Westminster School District Solar Living Laboratory

VIDEOS Energy 101: Solar Power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDZzAIcCQLQ Great video about the different types of solar energy. Animated but good level for upper elementary through high school. Best Energy Power: How Solar Works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4CTceusK9I Great for older students National Geographic Solar Power http://www.connectenergyed.org/video/ge-solar-power/ Learn about various types of solar energy The Chemistry Behind Solar Panels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQuFMDkKTCA A quick but descriptive video about how exactly how and why electrons are moving in a solar panel to create electricity How to Use a Digital Multimeter (a volt meter) - This is a brief tutorial on using digital multimeters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyibwtOXZKs Online Resources (websites, lessons, activities, and background reading) U.S. Energy Information Administration California Profile: http://www.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=CA Lesson Plans (K-12): http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=Plans Student Reading on Solar Basics: http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=solar_home-basics Careers in Solar Energy: http://www.eia.gov/kids/resources/teachers/pdfs/CareerCurrents_solar.pdf Solar Energy Timeline: http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=tl_photovoltaic Solar Basics: http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=solar_home-basics U.S. Department of Energy Sunshot Initiative: http://energy.gov/eere/sunshot/sunshot-initiative Solar Decathlon: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/education.html Solar in Schools: http://energy.gov/eere/sunshot/downloads/brighter-future-study-solar-us-schools National Renewable Energy Laboratory MS & HS Solar Science Projects: http://www.nrel.gov/education/pdfs/educational_resources/middle_school/solar_projects_ms.pdf In depth Solar in the Classroom guide: http://www.nrel.gov/education/pdfs/educational_resources/high_school/teachers_guide_pv.pdf Student Reading on History of Solar Cells: http://www.nrel.gov/education/pdfs/educational_resources/high_school/solar_cell_history.pdf Solar Irradiance Data: http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) www.need.org Energy Infobooks and Factsheets (broken out by grade band) http://www.need.org/solar This page also has the students and teacher guides for the solar kits in your district Schools Going Solar: http://www.need.org/files/curriculum/guides/SchoolsGoingSolar.pdf TED-Ed How do Solar Panels Work? https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-solar-panels-work-richard-komp Why aren’t we Only Using Solar Power? https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-aren-t-we-only-using-solar-power-alexandros-george-charalambides National Geographic Solar Energy and Diversifying Energy Resources: A lesson plan for grades 6-8
 http://nationalgeographic.org/activity/solar-energy-and-diversifying-energy-resources/ Connect! Transform the Future Series of Energy Lessons including videos, games, and activities http://www.connectenergyed.org/?ar_a=1 National Links Science Nation – Article on “Spray on Solar Panels” which combines chemistry, engineering, and renewable technology! http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/sprayonsolar.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_51 Photovoltaics on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_system Florida Solar Energy Center: (Science, Language Arts) Informational pages on various PV energy topics (great for webquests or web research projects Video: How a Solar Cell Works National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): Unit plans correlated to Colorado state standards (grade levels may need to be modified) (Social Studies, Science, Math, Language Arts How Solar Cells Convert Light to Electricity Unit Plan(7-9th grade): Lesson plan leading students through an investigation of the circuitry of constructing PV solar systems using purchased Solar kits Solar Energy Engineering Projects: Construct various solar devices with students (materials will need to be purchased in some cases Reading: History of Solar Cells Solar Training Manual: This training/workshop manual contains detailed background information about energy and solar photovoltaics. Activities are described that have nice classroom applications. Lesson plans for analyzing variables that affect solar output (angles – tied to magnetic declination, irradiance etc.