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100% Renewable Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2017, from http://www.environmentarizona.org/programs/aze/100-renewable-energy

Bar Graph. (n.d.). Retrieved May 01, 2017, from https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/classic/bar.asp

E. (n.d.). What is Solar energy? Solar cells and solar panels? Retrieved April 13, 2017, from http://www.eschooltoday.com/energy/renewable-energy/solar-energy.html

Energy and kids. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2017, from http://www.kids.esdb.bg/solar.html

Energy.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2017, from https://energy.gov/

Map of Arizona Cities and Roads. (n.d.). Retrieved May 01, 2017, from http://geology.com/cities-map/arizona.shtml

Meet the Sun. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2017, from https://climatekids.nasa.gov/sun-people/

North America. (2017, April 07). Retrieved May 01, 2017, from http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/az.htm

Solar, A. G. (n.d.). Arizona Solar Map. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from http://arizonagoessolar.org/SolarMap.aspx

Solar Power For Kids And Teens. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2017, from http://www.energymatters.com.au/education/solar-kids-teens/

SolarKids. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2017, from http://solarforward.com/solarkids/solar_systems.html

T. (2016, January 05). How do solar panels work? - Richard Komp. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKxrkht7CpY

The Story of Fossil Fuels. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2017, from https://climatekids.nasa.gov/fossil-fuels-coal/

The Two Types of Solar Energy, Photovoltaic and Thermal. (2015, February 3). Retrieved April 23, 2017, from http://www.planete-energies.com/en/medias/close/two-types-solar-energy-photovoltaic-and-thermal

Washington Solar. (n.d.). Retrieved May 01, 2017, from http://www.seia.org/state-solar-policy/washington

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Utilizing new sources of energy in replacement of our slowly depleting fossil fuels is becoming a more and more dire situation. The importance of this switch to new energy is only going to become more relevant as population increases and our fossil fuels drain at an exponentially higher rate. It is not sustainable to live in a world where we are dependent on non-renewable energy, and I find the importance of solving this issue a major drive for wanting to integrate it into my future classroom. It is up to us to educate future generations on ways to address this issue. Connecting it to Arizona specifically through exploring solar energy, I feel, is important in making it relevant.
There are figures that show we could be living without fossil fuels within the next 50 years if we continue on at the rate we currently are. My future students will be living in that world, and it is important for them to have knowledge of potential future solutions. Here in Arizona especially, solar energy is becoming a more relevant source of energy, and I feel that encouraging curiosity in the subject of new energy could encourage future generations to seek out related fields for their future careers. This topic could easily relate to geography as well, considering location is a big factor in collecting solar energy, and new energy in general.

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Solar Pizza Oven Box:
https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/02/f20/PizzaBoxSolarOven.pdf
This link provides thought out lesson plan for constructing solar ovens, and can be modified easily to fit your classroom
(Day 5)

Interactive Arizona Solar Map
http://arizonagoessolar.org/SolarMap.aspx

This map is essential for showing the solar  panel productivity of Arizona, and it is easy to navigate by zip code
(Day 3)

Two Types of Solar Energy
http://www.planete-energies.com/en/medias/close/two-types-solar-energy-photovoltaic-and-thermal
This article gives insight into the two different types of solar energy, and would be best used for the teacher to educate themselves on the nuances of each so they can effectively teach them to the class. More for personal instruction than classroom use
(Day 2)

How do solar cells work?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKxrkht7CpY
This video provides an in depth, but easily followed, explanation for how a solar  cell works. Helpful for teacher clarification as well
(Day 4)

Kids and Energy: Solar Energy
http://www.kids.esdb.bg/solar.html
This website provides kid friendly information on the two types of solar energy, used well in conjunction with the Two Types of Solar Energy article from above
(Day 2)

Climate Kids: The Story of Fossil Fuels
https://climatekids.nasa.gov/fossil-fuels-coal/
This website take students step by step through the process of  fossil fuel production, and leaves students with the question of how to make energy more sustainable. Good for introducing this topic in a kid-friendly manner
(Day 1)

Climate Kids: Meet the Sun
https://climatekids.nasa.gov/sun-people/
This website goes in depth on what solar energy is and how it is being used to help our environment. It also does a good job of providing definitions for key vocabulary
(Day 2)

Solar Education for Kids and Teens
http://www.energymatters.com.au/education/solar-kids-teens/
This source provides links to all sorts of helpful information, including videos discussing solar energy, and explanation on how solar panels/cells work, and an solar energy estimate generator thats good for putting it into perspective for the kids
(Day 1, 2, 4)

Environment Arizona Article
http://www.environmentarizona.org/programs/aze/100-renewable-energy
This article provides a positive perspective on a world run solely on new energy. This would be good reading for students to do, perhaps as an extra activity. Having them discuss their opinions on the matter would be good for broaching difficult subjects.

eShcool Today: What is solar energy?
http://www.eschooltoday.com/energy/renewable-energy/solar-energy.html
This website breaks down solar energy into digestible chunks for young readers. It also touches on a lot of good vocabulary, and defines it in a way that kids are more likely to comprehend.
(Day 2)

SolarKids
http://solarforward.com/solarkids/solar_systems.html
This interactive website provides an oral presentation on how solar energy is produced, and gives a lot of interesting and important information on the suns role in our planets survival.
(Day 2)

Online Bar Graph
https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/classic/bar.asp
This website provides an online software that allows for the teacher or student to create a bar graph simply and quickly.
(Day 3)

Map of Arizona Cities
http://geology.com/cities-map/arizona.shtml
This map shows the cities in Arizona, which will be helpful for students when doing the poster activity during their exploration of the Arizona solar map.
(Day 3)

Map of Arizona Geography
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/az.htm
This map shows the geography ofArizona, which will be helpful for students when doing the poster activity during their exploration of the Arizona solar map.
(Day 3)

Washington Solar Map
http://www.seia.org/state-solar-policy/washington
This map shows the solar usage in Washington state. This would be a good map to compare to Arizona's, since there is significantly less solar usage in Washington.
(Day 3)

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Day 5: The Power of the Sun: Building Solar Ovens

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Day 5: The Power of the Sun: Building Solar Ovens

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On the last day, we would have some fun exploring the real power of the sun by creating a thermal solar powered oven. It is important that the teacher explains to the kids that this is solar thermal energy, since we are harvesting the heat and not turning it into electricity. For this activity, the teacher could use the web source Solar Pizza Oven Box from below to follow in order to create a working solar oven. Students should work in small groups to construct the ovens, so that all students get the chance to be hands on. After the ovens are constructed, the teacher could have students warm up hotdogs or marshmallows in the solar oven (something that is precooked) so that students can enjoy the fruits of their labor. It is important here to consider dietary restrictions. After the oven/ eating is finished, have students write a short paragraph explaining how to solar oven worked to heat up their food, and also reflect on how well the oven worked, and what could be done to make it more efficient.

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On this day we will go further into exploration on how photovoltaic solar cells gather energy. I found a video online that does a good job of explaining the components of a solar cell in terms that young children will be able to understand. This video would go great paired with a guided worksheet, so students don't zone out and miss important information. After the video, ideally the teacher will have a physical solar cell that can be deconstructed, and the students can take turns coming up to it and exploring the different parts. The teacher should review what each part of the solar cell is with the students. For an assessment, the teacher should have a diagram of a solar cell printed for each student, and have them fill in the blanks--correctly labeling each portion. I found a good diagram on NASA's Climate Kids website, that would be helpful to use in your classroom.

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Day 3: Exploring solar energy in Arizona

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Day 3: Exploring solar energy in Arizona

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On this day, students would be exploring how solar energy is being used in our home state, Arizona. I found an online map that shows students where solar energy is being used around our state, and how much is  being used in each zip code. The purpose of this lesson is to explore what it is about Arizona that makes us a prime place for solar energy plants, and why certain parts of the state are more dense in solar energy than others. The ultimate goal from this knowledge is to inform students of both the limitations solar energy has, and the relevancy it has to certain areas of the world--Arizona included. The lesson will begin with a recap of the previous day’s learning, consist mostly of guided student exploration of the interactive map, and end with a group reflection combining the results into a bar graph and that answers some of the questions that will be raised by student exploration.

FULL LESSON PLAN: https://docs.google.com/a/asu.edu/document/d/1Dyv6i_ZgJ0av1r6aYJzH3bg-BiR06OCyCyXk1TlxXAM/edit?usp=sharing

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On the second day of the unit, it is time to refine the students focus to solar energy. The teacher could start by writing this question on the board, "what is solar energy?", and receiving student responses. It will be important to address the difference between regular solar thermal energy (energy that come directly from the sun)  and photovoltaic solar energy (energy from the sun that is converted into electricity). Some words that will need to be defined are thermal, photons, electrons, conductor, etc. The teacher could give examples of different types of solar energy use, and have students determine whether they are photovoltaic or not. A good source for kids that could help them better understand solar energy is this website called Kids and Energy, that has a page specifically dedicated tot teaching younger students about solar energy. It goes into detail about the difference between thermal and photovoltaic energy, and gives some examples for how it is used. This could be used to help supplement the learning, or a group read, or potentially even a jigsaw read. Discussing this text afterwards would be pertinent in evaluating student knowledge. Another good resource I found was Solar Power for Kids and Teens, which provides a myriad of different video that also could supplement instruction

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On the first day of the unit, it is important to inform the students as to why we need to embrace New Energy. This will provide context for the rest of the lesson, and provide students with an answer to "why do I have to know this?" For this portion of the unit, the teacher needs to define the terms  New Energy and Fossil Fuels. A helpful resource I found that students could read through themselves is NASA's Climate Kids: The Story of Fossil Fuels. This website tool is designed to explain the evolution of Fossil Fuel use, and leaves on a note of uncertainty for a future using Fossil Fuels as our primary source of energy. I feel that this is a gentle way of introducing a need for change, that will open the floor for potential solutions and not create stress for the kids.
After exploring this tool, either as a class, in groups, or individually, the teacher could have students get into partner groups and discuss how they would solve this problem of excessive Fossil Fuel use. The teacher can then bring the class together, and form a list on the board of all the potential solutions the students come up with. The teacher could then circle solutions that are already being explored aka New Energy (solar, water, wind, etc.). If needed, the teacher can prompt the students to reach for these solutions. When the list in complied, the teacher should address the wide array of possible solutions, to give students an understanding of how many ways we can solve this future issue. The teacher can then explain to the students that they will be exploring one of these further throughout the week, Solar Energy, since it is a prevalent solution here in Arizona.

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The purpose of this unit is to educate 3rd graders on the negative impact the continued use of Fossil Fuels can have on our planet, and inform them of one possible future solution to this epidemic: Solar Energy.

Day 1: New energy vs. Fossil Fuels

Day 2: What is solar energy?

Day 3: Explore different ways Arizona uses solar energy. Full lesson plan, guided

group work to explore different parts of Arizona, Guide class activity to use information found to make a map of solar use/ discuss why certain areas have more use than others

Day 4: Explore the parts of a solar panel (visual or tangible panel)

Day 5: The power of the sun (solar oven building activity)

Futures thinking: considering the impact switching from Fossil Fuels to New energy can have on our world years from today.

Systems thinking: considering how we solve these problems within our current society, and discussing the obstacles it will create

Strategic thinking: finding ways to overcome the obstacles established by our current society