Wind Energy, Grade 5 (STEM Road Map for Elementary School)

What if you could challenge your fifth graders to develop an economical, eco-friendly wind farm? With this volume in the STEM Road Map Curriculum Series, you can! Wind Energy outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem solving while grounding them in integrated STEM disciplines. The series is designed to meet the growing need to infuse real-world learning into K–12 classrooms. This book is an interdisciplinary module that uses project- and problem-based learning to investigate the interactions of Earth’s systems, including geography, weather, and wind. Your students will • Study U.S. geography, weather patterns, the economics of wind energy, and issues around the use of wind turbines as an energy source. • Learn about how Earth’s spheres—including the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biospheres—interact and how to observe and measure them. • Be challenged to develop a wind farm. Working in teams, they will analyze the wind energy potential of a possible location. Then, they will create a proposal that considers the wind farm’s cost, energy production, and environmental impact. • Deliver their presentations to garner support from the wind farm’s surrounding community and potential investors. The STEM Road Map Curriculum Series is anchored in the Next Generation Science Standards, the Common Core State Standards, and the Framework for 21st Century Learning. In-depth and flexible, Wind Energy can be used as a whole unit or in part to meet the needs of districts, schools, and teachers who are charting a course toward an integrated STEM approach.