This resource is a brainstorming activity for students to analyze the problem of energy storage, which is the biggest issue faced by renewable energy.
The students read the book Sven's Search for Clean Energy and discuss three possible solutions to the energy storage issue.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This is a good activity for driving innovation and critical thinking.
It contains an easy-to-follow teacher guide for steering the class discussion.
Additional Prerequisites
The activity is based on a book, which should be downloaded and printed or made available digitally.
To anchor the group discussions better, the teachers should review the suggested solutions provided in the teacher guide.
Differentiation
Teachers could structure this as a debate and have groups speak for or against one of the potential solutions. In the end, students could vote for the solution they think is best.
Instead of reading the book as a class, it could be read independently or as homework.
Teachers could have students write a summary of the solutions discussed or choose one solution to write about persuasively.
For more information about this topic, students can watch the video Solving the Storage Problem by NOVA labs.
Scientist Notes
This resource explores renewable energy production, consumption, energy storage potentials of batteries, and its associated economic, social, and environmental impact. Students can innovate solutions for renewable sources that work best at a given spatial location and scale. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
4-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Speaking & Listening (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
