This short and engaging video briefly describes the increasing popularity of solar panels as a source of renewable energy, outlines the history of solar technology, gives reasons for choosing solar power, and highlights reasons that prevent some people from obtaining solar power for their homes or communities.
The last part of the video introduces shared solar as a potential solution to these barriers, including the option for shared solar gardens or community solar arrays.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This resource explains the potential challenges associated with converting to solar power in an easy-to-understand format.
This tool is helpful for introducing the topics of climate or environmental justice.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should already have a basic understanding of renewable energy sources and how they work to reduce carbon emissions.
Differentiation
Younger students would benefit from some background knowledge about climate change and renewable energy sources before being introduced to this topic.
Playing the video more than once may help students to fully take in all of the information that is covered in this resource.
Social studies or engineering design classes could use this video to discuss the history of solar and the milestones in the historical development of renewable energy technologies.
Other resources to consider on this topic include this video about enacting solutions to climate change, this StC lesson plan about environmental justice, and this StC lesson about renewable energy.
Scientist Notes
This resource underscores the benefits of shared solar, a strategy to reduce CO2 emissions, to scale-up solar energy to low-income households and to achieve SDG 7. This is recommended for teaching.
Standards
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.14.6-8 Compare historical and contemporary means of changing societies, and promoting the common good.
D2.Civ.14.9-12 Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-4 Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
ETS1: Engineering Design
HS-ETS1-3 Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
