Developed in collaboration with Emerging Leaders for Solar Energy (ELSE) and funded by a grant from the Community Environment Action Grant program, Shining a Light on Solar Energy was created to support educators and learners in developing energy and climate literacy using critical inquiry and a multidisciplinary approach.
With twenty-four lessons for kindergarten to grade twelve, this resource explores the roles that solar power might play in providing sustainable energy for our vehicles, homes, schools, and communities. This resource has been designed to nurture the competencies required for scientific thinking and critical inquiry, with a focus on using critical thinking to deepen conceptual and subject-area understanding.
Developed to be used individually or as a set, each fully-developed lesson includes teaching notes, briefing sheets, image sets, activity sheets, and assessment materials to support student thinking and learning about solar energy. Students are invited to think critically about questions such as:
This project was funded by the Community Environment Action Grant program.
Division Four (Grades 10-12): This division includes nine lessons that explore the science behind solar cells, the optimization of small- and large-scale solar energy projects, and the roles that solar energy might play in providing a sustainable source of energy mitigating the effects of fossil fuel use.