SECTIon 2 ACTIVITIES Energy for Keeps: Electricity from ... 3 - The History of Energy.pdfActivity 3: The History of Energy ACTIVITY TYPE: Class Project oVERVIEW: In this project the

35Solar 4R Schools Activity Guide & Teacher Manual L2: Grades 7-9

SECTIon 2 ACTIVITIES

Activity 3: The History of Energy

ACTIVITY TYPE: Class Project

oVERVIEW: In this project the class will develop its own newspaper, The Energy Times, which will cover society at a chosen time in history. The focus will be on energy production and use, and will include newsworthy events and inventions as well as interviews and human interest stories. See the “For the Teacher” pages of the exercise for detailed planning overview.

GoAL: Students investigate past and present energy use while developing their own historical newspaper.

SUBjECTS: Language Arts, Fine Arts, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Physical Science, History, Geography, and Government

TIME: 3-5 45-minute class periods

SETTInG: Classroom, computer lab, and library.

MATERIALS: • Teacher Guides: The Energy Times: Planning Overview and Energy Timeline • Student Reading: A Brief History of Energy (Chapter One from Energy Keeps: Electricity from Renewable Energy) • Student Handout: The Energy Times: Getting Out the Newspaper • A variety of local, state, or national newspapers • Pens, pencils, marking pens, paper • Research materials including books, encyclopedias, Internet access, library references • Tape, rulers, rubber cement, glue sticks, scissors

oPTIonAL MATERIALS: • Tabloid-sized paper (Rolls of newsprint are sometimes available from local newspapers.) • Computers and word-processing programs • Computer graphics programs • E-mail or web page software and Internet access

KEY VoCABULARY: A.D., alloy, alternator, B.C., blast furnace, charcoal, coke, combustion, dynamo, electromagnetism, energy conservation, fossil fuel, generator, geothermal, heat engine, hydropower, industrial, Industrial Revolution, internal combustion engine, manufacture, mass, mass produced, medieval, organic, passive solar, smelt, static electricity, Stirling engine, telegraph, textile, town gas, transmit, voltage, and wet-cell battery.

ACTIvITy 3: The hISTOry Of eNerGy source: The Energy Education Group

Energy for Keeps: Electricity from Renewable Energy

Solar 4R Schools Activity Guide & Teacher Manual L2: Grades 7-936

ACTIvITy 3: The hISTOry Of eNerGysource: The Energy Education GroupEnergy for Keeps: Electricity from Renewable Energy

CoRRELATIonS To STAnDARDS

nATIonALScience as Inquiry – 1e: Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.

IDAHoScience – Goal 5.3: Understand the importance of natural resources and the need to manage and conserve them.

oREGon Science – Energy: Compare forms and behaviors of various types of energy.

WASHInGTonScience – Inquiry 2.1 Investigating Systems: Develop the knowledge and skills necessary to do scientific inquiry.

ABoUT THE AUTHoRS: The Energy Education Group (a.k.a. Educators for the Environment) is a division of The California Study, Inc., a domestic nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Tiburon, California. Its expertise is in energy education with a focus on power generation. Its goal is to help people understand where our electricity comes from and how energy choices affect our lives, our environment, and future generations.

37Solar 4R Schools Activity Guide & Teacher Manual L2: Grades 7-921E N E R G Y F O R K E E P S : E L E C T R I C I T Y F R O M R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y

P L A N N I N G O V E R V I E W MaterialsStudent Handout: “The EnergyTimes: Getting Out the Newspaper”

“Energy Timeline” (in Appendix)

A variety of local, state, ornational newspapers

Pens, pencils, marking pens,paper

Research materials includingbooks, encyclopedias, Internetaccess, library references

Tape, rulers, rubber cement, gluesticks, scissors

Optional: Tabloid-sized paper(Rolls of newsprint are some-times available from local newspapers.)

Optional: Computers and word-processing programs

Optional: Computer graphics programs

Optional: E-mail or web pagesoftware and Internet access

Making the LinkEnergy affects our lives every day.In fact, there has never been atime in history when humanshave not used energy. Energy usehas always been a newsworthytopic, whether communicated byword of mouth, by stone tablet,or by the printed word.

The advent of practical waysto use electricity, along with thedevelopment of the internal combustion engine (such as thatfound in cars and trucks), broughtan ease to our lives that most ofus are not willing to give up. Ourelectrical devices and our carsare considered necessities ofmodern life.

Energy issues are frequentlyfront page news. The resourceswe use to produce electricity and run our transportation havebecome very valuable commodi-ties. The resulting problemsassociated with energy use (suchas pollution, gasoline shortages,electrical blackouts) are alsocommon topics of everyday life.

SUBJECT AREAS:Language Arts, Fine Arts, EarthScience, Environmental Science,Physical Science, History, Geography,Government

TIMING:Preparation: 30 minutesActivity: 3-5 45-minute class periods

SummaryStudents investigate past andpresent energy use while developing their own historicalnewspaper.

ObjectivesStudents will:■ Recognize that energy use has

evolved over time to meet thechanging demands of society.

■ Explain why energy use is anewsworthy topic.

■ Conduct research on an historical period.

■ Demonstrate skills needed to publish a special edition newspaper on energy.

■ Evaluate their finished product, The Energy Times.

THE ENERGY TIMES

21E N E R G Y F O R K E E P S : E L E C T R I C I T Y F R O M R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y























THE ENERGY TIMES
























THE ENERGY TIMES

ACTIvITy 3: The hISTOry Of eNerGysource: The Energy Education Group


Solar 4R Schools Activity Guide & Teacher Manual L2: Grades 7-938 22 E N E R G Y F O R K E E P S : E L E C T R I C I T Y F R O M R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y

By studying the history ofenergy use, we can learn moreabout where we stand in thepresent, as well as how to planour future.

Since energy use plays a significant role in our daily livesand in the global community,using this topic for the productionof a newspaper should be aneasy concept for students to grasp.

Teaching NotesIn this project the class willdevelop its own newspaper, The Energy Times, which willcover society at a chosen time in history. The focus will be onenergy production and use, andwill include newsworthy eventsand inventions as well as interviews and human intereststories.

Newspapers are collectiveefforts, which are excellent fordeveloping interdisciplinary skills,including those of research, composition, word processing,hierarchical decision-making,organizing, proofreading, illustrating, and editing.

Information found in theChapter 1 Discussion and thehandouts, “The Energy Times:Getting Out the Newspaper” andthe “Energy Timeline” will helpguide the project.

Warm-upAfter students have read theDiscussion for Chapter 1, “A BriefHistory of Energy,” ask them ifthere has ever been a time whenhumans have not used energy.Generate a discussion aboutwhat students know concerningenergy use over time. During thediscussion, make a list of variousenergy resources on the black-board. Try to include as manyresources as possible.

Ask students if there is ever a day in their lives when theydon’t use energy. If they were to create a newspaper about aday in their community, couldthe activities or events theydescribe have taken place without some form of energy use?Elicit students’ views regarding pollution, transportation, spaceheating, and technologicaladvances. Discuss our dailydependence on electricity (which usually only comes tomind if there is a power failure).

The Activity1. Bring in some recent news-

papers. Break students intoinformal groups and have eachgroup scan a newspaper toidentify and name the varioussections.

2. As a class, generate a list ofthe different sections of thenewspaper and what informa-tion each contains. After somediscussion, distribute “GettingOut the Newspaper” and havestudents check to see whatother sections might beincluded. Add these to the list.Tell students to keep thishandout.

3. Explain that they, as a class,are going to develop their own newspaper with thetheme of energy. Tell studentsthat different groups will be responsible for various sections of this newspaper.

Explain that their newspaper,The Energy Times, will not belike a daily newspaper, but will

reflect a longer range of timeand a particular historical period. However, it will bewritten as if the eventswere occurring in thepresent.
























THE ENERGY TIMES


39Solar 4R Schools Activity Guide & Teacher Manual L2: Grades 7-9 23E N E R G Y F O R K E E P S : E L E C T R I C I T Y F R O M R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y

terrible conditions in the coalmines or applaud the march of progress brought about byincreased coal mining produc-tion. The business sectionmight have a feature comparingthe benefits of various water-wheel designs for factories.

Assist each group in determining where to find the information it will need to write convincingly about its choices.

9. Give students a deadline forcompleting their sections.Allow class time for groups to work on research, composi-tion, proofreading, and wordprocessing. If possible, haveeach group save its work on adisk. If you have a scanner,groups may wish to scan inany illustrations or photo-graphs they have found duringtheir research. Editors shouldsupervise the work, assistingin editing and proofreading aswell as layout.

10. Have editors from each groupassemble the newspaper.Have them refer to actualnewspapers as a model forlayout. They may be assistedby their group’s word processor.

4. Discuss the different jobsinvolved in developing anewspaper. These include editors, reporters, photogra-phers, artists, cartoonists,proofreaders, word processors,designers and printers. Forthose teachers who integratetechnology into the classroom,please note the possibilitieshere for Internet research,word processing, design, creation and importing ofgraphics, and document layout.

5. Divide the class into workinggroups and have each groupchoose (or assign each group)a different section of thenewspaper on which to work.Possible sections mightinclude News and Features,Editorial, Entertainment andLeisure, Business, Sports, andAdvertising.

6. Refer to the handout, “GettingOut the Newspaper” and makesure that everyone understandsthe jobs described. Then haveeach group select an editor,reporters, and any other jobsthey think necessary to getthe job done.

7. Hand out the “EnergyTimeline” and allow groupssome time to review it. Tellthem to suggest a 50- to 100-year time period that they think would be mostinteresting to focus on as aclass. Or you may wish to pickone yourself, (e.g., the era ofthe Industrial Revolution,which started in the early1700s and continued to themid-1800s).

8. Have groups brainstorm whatkinds of articles, features,illustrations (or, when possi-ble, scanned graphics) theycould have in “their” section ofthe newspaper.

For example, if the time period 1700-1750 is chosen,News/Features may have adescription of T. Savery’ssteam engine being used topump water from flooded coalmines. They might composesome interviews with coalminers and with Mr. Savery.The Entertainment/ Leisuresection could have a featureon fashions made from fabricfrom the new textile mills. Theeditorial department mighthave a commentary on the
























THE ENERGY TIMES





4 million B.C.First known use of tools in EastAfrica (muscle power)460,000 B.C.World’s earliest known use offire in area now known as China 10,000 B.C. Asphaltum from natural oil seepsused for variety of purposes onAmerica’s Pacific coast9000 B.C. Farming begins in the MiddleEast and elsewhere; peoplebegin permanent villages6500 B.C. Metalworking with copper beginsin Middle East3500 B.C.Sails on boats used on the Nile inEgypt (wind power)3200 B.C.Wheels used in Urak, Iraq3000 B.C.First recorded use of crude oil, inMesopotamia2000 B.C.Chinese use crude oil for homeheating1500 B.C. Hittites (Asia Minor) first producewrought iron1500 B.C. Fire-starting kits carried in Europe1500 B.C.People around the world use hotsprings for bathing, healing,recreation, cooking, heating 1000 B.C. Iron becomes commonly usedmetal throughout Mediterranean750 B.C. Ironworking reaches Europe500 B.C. Magnetic properties of lodestone(type of iron) described by Thalesof Miletus in Greece

500 B.C.Iron plow share first used inEurope, making plowing muchfaster (muscle power)500 B.C. Passive solar energy used inGreek homes200 B.C. Coal mining in China 50 A.D. Hero of Alexandria invents firststeam engine (not put to produc-tive use)50 Romans perfect glass windows(solar)100 Greeks invent waterwheel300 Natural gas drilling in China644 First windmill with a verticalaxis, recorded in Iran700 Iron smelting introduced in Spain1060 Possibly world’s first city-widespace-heating project usinggeothermal built at Paquimé,Mexico1088 Water-powered mechanical clockmade by Han Kung-Lien of China1100 Oil wells drilled in Europe andthe Mediterranean 1100 Windmills introduced in Europe1200 Coal mining begins in England 1320 Germans improve blast furnace,advancing the process of ironsmelting and casting

1322 French village pipes water fromhot springs for home heating1400 Blast furnace introduced inHolland, enabling the first production of cast iron in Europe1510 Leonardo da Vinci designs theprecursor of the water-driventurbine1582 First waterworks using water-wheels founded in London 1615 Use of coal for heating inEngland increases, owing to rising timber costs1680 Mills driven by waterpower incommon use throughout Europe1688 Large sheets of glass used forwindows in France (solar)1690 Widespread use of coal begins inEurope due to wood depletion1695 Frenchman G. Buffon uses mirrorsto concentrate sunlight to burnwood and melt lead1698 Englishman T. Savery developssteam engine to pump water outof flooded coal mines1700 Textile mills and other factoriesdriven by waterpower through-out Europe1700 Greenhouses using glass windowsbecome popular (solar)1705 T. Newcomen, England, inventsfirst practical steam engine

ENERGY TIMELINE

























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188 E N E R G Y F O R K E E P S : E L E C T R I C I T Y F R O M R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y

ENERGY TIMELINE (continued)

1709 Iron smelting process using cokedeveloped by A. Darby, England;coal demand increases1712 Piston-operated steam enginebuilt by T. Newcomen1746 B. Franklin conducts research that will later result in clearerunderstanding of electricity1748First American commercial coalproduction in Virginia1752B. Franklin’s kite experiment verifies nature of static electricity;leads to invention of lightning rod1757 First public gas streetlights in the American colonies lightPhiladelphia1769 Improved steam engine patentedby J. Watt, England1770 Spinning jenny patented by J. Hargreaves helps automatemanufacturing1782 J. Watt invents rotary steamengine; soon to have widespreaduse in factories1785 Textile plant in England is thefirst to be powered by steam1790 First working United States cotton mill 1792British engineer W. Murdockinvents “town gas” 1800 A. Volta produces the first electricity from a wet-cell battery

1800 Several French towns use geothermal energy for spaceheating 1800 Hot springs resorts flourishthroughout United States, Europe,and Asia1803 Robert Fulton builds first steam-powered boat1804 R. Trevithick invents and operatesfirst steam locomotive on a track1807 Commercial paddle-wheelsteamship cargo service beginsin New York1807 First public street lighting usingtown gas occurs in London1814 First practical steam locomotiveinvented by G. Stephenson1818 First steamship (Savannah)crosses the Atlantic1820 Ampere, Faraday, and Sturgeonexperiment with electromagnetism1821 M. Faraday, England, demonstratesthat electricity can produce motion1821 First U.S. natural gas well drilled inFredonia, New York1825 First steam train passenger service offered in England1830 Steam-driven cars common inLondon

1831 Joseph Henry perfects electricmotor1831 M. Faraday invents dynamo, oneof the first electric generators1839 Englishman W. Grove builds firstfuel cell1859 First petroleum oil well inAmerica drilled in Pennsylvania1860First internal combustion enginebuilt by E. Lenoir, Belgium1860 The Geysers, California, opensresort for therapeutic hot springbathing 1861French scientist A. Mouchotpatents world’s first solar steamengine1868First modern focusing solarpower plant heats water forsteam engine in Algiers1870 Z. Gramme perfects dynamo,making it the first workable electrical generator1874 Power plant in England burnsgarbage for electrical production(biomass energy) 1876N. Otto perfects first practicalinternal-combustion engine (later used in autos)1876 California’s first “commercial” oil well drilled near Newhall,California1878 T. Edison develops method totransfer electricity for common use


























THE ENERGY TIMES




1879 T. Edison makes incandescentelectric light practical1881J. d’Arsonval originates idea ofusing ocean as energy source1882Electric power stations go on-line in London and New York1884 C. Parson develops first practicalsteam turbine electricity generator1885C. Benz develops the first working motorcar powered bygasoline1886 Swede J. Ericsson invents firstparabolic trough solar energycollector1886 Up to 50 small hydropowerplants generate electricity inAmerica1887 Stockton becomes first Californiacity supplied with natural gassent through pipelines1888 First wind machine for electricitybuilt in America1890 Electricity begins to replace useof natural gas for lighting1890 First dependable electric motorcars developed in France andGreat Britain1891 U.S. inventor C. Kemp patentsfirst commerical solar water heater1891 Huge hydroelectric power stations built in Frankfurt,Germany and Niagara Falls, U.S.

1891 Tessla coil invented, producingfirst high-voltage electricity1891 First long distance electrical linescompleted in Germany1892 P. LaCour, Denmark, designs efficient machine that generateselectricity from wind1893 First Ford gasoline buggy drivenby inventor, H. Ford1894 Texas oil discovered whiledrilling for water1894 Pneumatic (air-filled) tires introduced in France by A. and E. Michelin1896 First U.S. offshore oil wells (builton wooden piers) drilled nearSummerland, California1896 Niagara Falls hydropower plantsends first long distance electricityin U.S.1897 C. Parsons outruns every ship inthe water with his steam-drivenboat1897 30 percent of homes in Pasadena,California, use Kemp’s solarwater heaters1898 Garbage burned specifically forenergy in New York (biomassenergy)1900 Power plants driven byhydropower or fossil fuels dot the U.S.

1900 Calistoga, California, hosts over30 hot springs resorts1904 Electricity generated from geothermal steam in Larderello,Italy1905 A. Einstein publishes relativitytheory, revolutionizing under-standing of energy1908 First cheap, mass-produced car,the Model T, is available1910 Coal accounts for three-fourths ofall fuel used in United States1916 Einstein’s unifying theory inter-relates mass, energy, magnetism,electricity, and light1918 Denmark produces electricityfrom over 100 wind generators1920 Midwest farms in U.S. widely usewind turbines for electricity1920 Decade begins with oil and gasshortages in California1928More than 3 million Americanfamilies own two cars1929 After major discoveries, decadeends with surplus of oil and gasin California1930 Iceland begins to work on large-scale geothermal districtheating project1930 Solar water heaters supply hotwater to homes throughoutMiami, Florida

























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1930 Propeller-type wind generatorsperfected by M. Jacobs in use allaround U.S.1932 Francis Bacon, Great Britain,develops first successful fuel cell 1935 Rural electrification brings powerto remote areas in U.S.; replacesmost wind turbines1936 America’s Hoover Dam (forhydropower) completed 1939 Europeans O. Hahn, and L. Meitner unveil process ofnuclear fission for energy1940 First U.S. superhighway opens inPennsylvania1941Almost 60,000 solar waterheaters in use in Florida1942 E. Fermi, using Einstein’s theories, produces first controllednuclear chain reaction in the U.S.1943 132 MW produced from geothermal fields, Larderello, Italy1944 U.S. National System of InterstateHighways established1945First nuclear bomb detonated inNew Mexico1945 5,000 U.S. homes have televisionsets1947 Diesel-electric trains replacesteam locomotives in U.S.1948 One million U.S. homes have television sets

1950 Work-saving appliances andtools use increasing amounts ofenergy1952 First U.S. hydrogen bomb detonated with 700 times forceof fission bomb1954First solar cells used for electricgeneration developed in U.S.1954 First Russian nuclear power plantopens 1954 Advanced European steel-manufacturing method introducedin Detroit1954 First fuel cells used in NASAspace program1955 First U.S. town powered bynuclear energy in Idaho1958 First major offshore oil-drillingplatform built in the PacificOcean near Summerland,California1960 Commercial electricity first produced from geothermal energyat “The Geysers,” in California1960 Environmental concerns increasingly relate to energy use and pollution1960German U. Huttrer perfects electrical wind turbine design,later adopted in U.S.1963 First commercial nuclear powerplant opens in New Jersey

1965 Historic electrical blackout innortheastern North America1966Partial meltdown at nuclearpower plant in Detroit1966 La Rance tidal power plant builtat the Rance estuary in France1967 First microwave for home useintroduced1968 78 million U.S. homes have television sets1969 France begins large district-heating projects with geothermalenergy1970 First Earth Day signals worldwideconcern about environmentaldamage1970 Solar water heating well estab-lished in Israel, Japan, Australia1971P. McCabe, Great Britain, and M.McCormick, U.S., began develop-ment of first wave energy system1973 Oil embargo opens up new era of electricity produced fromrenewable sources in U.S.1973 Japan begins experiments withOcean Thermal Energy Conversion(OTEC)1974 J. Lindmayer, U.S., develops silicon photovoltaic cell for harnessing solar power1977 Solar panels installed on theWhite House


























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Documents

SECTIon 2 ACTIVITIES Energy for Keeps: Electricity from ... 3 - The History of Energy.pdfActivity 3: The History of Energy ACTIVITY TYPE: Class Project oVERVIEW: In this project the