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Renew-a-Bead Game
https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cla_activity1_renewable

Susan Powers, Jan DeWaters, A number of Clarkson and St. Lawrence University students in the K-12 Project Based Learning Partnership Program , Teach Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Clarkson University

Students work in pairs to pick black and white beads out of a bag to represent the percent of renewable and nonrenewable resources used in different countries, and then graph the information.

This learning activity takes one 45min class period

Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»


Grade Level

Online Readiness

Topics

Energy Literacy

This Activity builds on the following concepts of Energy Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

  • Background information for the teacher is helpful and should be reviewed in advance. More explanation may be needed to explain the graphs to students.
  • Prepare the bags of marbles in advance.
  • The follow-up questions can be answered in pairs and shared with the whole class for a rich discussion.
  • This lesson fits in well with the Fossil Fuel Graphing Exercise which is linked in this lesson. The guide suggests related lessons including one called, "Energy Resources and Systems."

About the Content

  • This activity models a country's consumption of renewable versus non-renewable energy. Students are presented with various scenarios which represent different amounts of energy used.
  • Students use critical thinking to better understand the relationship between renewable and non-renewable energy consumption.
  • Adequate background information is provided.
  • References and associated lessons/materials are provided.
  • Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.

About the Pedagogy

  • Student groups complete an activity where they remove beads (representing units of renewable and non-renewable energy) from a bag (representing a country). This information is graphed and compared with other groups/countries to represent different patterns of energy consumption.
  • Projected learning outcomes include constructing arguments supported by scientific evidence, reasoning abstractly, and applying mathematical concepts.
  • Activity is engaging and easy for students to follow. Students learn by participating in a hands-on worksheet-based activity and discussing results with their peers.
  • Students should be able to complete this activity with limited assistance from teachers, but teachers can help enhance the post-activity discussion.
  • The discussion questions provide an opportunity to explore what the model means about energy consumption when there are different amounts of renewable and nonrenewable resources available.
  • Helpful background information and additional resources are provided to the teacher.
  • Activity lists its connection to various educational standards including NGSS, Common Core, International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, and state standards.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

  • The activity is well organized across two parts. Each part provides a different scenario to teach students about renewable versus non-renewable energy consumption.
  • Beads of two different colors and bags to contain beads are required.
Entered the Collection: March 2023 Last Reviewed: July 2022

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