Lesson plans

NOTE: Our lesson plans are optimized for grades 3-5 core curriculum, but can be used by older students as well.

I Have Who Has lesson plan.pdf 
Lesson overview: This lesson is designed to help students develop a stronger understanding of the concepts and terms related to energy, awareness, conservation, the future of energy, and safety.

The activity at the heart of this lesson centers on I Have-Who-Has? cards that each contain a different “I Have” energy term or phrase along with an unrelated definition (in the form of a “Who Has?” question). Collectively among the group of cards, each term/phrase has a corresponding definition. The goal is for students to listen carefully for the question to be read for which they have the corresponding answer. This fun activity builds listening skills, concept comprehension and teamwork.

Save My Energy lesson plan.pdf
Lesson overview: This lesson utilizes beads and paper clips to simulate energy consumption. Students then examine their own behaviors related to energy use to design strategies for what they can personally do to conserve energy and reduce their carbon footprint at home and school.

Survey Says lesson plan.pdf
Lesson overview: Surveys are excellent means for prompting reflection, as well as for producing results that can be graphed and evaluated. In this lesson students will complete a survey about energy consumption and safety two times — once in class and then once at home with the benefit of parental participation and being able to check things like thermostat settings.

Students will then illustrate the results via bar graphs and/or pie charts. The lesson encourages students to evaluate the results of the survey, providing comparisons among student answers as well as between the in-class responses and the at-home responses. The intended result is an increased recognition of the many ways in which students use energy and how to be safe around it, as well as an understanding of how simple, everyday behaviors can both increase and decrease energy consumption.

Safety Inspectors lesson plan.pdf
Lesson overview: This lesson guides and empowers students to be Energy Safety Inspectors at home and in their neighborhoods. As a culmination to showcase what they learn in their inspections, students will create visual representations of common safety violations, sharing their results with Alliant Energy for consideration in the company’s safety messaging.

Shine a Light on Efficiency lesson plan.pdf
Lesson overview: This lesson centers on two experiments. The first is a fun lab that has students create an electrical circuit using an ice tray and everyday materials. That experiment lights an LED bulb to illustrate current. It provides a natural introduction into exploring the differences in the efficiency of different types of bulbs, via the second experiment.

Checklists and hands-on projects

Home electrical safety checklist.pdf
Students will take this list home and go over it with an adult to check their houses for electrical hazards.

Storm safety kit checklist.pdf
A checklist and tips for helping students assemble a storm safety kit.

Solar S'mores project.pdf
Use direct sunlight to make s'mores and learn about the power of solar energy.

Ribbon wind sock project.pdf
Decorate the outside of your home with this wonderful windsock! Pick your favorite colors and decorate as desired.

Popsicle stick LED flashlight.pdf
Make a working flashlight out of some simple household items! Teaches about circuits and batteries.

Build a solar oven project.pdf
With a pizza box and a few more materials, students can use the power of sunlight to do simple cooking.

Make a wind turbine project.pdf
Find out how wind turbines work with a turbine that can be made from simple household materials.

Make an anemometer project.pdf
An anemometer tells how fast the wind is blowing. Build one of your own!

Energy safety survey project.pdf
In this survey, students will interview other students, family members, and neighbors about energy safety. They will ask ten people the same set of questions so that they can compare their answers.