The purpose of Lesson 4 is to account for some initial energy demands of electrical devices in their learning space. Students develop ideas about energy usage of devices (in kWhs) and use an interactive tool to calculate the energy demands for devices such as computers, tablets, and other electronics.

What will we do?

• Explore the measurement units used to quantify electrical energy consumption. We will examine the measurement units used on the labels of electrical devices and then interpret what the measurement units are telling us. 

• Use a digital tool to calculate the electrical energy demand of the devices in our classroom. The digital tool will allow us to compare the energy usage and costs associated with running our devices.

Materials needed

Advance preparation

• Preview slides and teacher guide.

• Print handouts.

• Check the Device Dashboard to make sure it works on classroom devices.

• Reminder: Save handout 4.2 Electricity Needs for My Green Building for Lesson 7.

• Slides 4-9 have students analyze and interpret patterns on a variety of graphs. If you students could benefit from a more scaffolded strategy to interpret graphs, consider using a slow reveal graphing strategy that allows students to notice the pattern in the data on the graph prior to revealing the content of the y- and x-axis and the title. More an example of how this strategy works, watch this short video: https://videopress.com/v/W8n7WloU

Lesson student work examples