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Provided by: EarthEcho International |Published on: March 1, 2025
Lesson Plans
678
Synopsis
This lesson from EarthEcho International will take 4-4.5 hours and introduce students to wave energy converters (WECs), their limitations and history, and how scientists, architects, and designers use biomimicry to solve problems.
Students will learn about various examples of animal adaptations that have been inspiration for solving problems, work in a group to design a WEC that uses biomimicry, and perform iterative tests on their device.
The section on iterative testing does a great job of detailing the importance of failure in the scientific process and promoting a growth mindset in students.
Having students attempt to solve a problem that scientists are still working on will help them feel empowered that they can contribute to finding a solution to a real-world problem.
Prerequisites
Students may need background information on animal adaptations.
Teachers may also need to emphasize the point about adaptations in this capacity are referring to an animal's structure and not its behavior.
Differentiation & Implementation
When doing the jigsaw activity with the examples of biomimicry, students can practice summarization by condensing their section into 1-2 sentences to share with the other groups.
Though the biomimicry video touches on the subject, teachers may want to go over fossil fuels, the greenhouse effect, and climate change in-depth with students, so they understand the necessity for clean energy. This can also promote buy-in for the lesson.
To mitigate some issues that can arise with limited materials, teachers can give students a day to plan and bring in recycled materials from home if they have the desire and the means. Teachers should set parameters for what can be brought in and should also provide an abundance of materials for students to ensure that those who cannot bring in materials can still fully participate.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
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Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
EarthEcho International
EarthEcho International envisions a world where every individual has the opportunity and tools to create a healthy and thriving environment. To that end, their mission is to build a global youth movement to protect and restore our ocean planet. Their Academy is a new virtual learning space developed to provide online courses for teacher professional learning with access to fully remote, asynchronous environmental education modules for students.
Related Teaching Resources
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