Energy Lesson Plan: 5E Learning Cycle

Date of Lesson:
Lesson Title: Energy
Lesson 3 of 3
note: lesson taught
2/3

Time Allotted for this Lesson: 75 minutes (note: inclement weather forecast.
May need to make adjustments based on available time for unit as a whole)

Goals: NGSS / State content standards

HS-PS3-1. Create a computational model to
calculate the change in the energy of one
component in a system when the change in
energy of the other component(s) and energy
flows in and out of the system are known.

Objectives:
Objective 1: Identify the form of energy described 3
out of 4 times.
Objective 2: Correctly define the 1st and 2nd Laws of
Thermodynamics with complete accuracy.
Objective 4: Identify kinetic energy in a given
situation 3 out of 4 times.

Pre-Requisite Knowledge and/or Skills:

A. Prior Knowledge.
a. Students will need to understand the concept of work. Energy is the ability to do work.
Students will therefore also need to know how to calculate work, force, and distance.
b. The difference between heat and temperature are helpful for understanding
transformational energy and the Laws of Thermodynamics. Teacher will need to monitor
for possible confusion.
B. Pre-Requisite Skills:
a. Few pre-requisite skills are needed for this lesson. Basic mathematical formulas will be
presented. Students should be familiar with the concept of equations and able to calculate
basic mathematical functions.
C. Misconceptions:
a. Students tend to think that energy transformations involve only one form of energy at a
time. Although they develop some skill in identifying different forms of energy, in most
cases their descriptions of energy change focus only on forms that have perceivable
effects.
b. The transformation of motion to heat seems to be difficult for students to accept,
especially in cases with no obvious temperature increase. It may not be clear to students
that some forms of energy, such as light, sound, and chemical energy, can be used to make
things happen. If energy is the ability to work, and students cant see how something could
be work, they have trouble understanding that energy is present.
D. Scientific Vocabulary:
a. Work = force x distance; this has been taught in the lesson immediately preceding and
may need reinforcement
Scientific Vocabulary Introduced: energy, energy forms, Joule (as energy), entropy, kinetic, potential

Prep & Setup (beforehand)

Materials/Equipment/Supplies
How many? Per group or?

Technology

print note sheets

energy form assignments
set out poster materials

markers
blank poster paper
clear tape
note sheets for each student
textbooks

PowerPoint, Smart Board

Safety Considerations This lesson is lecture based with small group sessions and a poster creation
activity. No safety concerns are anticipated.
Procedure: Teacher Does.
Time

Procedure: Students Do..

Engage: Motivation/Hook: spark student Engage: Motivation/Hook:

interest, arouse curiosity, provide ways
What will students be doing as they become
for students to express prior knowledge
engaged in the lesson?
Pick up textbook. Let fall with bang. Was
energy involved? How? Review concept
of work. Give definition of energy. Was
work done?

Students answer class discussion questions.

Note key questions, procedures,

demonstrations
Explore-facilitate as students conduct
first hand experiences

Explore-students conduct first hand experiences

Have students work in groups to create a

poster for each type of energy. (pp. 447452)
1) gravitational potential
2) elastic
3) kinetic
4) wave
5) electric
6) electro-magnetic
7) chemical
8) nuclear
9) thermal

Students work in self-selected groups. Student

collaboration is encouraged when students can
choose their partner. This also makes it more
likely that later class discussions will be more
productive because their table partner will have
focused on a different energy form.

On two sheets of paper, students will

include:
1) type of energy
2) description (with formula if available)
3) examples
4) picture of one of the examples.
Students will use the textbook to gather
information for the poster.

Students will use the textbook to gather

information for the poster.

Explain- read, guided discussions,

definitions/vocabulary
Students will then do a poster walk to
record information for the other energy
types.
Note: period 2 will not have enough
students to cover each type of energy.
Reuse posters from period 1 to fill in
where needed.

Explain- read, guided discussions, definitions,

learn vocabulary, watch video...

Students will do a poster walk to record

information for the other energy types.

Go over types of energy. Repeat

beginning activity. What types of energy
are involved?
Explain that there can be multiple types of Students discuss class questions
energy present at the same time. This
activity also shows one type of energy
changing into another. Walk through
some examples.
Elaborate- facilitate student participation
in experiences and investigations that
expand, extend, solve problems, apply
their knowledge and skills
Transition from the types to the whys

Elaborate- participate in experiences that expand,

extend, allow problem solving, apply their
knowledge and skills

Ask if students know what a Rube

Goldberg machine is.
Show video of Rube Goldberg machine
twice. Students simply watch the first
time, then look for an example of the
energy they focused on.
Discuss examples from video
How does this work? Introduce laws of
thermodynamics.

Students watch video of rube Goldberg machine

Students share with their table partner where/if
they found an example of their energy.

1st Law energy cannot be destroyed.

Everything becomes heat eventually.
Explain how the chain reaction from
video is transference of energy.
Have students explore the chain their
example is on.
1) what was the energy before?
2) What did it transform into? Keep
following this until end with heat.
2nd Law entropy definition. Use scenes
from video to reinforce this concept.

Students will discuss the chain of energy

transformations for their selected example from
video.

Reiterate point about energy transference

and that all energy becomes heat
eventually.
Evaluate - determine student progress or
learning
Students will complete energy
transformations worksheet
Pick the same scenario from the end of the
work lesson. Review the concept of work
and why the scenario depicts it. Review
that energy is the ability to do work.
Discuss the energy and its transformations
in the scenario.

Evaluate such as assess their own learning,

quick write, exit ticket, muddiest point, turn in
assignment or lab ...
Students will participate in class discussion

Closure: How will you end it?

Have students complete a short matching
activity with energy and examples. This
will help students study for the test and
ensure that students recorded information
from others posters.
Students will write a review question,
answer, and rate their confidence on this
subject.

Students will complete worksheet on energy

transformations.

Students will write a review question, answer, and

rate their confidence on this subject.

Meeting Varying Needs of Students:

Having students read text for information in pairs and limiting the amount of material read lowers
the reading load of this lesson. Students are instead taught with heavy reliance on visuals.

Vocabulary is introduced and reinforced. Connections are made to past lessons and students
practice using new terms as a class and with partners. Further activities with transformational
energy help students solidify their understanding of concepts.

This lesson builds on the personal experiences and background knowledge of students by utilizing
real-world, accessible examples. Students are asked to analyze energy transformations in daily
life.

Assessment
Evidence of learning collected during this lesson:

Posters will be examined for correctness and understanding of energy.

Informal observation during class discussions
Worksheet on energy transformations will assess students understanding of energy forms and
transformations.
Exit ticket will gather information about students own feelings of confidence on subject and
areas of confusion.

What does evidence tell you about what was learned or not learned?

Understanding of different energy forms is not directly found in evidence, but its correct
application in worksheets would indicate both understanding of energy transformation and
forms.
There is no direct evidence form this lesson about student understanding of the Laws of
Thermodynamics.

What does the evidence indicate about science misconceptions?

The worksheet on energy transformations will indicate if students have corrected any
misconceptions about some forms of energy, such as light, sound, and chemical energy, being
able to make things happen.
Informal observation of classroom discussion will indicate whether students have learned that
energy change occurs, even with forms that have no perceivable effects.

Reflection:
1. How did the students do re: the objectives, and how do you know?
Students did fairly well on the objectives. Students were taught 3 objectives in this single lesson, and
were expected to b able to describe different energy forms, transformations, and the Laws of
Thermodynamics. I think that for the time given for the lesson, students managed to acquire a basic
understanding of the objectives. In observing students create posters, I was able to monitor student
conversation about their assigned energy form. I also listened to class discussion applying energy
transformation and the laws of thermodynamics to sections of the video that the class watched. Formative
assessment of the poster and worksheet gave me the impression that about half of the students were
proficient in this area by the end of the lesson, and a quarter was almost proficient.
Reflection:
2. Describe any changes you made as you were teaching the lesson.
As with all of the other lessons in this unit, I ended up making changes to the lesson due to time
constraints. In this lesson, I was pressured for time both because of forces outside of my control and due
to my underestimation of the time taken to complete the poster activity. I had hoped to go over the
posters as a class after students had done the poster walk and taken notes, but we just moved on to the
next part of the lesson. Students had a lot of trouble understanding the difference between kinetic and
potential energy, so I tried to highlight those energy forms in the video we watched, as well as bring those
up in class discussions about energy transformations. I tried to tie the different energy forms to daily life
more. I also noticed that I was not addressing possible misconceptions as much as I wanted to, so I started
bringing those topic in when talking about energy transformations. In third period, we addressed all of the
misconceptions discussed above through using the posters and video as evidence to dispute those
understandings. Students seemed to enjoy this part, as they had the foundational knowledge to correct
these inaccuracies when classmates brought them up.
Reflection:
3. What would you change about this lesson plan? Pay attention to situations where students
either did not learn or already knew.
I am not sure how much I would change specific elements of this lesson plan. I thought it introduced the
topic well and built upon student knowledge appropriately. Students had very little knowledge about this
topic before the lesson, so I was able to teach the entire subject in its entirety. Students had very basic,
minimal understanding that energy exists in different forms, and I think I built on this foundation well. I
do want to continue to refine the timing and pace of the lesson, with more emphasis on using the
information students have learned to build classroom discussion about possible misconceptions. I noticed
that the earlier periods had continuing trouble with some of these misconceptions because I did not cover
them in as much detail as later periods.

Reflection:
4. How did the results of this lesson influence the way that you will teach in the future?
I think this lesson did a good job of introducing students to a more students centered teaching model.
Students have not previously engaged in group discussions, activities, or group work of any sort outside
of occasional labs. The relatively short and structured activities served as a good way to get students
talking productively with each other. I think that this style of teaching was effective in keeping students
engaged and building interest in the topic. I plan to use elements of this teaching in future lessons.
5. What did you learn?
I learned a lot about how to appropriately structure group activities who are not used to doing so. I knew
that these students would need guidance on how to act appropriately and goals of the activity. I think I
did this well, and it had increased my desire to do more lessons where students are encouraged to be
responsible for their own learning. I am still working on my feel for ahow long difefrnet activities take
and this continues to effect my pacing. I want to investigate differet ways of taking notes. Stduents are
used to fill in the bank lecture notes delivered on a PowerPoint presentation. I tried to use a much more
open style, but I would like a more engaging way of getting tat information across on topics where I feel
the need to lecture.