National Science Standard 5... Science and Technology


Speaker... Lyle Estill
Piedmont Biodiesel Cooperative

Rent A Car:
Bio-Beetles!
Green Car Company

For the younger crowd:

EIA KIDS

 

 

Essential Questions

1. What are biofuels? How do they help meet our energy needs?
2. What energy sources do we use the most? Why is it important to look for new sources?


SCIENCE STANDARD 5 - 8
SCIENCE STANDARD 9 - 12

Lesson Plans:

  • The Future is Today: an upper grade NEED curriculum

  • Journey of the………..: Windstar EARTHcamp Curriculum
    Objective: Most children have grown up in a world that is filled with items that are so far removed from their origins that they do not see or understand the way they are connected to the Earth. This activity will allow students to stop and think about what a certain item is made of or what raw materials and natural resources were used to make the item.
    Materials: Crayons, large white construction paper or plain newsprint, scissors, old magazines
    Activity:
    · First, gather the students around a tarp or art table and have your supplies sitting in the middle.
    · Ask the students if they have ever thought about how things were made, for example, video games or CD players. They will probably go down to the plastic, but may need help with the raw materials.
    · Tell them they will be making a flow chart that will explain how an item is made, all the way back to the natural resources used.
    · A flow chart has individual pictures connected by arrows and can either go in a straight line, or it can flow in a circle.
    · Tell the students that the chart must begin with a picture of the item intact and must end with a picture of the Earth.
    · Students can use the old magazines to cut and glue pictures, or they may choose to do their own artwork.
    · You may want to give students a chance to choose their own item or you could randomly pass out index cards with items written on them. Older students will probably know what they want to do on their chart.
    · When all of the students are finished, share charts aloud. You will plainly see that any and everything we use was at one time a part of our Earth.
    Follow-Up: Point out to students that taking raw materials from the Earth is not very difficult. But explain how the state of those materials now will make it hard for them to become a part of the Earth once again. Give them a chance to express their thoughts and feelings. Make the point that we need to seriously reuse and recycle!

  • Oil Spills…Windstar EARTHcamp Curriculum
    Objective: to demonstrate the damaging effect of oil spills on feathers
    Materials: "Oil Spill" by Melvin Berger, feathers, cooking oil, dishwashing soap, paper towels and a glass bowl with water tinted blue to represent the sea (alternate books: "Spill: the Story of the Exxon Valdez" by Terry Carr or "Sea Otter Rescue" by Roland Smith).
    Activity: Read the book, giving time to discuss the events. Afterwards, give each student a feather. Ask them to dip it into a bowl of clean water. Dry it off. Fluff it up. What does it look like now? Explain that this is the benefit of birds' waterproof feathers. Now, add a few drops of oil to the bowl of water. Stir. Now, ask them to dip their feathers into THIS mixture. Take them out and attempt to clean the oil off. What does it look like now? Explain that the soap washed away that protective waterproof coating. That's a BAD thing!
    Follow-up: What happens? Does soap help? What would help? Discuss the long-term effects of oil spills on the wildlife of an area.

  • Southern Grease

  • Drive Clean Across Texas
  • What Does the Future Hold?

  • Living Lightly

  • Energy Round Solar

Journal Topic:

Raven's child
Is washing the water
All of her wing-feathers
Blackened with tar
Prince William shorelines
An unwanted highway
Of asphalt and anger
An elegant scar

The oil king sits
On his arrogant throne
Away and above and apart
Lawyers have warned him
He mustn't speak
And greed has made silent
What once was a heart


These words describe an experience that John Denver had watching a boat
cleaning Prince William Sound after the Exxon Valdez accident. Describe an
incident that you have witnessed in which someone was thoughtlessly damaging
the environment. Could the task have been accomplished in a way that was
healthy for our planet? What could the person have done differently?

Student Self-Evaluation

1. This speaker emphasized…
2. One fact that surprised me was…
3. I will always remember…
4. The important message I would like to pass on is…

Teacher Evaluation

1. The student used the journal question as a reflection after the program.
2. The student was able to answer the self-evaluation questions.
3.

Raven's Child

Raven's child
Is chasing salvation
Black beak turned white
From the crack and the snow
On the streets of despair
The answer is simple
A spoonful of mercy
Can set free the soul

The drug king sits
On his arrogant throne
Away and above and apart
Even children
Are twisted to serve him
And greed has corrupted
What once was a heart

Raven's child
Keeps vigil for freedom
Trades for the arms
That once made her strong
With nuclear warheads
And lasers in heaven
fear does the choosing
Between right and wrong

The arms king sits
On his arrogant throne
Away and above and apart
Bankers assure him
That he needn't care
And greed makes a stone of
What once was a heart

Raven's child
Is washing the water
All of her wing-feathers
Blackened with tar
Prince William shorelines
An unwanted highway
Of asphalt and anger
An elegant scar

The oil king sits
On his arrogant throne
Away and above and apart
Lawyers have warned him
He mustn't speak
And greed has made silent
What once was a heart

You know there are walls
That come tumbling down
For people who yearn to be free
Still there are hearts
That long to be opened
And eyes that are longing to see

Raven's child is our constant companion
Sticks like a shadow
To all that is done
Try as we may
We just can't escape him
The source of our sorrow and shame
We are one

The true King sits
On a heavenly throne
Never away nor above nor apart
With wisdom and mercy
And constant compassion
He lives in the love
That lives in our hearts

Words and music by John Denver and Joe Henry

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The suggested links on the curriculum pages have been recommended by professional educators.
Not all of the sites were created by the Windstar Foundation or our 2006 Symposium Speakers.
Please preview the sites to be sure they are appropriate for your students' age and level.

Curriculum written and designed by Debbie Murphy and Barbara Davis