Greetings from Bergen County, New Jersey, 12 days since Hurricane Sandy swept through this part of the United States and changed the lives of people forever. After missing 7 days of school, we are here on November 9th, which should have been the second day of the N.J. Educator's Association's yearly convention in Atlantic City. Many of my colleagues and students were directly affected by the storm; some losing their cars and some losing everything they owned. I realized how important social media was in helping us communicate with one another. If you owned a smartphone and found power to recharge, you could check email, Facebook, or Twitter. Schools which utilized social media were able to get the word out about closings, delayed openings and clothing drives for those in need. Our school does not use
Twitter or
Facebook, but check the links if you want to introduce social media into your school.
With so many people still living without power, I once again pondered how great it would be if we didn't have to rely on the oil and power companies the way we do.The recent gas lines in the New York metropolitan area reminded me of the '70s, waiting for the correct day (
odd or even) depending on the last number on your license plate. What about the electric companies? Alternative energies have been around for a while, yet why don't we harness them? News reports are now saying that some may people will not see the light at the end of the tunnel until 2013, because an electrician has to inspect their home and make sure it is safe to turn on the power. (
To donate to the Red Cross, click the image on the top right of this page.) How do your students feel about alternative energies? Here are 28 places to start your lesson plan:
ALTERNATIVE ENERGYK-12 Energy Lesson Plans and Activities- U.S. government site
About HydropowerAdventures in Energy-a look at oil and gas (
interactive)
Harness the Power of Wind- from National Geographic
National Science Digital Library Ocean Wave Energy CompanyNew York Times Article on Solar EnergySolar Electric Power Association- harness the power of the sun!
Solar Energy Lesson Plans- listed by grade level
Solar Energy Videos- from NeoK12
Solar Lesson Plans- divided by grade level
Treehugger- archived news articles about alternative energy
Wind Energy Basics- from the U.S. government
Wave PowerWind Energy Curricula and Teaching Materials- from the U.S. Department of Energy; nice listing of links
Wind Energy Curriculum for K-12
(This listing will be added to the "Science" page)
