Objective
To help students come up with their own questions on energy policy, and specifically, to help them identify potential crisis points on their own
Things to Keep in Mind
As this lesson combines fact evaluation with independent judgment, there are no “wrong answers” – students should be encouraged to hold their own views, with reasonable factual support. The results of the lesson do not need to be completely concrete, as the purpose is to generate ideas about the future, as future that is as of yet unknown. It can be helpful to “guide” students somewhat in the direction that the teacher feels will promote the best citizenship and stewardship qualities in students in the long run.
Materials
A set of whiteboard, power point or poster items with some general concepts about energy use
These can be any combination of key words, graphs, visuals, or information on subjects like these:
- population growth
- various energy sources available on the ‘grid’
- government policy initiatives
- various means of transit used in cities
- rural transit options
- information on global warming
Asking Questions: Lead-In
To begin the discussion, show each ‘slide’ or poster and let students take notes. Generate questions like: what are some possible problems that these slides indicate? How can we make sure all of us have the energy we need for the future?
Project: Crisis Handling
Break students into groups as applicable. Ask them to use the points discussed as well as any other information available to think of a potential ‘crisis’ – and then think about ways that it could be handled.
Ask students to prepare a short role playing presentation in which they will ‘report’ to the class. The group will identify their process as if they are ‘in charge’ and then explain what they are doing as leaders to alleviate it.
Give students a rough time line according to class time – presentations don’t have to be extensive, but the key ideas should be there.
Give students time to brainstorm with each other. Monitor to see that the group has:
- Identified a crisis
- Explained it in several points
- Identified solutions
- Talked about how specific solutions would be implemented
Follow Up
Students can do more research at home to see if their initial ideas are supported by any official leadership groups or agencies. Students can form their group presentations into individual essays elaborating on their own personal ideas about their ‘crisis’ scenario.
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