Content Integration

I simply love when I can tie all my teaching together.  It makes me feel clever and I love when students ask, "Is this science or math?"  Today as we prepped for our energy lab rotations tomorrow, I had some extra time to introduce 2 sites that do a fabulous job wrapping multiple subjects into one.  The first is SRP's website about Powering our Future.  It is put together by one of Arizona's power companies...and it is impressive.  They also have other great resources for teachers as well.  Click on the catalog picture to the left to see all of the resources available for FREE!!The "eJourneys" located in the 4-6 Module allow students to explore different renewable energies and how they have been used throughout history.  The site is interactive and educates students on the different topics of energy while tying in events in history that are covered here in 6th grade.  It also provides lesson plans and lab activities while teaching students about energy type, transformation, and conservation.



The second site that we visited is one that I've blogged about before: JASON Project. You will need to sign up for the site, but it's free, as are all the products online.  After showing students how to find the energy unit, we spent some time exploring three of their interactive games that enrich the energy content.  The first is a transformation game that has students learning how energy changes from a wind turbine, for instance, to electrical energy in a house.  The next game requires students play the role of city manager/mayor as decisions must be made to balance energy need with conservation and other needs.  The last is a game where students design roller coasters.  They need to figure out how much energy is needed to power the coaster.  It's a great way to help students really understand the idea of potential and kinetic energy.