Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the Exploration and Activity you just completed.

• Lesson Assessment and Answer Key
• Readings: Two readings about renewable energy sources.
• Readings: Three readings about using energy from the sun
• Activity: Make a solar oven
• Videos: Videos about energy sources
• Analyze and Discuss: Where will you put your wind turbine?

These readings are free with registration at Newsela or Readworks, both excellent sources of supplemental reading.

• "Clean energy" explains solar and wind power. (Readworks, Grade 3)
• “Generating energy from the wind” gives a look at how wind power works. (Newsela, Grade 4)

These readings are free with registration on Newsela. Readings can be adjusted for reading level. A writing prompt and a quiz question are available for each reading.

• Read about groups who want to bring solar power to more communities. (Grade 3)

• This article describes a new solar panel that can make power from sunlight and rain. (Grade 3)

• This reading introduces a Thai street vendor who cooks chicken with sunlight. (Grade 4)

If you live somewhere with sunny weather, consider building a solar oven to make s’mores, a tasty treat.

You’ll find instructions here on NASA’s Climate Kids site. If you’d like the instructions as a pdf, scroll to the bottom of the page and look for “download this activity as a pdf.”

• This video from Nova provides an overview of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources in English or Spanish.

• This video from the Nature Conservancy will give students a deeper understanding of the many things that people think about when they decide what energy source to use.

• This video from the U.S. Department of Energy answers questions about how wind power works.

Challenge your class to choose a spot to build a “wind farm,” a group of electricity-producing wind turbines. Look at this map of wind speeds across the United States and think about the best place to put a wind farm. Is there a good place for a wind farm near you?