ENERGY THINKING ALTNERATE ENERGY CURRICULUM GUIDE

The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Environment and
Ecology, Northeast Sustainable energy Association, Sustainable Development Fund and a core of Pennsylvania teachers developed a curriculum to be used in Grades Five through Eight.

This curriculum examines the environmental and scientific concepts of energy sources, forms, transformations, efficiency and heat transfer. Students experiment with electric generators powered by wind, water and light. They also conduct tests heating model buildings with different types of insulation (thermal and radiant barriers) and sealing leaks.

By applying system concepts of goals, inputs, processes, outputs and feedback, students propose energy improvements at home and compose an action plan at school that could, if implemented, reduce the unwanted side effects of the school’s current energy use.

Construction guides for instructors to development classroom experimentsand energy demonstrations is included in each unit. Assessment rubrics and expected student responses to worksheet and classroom activities are supplies as well.

A CDROM was developed for the curriculum by GreenTrex that introduces the alternate energy concepts and then looks at real life examples of each type ofalternate energy and how it is being used in Pennsylvania.





ENERGY THINKING ALTNERATE ENERGY CURRICULUM GUIDE

PA CleanWays and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful are inviting all Pennsylvania schools and school districts to join in the exciting and renewed Pennsylvania Litter Free School Zone program.  Recently announced, PA CleanWays and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful have formally joined forces to promote illegal dump cleanups, anti-litter education, and beautification projects to make their work with local partners and volunteers more effective.  Litter Free School Zone

The Chesapeake Bay Program is happy to announce the launch of BayBackpack.com, an online resource for teachers and environmental educators to engage students in hands-on learning about the Chesapeake Bay and its local waterways. Bay Backpack provides educators with the necessary resources to give their students a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE), which are extensive projects that allow students to gain a deep understanding of environmental issues in the Chesapeake Bay and its local streams and rivers. To learn more about Bay Backpack, visit www.baybackpack.com . Interested educators can also follow Bay Backpack on Twitter @baybackpack to receive additional education-related news and resources.

In his landmark book Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv called the growing isolation of Americans from outdoor experience “nature-deficit disorder.” Louv's book explored how the destruction of natural landscapes by urban sprawl, community design that denies access to nature, and the explosion of electronic distractions are cutting contact with the natural world from American childhood.

In March 2007, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell convened a two-day conference to address these trends. This first-of-its-kind exchange on reconnecting Pennsylvanians with the outdoors assembled experts and organizations with various perspectives on the relationship between people and the outdoors. Leaders from conservation groups, government, business, health care, recreation, academic institutions, and local municipalities sought strategies to encourage meaningful contact with the natural world and physically active lifestyles.

Governor's Outdoor Task Force Report (PDF)

http://www.arborday.org/kids/postercontest/
Deadline March 11, 2009
Posters should be sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Education,
Office of Environment and Ecology, 333 Market Street, 8th Floor, Harrisburg, PA  17126.

To receive a 2009 Arbor Day National Poster Contest packet, contact Cheryl Watts.

Any questions, please contact Cheryl Watts at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or 717-772-0842.