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Energy Stories Reader's Theater
https://akenergysmart.org/lesson-plans/energy-stories-readers-theater/

AK Energy Smart

In this activity students learn about the story of coal, firewood, wind, and how energy gets transferred to these different sources. It is set in a Reader's Theater type activity where students are engaged in actively acting the story out.

This learning activity takes three 40 minute class periods.

Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»


Grade Level

Regional Focus

Online Readiness

Topics

Climate Literacy

This Activity builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.

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

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

  • If teaching this lesson outside of Alaska it might be good to have some background info on how local energy is created, which could include personal stories on how we all use energy and ideas for conserving energy.
  • Teachers may want to find information on their area to substitute for the information about Alaska in the script to make it more relevant.
  • The additional resource (which includes information about a Christmas Carol from 2022) can be omitted as it doesn't apply, and though the Molly of Denali is cute, it doesn't go with the lesson.
  • The video on Energy Successes could be too long for this audience and not very captivating.
  • This activity will appeal to learners who learn by doing and visualizing.

About the Content

  • This lesson focuses on the concepts of energy and how it can be transferred from coal, firewood, and wind to create heat.
  • This resource is geared towards a young audience (K-3) and it does not include cited scientific data or resources for scientific data.
  • Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.

About the Pedagogy

  • This is a very engaging lesson plan that involves the whole class in reading and acting out three plays for "energy scripts". Each student gets assigned a role and can use their creativity and energy to act out the story.
  • There is a pre-lesson activity included with lots of resources.
  • This resource celebrates Alaska's native cultures, including storytelling as an important way that people learn.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

  • The scripts are already written, and there is a large amount of local information (Alaska) as well as additional information/resources to use.
  • The lesson includes some videos in the pre-lesson and in the resources. Teachers would need access to YouTube and PBS.org to access these. The videos were good, they show how people live in rural Alaska.
  • The PDF lesson was not downloadable but the stories and question sheet are.
Entered the Collection: March 2025 | Last Reviewed: January 2025

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