Unit Plan

Identification of Goals:
Virginia Standard of Learning:
Grade 3, Science 3.11: The student will investigate and
understand different sources of energy. Key concepts
include:
a) energy from the sun;
b) sources of renewable energy; and
c) sources of nonrenewable energy.
Mapping the Essentials:
Essential Understandings:

Students will identify the sun as the sources of almost all

energy on Earth. The sun is the direct source of light and
thermal energy.
Students will identify sunlight, water and wind as sources of
energy. They will understand that the force of flowing water
and moving air (wind) can also be used to generate
electricity.
Students will recognize that wood comes from trees. It has
many important uses, including its use as a fuel.
Students will understand that some energy sources are
renewable. That means that they can be replaced. Some
energy sources are nonrenewable. That means that once
they are used up, they are gone and cannot be replaced.
Coal, oil, and natural gas are nonrenewable resources.
Students will identify fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and
natural gas, are formed from decayed plants and animals.
The formation of fossil fuels takes millions of years.

Planning for Assessment:

Methods for Assessing Lesson/Unit Objectives:
A variety of methods will be used to assess
understanding of lesson/unit objectives. These methods
include assessments of interactive notebooks,
completion of worksheets, participation in whole group
discussions, hands on activities, quizzes, and the final
assessment at the end of the unit.
Consideration of Diversity:
Strategies to Differentiate Instruction:

The Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) process will

be used by the teacher to ensure students understand
the activity and the goals of each lesson plan. The
teacher will model how to complete activities
throughout the unit.
Students will be grouped for activities based on
instructional needs.
Students will be experience a variety of resources.
Those who are visual learners will benefit from pictures
and whole group discussions.

Detailed Lesson Plans:

Objective
Sequence
Day 1 (35 min)
Methods
Pre-test (Multiple Choice)
Introduction to
Whole Group discussion,
Energy
listening
Students will
complete the pretest on energy
sources.
Key Vocab:
Energy
Thermal
Natural
resources
Nonrenewable
Renewable
Materials:
Energy Pre-test
(see attached)
Energy PPT (see
attached)
Discovery
Education Video
Clips

1. Pre-Test---Inform students that

we are going to start a new unit
in science. We will be learning
about energy sources. We are
going to start by taking a pretest. This is to see what you
already know about energy
sources. Reassure students that
it is okay if they do not know
the answers to all of the
questions. This will not be
graded. It is to help me see
what topics we need to focus on
during our unit.
2. Whole Group Teacher Talk
--- Now that weve taken the
pre-testQ: Who can tell me
what they think energy sources
are? What are some examples?
(Bring up Energy PowerPoint on
Smart Board). TT: What is
energy? Energy is the ability to
do work. Every time we move,
we use energy. We can see
energy working when things
light up, warm up, or move. Q:
What are some things that use
energy? TT: Energy lights up
our classroom. Energy powers
our cars and school buses. It
warms our homes, cooks our
food, and powers our
televisions. The Earths primary

Assessment
Preassessmen
t
Participatio
n in whole
group
discussions

source of energy comes from

the Sun. The Sun is the direct
source of light and thermal or
heat energy. What do the
pictures on the board show?
(Answers should be: the sun
drying clothes, the sun shining
on a plant, and the sun during
the day). Energy from the sun
gives us light during the day. It
can dry our clothes when they
are hanging outside and it also
helps plants grow. There are
two types of natural resources,
renewable and nonrenewable.
3. Video Clips--Students will watch two short
clips about energy and types of
energy to wrap up our whole
group discussion.
Energy:
https://app.discoveryeducation.
com/player/view/assetGuid/dffd
aa88-3026-41e7-8c270e00aaff0b8f
Types of Energy:
https://app.discoveryeducation.
com/player/view/assetGuid/a90
d6566-f098-4f54-9d4cd5df1a97e874
Day 2 (35 min)

Methods:
Whole group-read along,
discussions, listening
Interactive Notebooks

Students will define

a natural resource,
give examples and

classify resources as 1. Whole group Teacher Talk

natural or man--made.
Yesterday we learned a little bit
about energy and types of
Students will set up
energy. Q: Who can tell me what
first pages of
energy is? What are the types of
interactive

Participatio
n in whole
group
discussions
Interactive
notebook
diagram
and chart

notebooks.

energy we talked about

yesterday? We are going to
Key Vocab:
read a few pages in our Fusion
books about sources of energy.
Natural resources
Turn to pg. 250 in your books Man-made
Complete read-along, about
resources
energy and natural resources,
pausing and asking questions
Materials:
about the text.
Fusion Book2. Interactive Notebooks:
pgs.250-253
Inform students to put away
Energy
their Fusion books and take out
Resources
their interactive science
Interactive
notebooks. Turn to a new page.
Notebook Unit
Pass out the note pages on
Guide-Ch. 1
natural resources. Instruct
created by
students to glue the note page
Stephanie
into their notebooks. As a whole
Elkowitz
group-read and discuss the
Interactive
information on the note page.
notebooks
3. Activity:
Explain to students that they
will now get a diagram to cut
and glue into their notebooks.
Model how to cut out and glue
in the diagram for students.
Once students have glued in the
diagram, fill it in as a whole
group. Begin by asking students
what they already know about
natural resources. Be sure to
write answers on the board for
all students to see and copy
into their diagram. Make sure all
students have the information
before continuing.
Next students will partner with
their neighbor. Each student will
get a set of cards and a table.
Students will glue the table into
their notebooks. With their
partner, they will cut out a card
and decide if it should go under
a natural resource or a manmade resource. After each

partner has glued in all their

cards, they can color their chart
in. Before students can
continue on to the extension
activity they must get their
chart checked off from the
teacher.

Day 3 (35 min)

Students will able to
classify natural
resources as
renewable or
nonrenewable.
Key Vocab:
Renewable
Nonrenewable
Minerals
Fossil Fuels
Materials:
Energy
Resources
Interactive
Notebook Unit
Guide-Ch. 2
created by
Stephanie
Elkowitz
Interactive
notebooks
Fossil Fuels
Worksheet
BrainPopJr.
Quiz handout

*Extension: If students finish

early with their partner, they
can grab an energy source book
from the classroom and buddy
read.
Methods:
Whole-group discussion
1. Whole group- Teacher Talk
Have students recall the
definition of natural resources.
They are things, and materials
found in the natural
environment. There are two
types of natural resources:
renewable and nonrenewable.
2. Interactive Notebooks Pass
out new note page on natural
resources. As a whole group,
discuss the note page, pausing
to ask questions. Next, pass out
the fossil fuels worksheet.
Complete as a whole group and
instruct students to glue this
into their notebooks on the next
page.
3. ActivityStudents will partner
with their neighbor. Each
student will get a set of cards
and a chart. Students will glue
the chart into their notebooks.
With their partner, they will cut
out a card and decide if it
should go under renewable
resource or nonrenewable
resource. After each partner
has glued in all their cards, they
can color their chart in. Discuss

Participation
in whole
group
discussions,
participation
in sorting
activity,
Natural
resources
brainpopjr
quiz

the results as a whole class.

4. Wrap-up: Students will watch a
BrainPopJr. video and complete
a quiz independently to
measure their understanding of
natural resources and fossil
fuels.
Video links:
https://jr.brainpop.com/scienc
e/conservation/naturalresour
ces/
Day 4 (35 min)
Students will be
able to explain how
fossil fuels form.
Students will
explain what fossil
fuels are and how
different factors
affect how fuels
form.
Key Vocab:
Fossil fuels
Peat
Organisms
Decomposed
Remains
Materials:
Energy
Resources
Interactive
Notebook Unit
Guide-Ch. 4,
created by
Stephanie
Elkowitz
Fossil fuels
handout

Methods:
Whole Group-discussion
Interactive Notebooks
1. Whole group-Teacher talk:
Remind students that there are
two types of natural resources,
renewable and non-renewable.
Nonrenewable resources are
formed from fossil fuels.
Examples of fossil fuels are coal,
gas, and oil.
2. Interactive Notebooks:
Students will glue a new note
page into their notebooks. As a
whole group we will read the
information on the note pages,
stopping to answer questions.
Next students will insert the
graphic organizer into their
notebooks. Students will be
given another note page to add
into their notebooks. We will
review it as a whole class.
3. Activity: Students will partner
with their neighbor. Each student
will get a set of cards and a table.
Students will glue the table into
their notebooks. With their partner,

Participation
in whole
group
discussions,
interactive
notebooks

Energy
Resources
Interactive
Notebook Unit
Guide-Ch. 5,
created by
Stephanie
Elkowitz

Day 5 (1 hr)
Students will be
able to describe the
five major types of
renewable energy
and recognize
benefits and
limitations of each
type.
Students will work
in pairs to create
and test wind
powered cars.
Key Vocab:
Renewable
energy
Hydroelectric,
biomass,
solar,
geothermal,
wind energy
Materials:
Energy
Resources
Interactive
Notebook Unit
Guide-Ch. 6,
created by
Stephanie
Elkowitz
Wind Power
Challenge

they will cut out the cards can sort

them into the table to correctly
describe the three types of fossil
fuels. After each partner has glued
in all their cards, they can color
their chart in. We will discuss the
results as a group.

Methods:
Whole group discussions
Interactive notebooks
STEM activity-hands-on
1. Whole-group: Recall with
students what renewable and
nonrenewable resources are.
Define nonrenewable resources
and ask for examples from
previous day.
2. Interactive Notebooks:
Students will glue in a note
page into their notebooks. We
will not discuss all the notes
during this lesson, but we will
refer to Wind Energy for today.
Give students the graphic
organizer to cut and glue into
their notebooks. When students
have completed this, inform
them that we will be focusing on
wind energy for todays lesson.
As a whole group, fill out the
organizer for the wind energy
flap.
3. Video Clip Students will
watch a brief video clip
explaining what wind turbines
are and how we use them to
collect wind energy. This visual
will hopefully help students
during their STEM activity.
4. STEM Activity: Explain to
students they will be working in
pairs. After students are in their

Participation
in whole
group
discussions,
interactive
notebooks,
STEM journal

Instructions
and materials
Wind Power
video
Floor Fan

pairs, place the activity

instructions on the SmartBoard.
Explain to students that they
will be building wind-powered
cars. They only have a limited
number of resources and can
only use the materials provided
for them. They will complete
their STEM journals before
building their cars.
Students will begin by figuring
out the problem- in this case,
the problem is how we can
conserve nonrenewable
resources- students should
come to the conclusion that
renewable resources such as
wind can help conserve fossil
fuels like oil. Next students will
brainstorm about how to solve
the problem in their pairs. After
they complete step 3, they will
draw their blueprint of their
wind powered car.
Students will then have exactly
30 minutes to build their cars.
They can only use the materials
provided and if they run out
they cannot be replaced.
Next they will test their cars
using the floor fan. We will keep
record of the distances their
cars traveled and graph them
next week. (We are learning
about data collection and
graphs in Math) Each group will
get to run two trials. For Step 5,
students will go back to their
seats and write about what they
think worked well and what did
not. Step 6 asks them to write
about what they can change to
make it better.

Video Link:
https://youtu.be/tsZITSeQ
FR0

Day 6 (30 min)

Students will be
able to define solar
and biomass energy
and identify the
benefits and
limitations of these
types of energy.
Key Vocab:
Solar
Thermal
Solar panels
Biomass
Materials:
Energy
Resources
Interactive
Notebook Unit
Guide-Ch. 6,
created by
Stephanie
Elkowitz
Interactive
Notebooks
Note pages
Video links
Solar Energy
Worksheet

Methods:
Whole group discussion
Interactive notebooks
Worksheet
1. Whole group: Ask students to
describe renewable resources.
Give examples. Recall lesson
on wind energy. Remind
students that the sun is the
earths major source of energy.
The sun gives off heat in the
form of thermal energy.
2. Interactive notebooks:
Students will turn to the last
page in their interactive
notebooks where we glued in
graphic organizers from the
previous lesson on Day 5.
Today we will focus on solar
energy and biomass energy. As
a whole group we will fill in the
benefits and limitations of both
forms of energy.
3. Video: Students will watch two
brief videos about solar energy
and how solar panels work.
4. Worksheet: Students will then
independently complete a
worksheet on solar energy and
solar power. They must read a
passage and highlight their
keywords and prove their
answers to the questions on
the back of the worksheet
before submitting.
*Extension: If students finish early

Whole-group
discussions,
interactive
notebooks,
worksheet

with the worksheet, they can grab

an energy source book from the
classroom and buddy read.
Video links:
https://app.discoveryeducati
on.com/player/view/assetGui
d/c7c376ee-8876-4bee-bf2e76e4f120e93e
https://youtu.be/av24fEMhDo
U
Day 7 (35 min)
Students will be
able to identify
water and
geothermal energy
as renewable
resources and
explain the benefits
and limitations of
these sources of
energy.
Key Vocab:
Hydroelectric
Dams
Turbines
Geothermal
Materials
Energy
Resources
Interactive
Notebook Unit
Guide-Ch. 6,
created by
Stephanie
Elkowitz
Energy
Resources
Interactive
Notebook Unit
Guide-Ch. 7,

Methods:
Whole group discussion
Interactive notebooks
Multiple choice quiz
1. Whole group: Ask students to
describe renewable resources.
Give examples of sources we
have discussed in previous
lessons. What are nonrenewable resources, give
examples.
2. Interactive notebooks:
Students will turn to the last
page in their interactive
notebooks where we glued in
graphic organizers from the
previous lesson on Day 5.
Today we will focus on water
and geothermal energy. As a
whole group we will fill in the
benefits and limitations of both
forms of energy.
Next students will be given a
new note page comparing
renewable and nonrenewable
resources.
As review for the upcoming end
of unit test, students will glue
in the venn diagram graphic
organizer and complete with a

Whole-group
discussions,
interactive
notebooks,
graphic
organizer, and
brain pop quiz

created by
Stephanie
Elkowitz
Note pages
from Day 5
Interactive
notebooks
BrainPopJr.
Quiz

Day 8 (30 min)

Students will be
able to explain the
importance of
energy conservation
and list examples of
how to conserve
energy.
Key Vocab:
Conservatio
n
Natural
resources
Reduce,
reuse,
recycle
Materials:
Energy
Resources
Interactive
Notebook Unit
Guide-Ch. 8,
created by
Stephanie
Elkowitz
Interactive

neighbor. We will discuss the

answers as a whole class to
ensure each student has a solid
understanding of both types of
resources.
3. Video: Students will watch a
BrainPopJr. Video for review of
energy sources.
4. Worksheet: Students will then
independently complete the
multiple-choice video quiz.
Video link:
https://jr.brainpop.com/scienc
e/energy/energysources/
Methods:
Whole group discussion
Interactive notebooks
Fusion Book Chapter review
pages.
1. Whole Group: As a whole
group we will review the
material we have covered in the
previous lessons. Students will
discuss what renewable and
nonrenewable resources are,
and the types of sources. They
will define fossil fuels and give
examples. Now we will move on
to conservation. What does
conservation mean? Write the
definition on the board. Tell
students we will be learning
about how to save natural
resources and help the
environment.
2. Interactive Notebooks:
Students will copy the definition
of conservation in their
interactive notebooks. Then
they will glue in the next note
page about energy

Participation
in whole
group
discussions,
interactive
notebooks,
completions
of end of unit
review in
fusion
notebooks.

notebooks
Fusion Books
pgs. 258-259

Day 9 (35 min)

Students will review
natural resources,
define renewable
and nonrenewable
resources, provide
examples, describe
the process of fossil
fuels, and explain
conservation.
Students will play a
review game of
Jeopardy to get
ready for their end
of unit test.
Materials:
Interactive

conservation. As a class, we will

read through the information
and I will pause to ask
questions. Next students will
complete the graphic organizer.
We will fill in each flap as a
class, I will make sure to write it
on the board so all students can
understand and write it down
correctly.
3. Fusion Books: Now that we
have discussed the types of
natural resources and the
different forms of energy and
conservation, students will
independently complete the end
of the chapter review
worksheets from their fusion
books. They will turn this packet
in for a grade.
* The chapter review will allow me
to see what content students are
still struggling with. I can
incorporate this data in our unit
review tomorrow.
Methods:
Whole group review
Jeopardy game (answer
questions about energy
sources)
Comprehensive review quiz
1. Whole group: We will review
as a whole class using our
interactive notebooks before
playing our review game and
taking our quiz.
2. Game: Students will be split
into 6 groups with 4 students
each. The rules are they have to
pick a category and try to
answer the question. If they are
correct they score the points, if

Participation
in whole
group
discussions
and the
jeopardy
game, energy
quiz.

Notebooks
Jeopardy
game PPT
Energy
Practice quiz

Day 10 (35 min)

Students will take
the end of the unit
test on the
computer.
Materials:
Computers

they are incorrect they do not

score and it moves on to the
next team. Whichever team has
the most at the end wins. You
must ask your teammates and
agree on your answer before
you call it out.
3. Practice Quiz: After the game
is over, students will
independently complete the
review quiz and turn it in to be
graded. The quiz consists of
multiple-choice questions; fill in
the blank, and true or false
questions.
Methods:
Summative end of the unit
exam.

Summative
end of the
unit exam.