Energy Transformations
(grades 4-9)
The hands-on science activities in this colorful booklet teach students about the many kinds of energy all around them. They learn that while energy cannot be created or destroyed it is often transformed from one form into another. Exercises include building a light bulb to change chemical energy into light and heat, and building an electric motor using a magnet, copper wire, paper clips, cardboard, and other common household items.
Student booklet: 8 pp., full color. Price List B
Teacher's guide: 4 pp. Comes with hard-to-find nichrome wire
for the light bulb filament.
Generating
Electricity
(grades 5-9)
Another Skill Builder title that teaches important concepts through simple, hands-on experiments. This title reviews magnetism, introduces electromagnetism, and includes directions for construction of a working electric generator out of bell wire and a bar magnet. Students learn about Michael Faraday, the greatest experimental scientist of the 19th century.
Student booklet: 8 pp., full color. Price List B
Teacher's guide: 4 pp.
Measuring
Helps an Electrician Wire an
Apartment Building
(grades 4-6)
An electrician
is hired to wire a new apartment house. How much wire will he need? How many circuits will each apartment have - and just what is a circuit, anyway? Skillfully written for upper elementary students, this Math at Work title focuses on linear measurement, computation skills and the development of spatial awareness. Students work right alongside the electrician, deciding how many circuits each apartment needs, laying out the circuits on a floor plan, and multiplying to find out how much wire will be needed for the entire building.
Student booklet: 8 pp., full color, opens to 10 3/4" by 33". Price List C
Teacher's guide: 2 pp.
Working
with Energy Graphs
(grades 7-10)
By studying energy data in the form of bar graphs and flow charts, students gain a greater understanding of the role of energy in our society. They also get the opportunity to develop their own graphing skills.
Student booklet: 8 pp., full color. Price List B
Teacher's guide: 4 pp.
Note: Related titles include Paths for Electricity, An Electrical Engineer Plans a Safe Outdoor Concert, and Demand for Electricity.
Most units conform with the new National Science Education Standards and may be taught in any sequence.