Comparing Renewables: U.S. vs. Global Energy Use

• In this activity, students will use media literacy skills to evaluate graphs that compare renewable energy use in the United States with other countries. 
• The resource includes a lesson plan, PowerPoint presentation slides, and student worksheets. 

Positives

• The lesson plan offers discussion questions for a variety of academic subjects. 
• All of the documents are downloadable pdfs.

Additional Prerequisites 

• Teachers should go over this handout on how to analyze media messages before students complete the worksheet.
• Teachers must create a free account before accessing the resource.
• The lesson plan refers to a "constructivist media decoding process," information about the process can be found here.

Differentiation 

• Students could respond to the questions individually or in small groups and then share their thoughts in a class discussion.
• Instead of answering the questions orally or in written form, students could draw their responses in the form of a comic strip, a mindmap, or a labeled diagram.
• Other resources on this topic include this digital book on renewable energy sources, this article on how media messaging affects peoples' opinions on natural gas, and this podcast and lesson on what Americans think about climate change.