absorption by objects on earth. Students should
be able to describe how solar energy is collected by solar panels.

Students should compare and contrast the pros and cons of using new energy versus
fossil fuels.

Alternate Conceptions:
Geoographical area impacts the performance of solar cells. The hotter the area, the
better the energy is collected.

Earth gets heat from the sun. Absorbed light is what increases energy.

After installing solar panels, you need fossil fuels as a back-up.

Renewable sources are always working. Solar power only works while sun is shinning.
Key vocabulary: (list and define) Materials: (list item and possible
1. Solar Energy: radiant energy emitted by quantity)
the sun. 1. Aluminum foil (wide)
2. Heat: the quality of being hot; high 2. Cardboard box
temperature. 3. Plastic bags
3. Photovoltaic (PV) cells: The process that 4. Saran wrap
converts sunlight directly into electric 5. Scissors
current. 6. Masking tape
4. Photon: the basic unit of light that travels 7. Two sided tape
from the sun to the earth. 8. Rubber Cement
5. Array: a group of photovoltaic cells that 9. Rubber bands
are positioned on a solar panel. 10. Safety goggles
6. Inverter: 11. Container
7. Generation Meter: 12. Water
8. Electricity: 13. Thermometer
14. Black Paint
Engage: Get the students interested in the topic and provide a direction for the
lesson.

Teacher Will:
Begin the class with the students taking out their notebooks and labeling it, Solar
Energy Creation and putting it in their table of contents. While they are writing this
talk about solar energy and explain how much money it could save by switching to
renewable energy sources. Visually show them a diagram of how solar energy is
collected.

Explore: A hands-on activity for the students to explore the topic.

Teacher Will:
Have students in their groups (of 3) brainstorm a list of things they already know
about solar energy. After make a class list together. Show a diagram of solar energy
and hot it is created (arrows showing process from sun to household). Diagram should
display from sun heat solar array inverter generation meter electricity
flow. Go over the definitions involving solar energy with the list of vocabulary words
used above.

1. Begin by telling the students that they will be investigating solar energy by
identifying what the process is for collecting electricity from the sun.

2. Pass out activity sheet: Solar Panel Diagram. Tell the students they will need to fill
out the paper by describing the characteristics of solar power including: solar array,
inverter, generation meter, and electricity flow. Students will also hypothesize how
they believe solar energy is created. Teacher will demonstrate directions by
completing question 1 as a class before having the students work independently.

3. Pass out paper with instructions for the activity. Explain how students will be
designing a solar oven to show how solar energy is absorved and turned to electricity.
Explain to the students they will record their findings on their science notebook.

4. Hand out materials to each group. Ask the students how they believe the materials
will all contribute to collecting solar energy.

5. Talk with the students and tell them that they will first design the solar oven. I will
ask the students: How do you think that the solar energy is collected and observed by
your solar oven? If they cannot use the vocabulary words to describe the process, go
over the vocabulary words with them and then have them apply that new knowledge
to their project being created.

6. The students will be using Futures Thinking to complete this assignment.

Students will be thinking about how the decision to use fossil fuels (nonrenewable
energy) affects the environment. Students will explore how new energy, specifically
solar energy (renewable energy) is more cost effective, clean and does not harm the
environment. Use the words Futures Thinking so that students know what type of
thinking they are implementing. Provide a time for students to develop the ability to
use this type of thinking.

Co-Teaching Strategy/Differentiation
For ELL students, have the directions printed out and set beside them during the
design creation.
Have a diagram and vocabulary list printed aside of them.
Have students who might struggle pair up with someone who will help better
understand the other student.

Explain: In this section the following three things occur: (1) students share what they
discovered in Exploration, (2) through questions teacher guides students to discover
concepts and introduces vocabulary, and (3) at end of Explain teacher states exactly
what students should have learned from lesson.
Teacher Will:
With the class as a whole, go over each part of the design and ask, How is energy
collected? Lastly have the students fill out their conclusion at the bottom of the
Activity page.

1. Ask what to observe, instruct students to pair up with their shoulder friend and
discuss:
What was the most interesting part about solar energy?
What did you learn from desgining a solar oven?
What was your favorite part of desgining a solar oven?
When discussing with a partner teacher will understand students knowledge by
circling around the room and listening to students conversations.

2. Ask Specific questions to help guide ask:

How is solar energy collected from the sun?
What are some the specific parts of collecting solar energy?

3. End with a statement of what we want them to know

Solar energy comes from a natural resource, the sun. Sunshine is an abundant
resource that can be collected by solar arrays to create electricity. Solar energy is
clean and does not harm the environment. The different parts that contribute to
creating electricity from solar energy are: sun, heat, solar array, inverter, generation
meter and electricity flow. Solar energy is created from the sun, the sunshine heat is
reflected/absorved by the panels, solar arrays in the panels use an inverter to collect
the energy and creates electricity.

Co-Teaching Strategy/Differentiation
For ELL students, have a diagram illustrating the solar energy creation process.
Write down guided questions on the board to help students find what they need
 to learn.
For gifted students that finish early, have them draw their own illustration of
solar energy and label it with the vocabulary words.

Elaborate
How will students take the learning from Explore and Explain and apply it to a new circumstance
or explore a particular aspect of this learning at a deep level?
What will be the student activity?

Teacher Will: Students Will:

Pass out a paper for the students to start Students will work independently and
their foldable on a sun. create a foldable to show what they have
learned.
Tell the students that the sun flares will be
cut around the edges. The foldable consists of having a paper in
which the student will draw a sun with
Explain to the students that the purpose of flares (draw it using a letter page). The
this foldable is to have the process for sun will be then be cut around the edges.
creating solar energy steps on one side
and the definition on the other. Students will label the center with their
name and the title Solar Energy. The
*In the middle of the sun will be a diagram students will then fold the sun flares
of the solar energy steps to look back on. inwards. Students will use the following
steps of creating solar energy on their
While students are working on this the foldable: Sun, Heat, Solar Array, Inverter,
teacher will be walking around to make Generation Meter and Electricity Flow. In
sure everyone is on task and on the right the middle of the sun will be a diagram of
track. the solar energy steps to look back on.

Students will work with partners to apply

the knowledge learned in explore and
explain to use the foldables to explain and
justify their answers.

Co-Teaching Strategy/Differentiation
Provide worksheet with flower parts that need to be written on the foldable
beside the student.
Display a foldable example for everyone to see and refer to. Project on the board
and illustration of the flower and the inside which will have the steps or definition
of each step.
Have students who might struggle pair up with someone who will help better
understand the other student.
For gifted students that finish early, have them draw their own illustration of
solar energy and label it with the vocabulary words.

Evaluate
What questions will you ask to help students process learning from the ELABORATE activity?
How will students have an opportunity to summarize the big concepts they learned (separate
from the assessment)?
How will all students demonstrate mastery of the learner outcomes? (This should be referenced
in Evidence of Mastery earlier in LP.)
Teacher Will:
Teacher will ask:
What are the different steps to
creating solar energy?
How is the sun involved in the
creation of solar energy?
What is solar energy?
Will assess student learning by collecting
their questions answered on the papers
given out, the foldable and will look for
evidence specified in my Explain section
above.
Students Will:
Student will turn in a paper with the
answers to the questions about the steps
to creating solar energy.
Students will share their responses by
discussing it in pairs and then later asking
for volunteers to share their answers.
If the students feel as if they want to add
something to their answer, they can write
it on a new piece of paper and put their
new findings on it.

References Used:
http://solarcooking.org/plans/Dublin_Ohio_class_project.pdf