Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program

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Energy and Your School Activity Guide

This guide contains hands-on, interdisciplinary lessons that support school building energy efficiency. Below are links to each lesson in the guide along with supporting resources. Printed copies of the guide are only available to educators who take a KEEP NRES 634 course or a Utilizing Your School Building as a Teaching Tool: Investigations in Energy Efficiency workshop.

Activity Guide Resources

Guide Introduction
Energy Resource Fact Sheets
Cross-reference chart - Activities by Grade Level
Cross-reference chart - Activities by Subject Area
Cross-reference chart - Activities by Teaching Methods
Cross-reference chart - Activities by Assessment Strategies
Cross-reference chart - Activities and Concepts
Standards Correlation - Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards

Standards Correlation - Wisconsin Standards for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability

Special Projects

Rationale for School Building Energy Efficiency Education
Myths about Energy in Schools

Creating an Energy Committee in Your School

Developing School Energy Policy and Education Plans 
Special Projects in Energy Management for Schools

Additional Resources

Additional Resources - Local and national energy education and management resources for your classroom and building

Energy Sparks
Short, introductory activities for your students.

School Energy Users
Through a mapping exercise, students identify items that use energy in select areas of the school building and suggest ways teachers and students can save energy.

School Energy Savers
Through whole-body movement, students learn three common ways to save energy in school buildings.

What's the Definition?
A list of school building energy terms and definitions to help students learn about their school building and the energy required to operate it.

Energy Audit Pop Quiz
Evaluate student understanding of school building energy audit terminology and concepts through development of assessment questions. 

 

Activities from the Energy and Your School Guide

Classroom Energy Flow (Grades K-4)
Students create an energy flow diagram of their classroom by labeling and describing how objects in their classroom transfer energy.

Focus on Energy Agriculture, Schools and Government Program

Cost of Computers (Grades 5-8)
Students calculate and compare electrical costs of computers in various modes.

Check out a Watts Up? Meter from KEEP

Demanding School Electric Bills (Grades 9-12 / 5-8)
Students examine a school electric bill and interpret a story to identify energy users and analyze peak demand. 

Understand your electric bill: Focus on Energy | Xcel Energy | WPS | We Energies

​Design a Cool School (Grades 5-8 / 9-12)
Students critique the design of energy efficient, high performance schools.

Collaborative for High Performance Schools

Energy Design Guidelines for High Performance Schools

U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Initiative - Zero Energy Schools

Additional resources on green building design

Electric Charades (Grades K-4)
Students illustrate through a whole-body demonstration how electricity flows from the power plant to appliances in their classroom.

Energy Action Plan (Grades 9-12 / 5-8)
Students develop an action plan that addresses an issue related to energy resource management.

School case studies and sample energy-savings action plans for schools from Wisconsin K-12 teachers

Energy Investigations for School Buildings  (Grades 9-12 / 5-8)
Based on the analysis of a school's energy audit, students report where energy could be saved or used more efficiently. 

Energy Audit Tools

Worksheets and Videos

Is Your Classroom Energy Efficient? (Grades K-12)
Students inspect their classroom to see where energy is being used and conserved.

   Light and Your Load (Grades 9-12 / 5-8) 

  Students conduct lighting surveys to calculate the cost to light their homes and compare that to the cost of lighting their classroom.

  

          Recommended Interior Light Levels in Schools

Light Savers (Grades K-4)
Students create posters that represent various light sources.

Energy Resource Fact Sheets 

Pulling the Plug on Phantom Loads (Grades K-4)
Students identify classroom appliances that use electricity even when turned off and how using a power strip can save electricity. 

School Appliance Inventory (Grades K-12)
Students design an inventory tool to assess the types and quantity of electrical devices found in their school. 

Check out a Watts Up? Meter from KEEP

Focus on Energy Agriculture, Schools and Government Program

School Savings (Grades 5-8 / 9-12)
Through a board game, students quiz each other on ways to save energy in a school.

Seeking Inhabitable Schools (Grades K-12)
Through a game of hide and seek, students identify systems in their school that use energy and make the school's physical environment livable. 

Additional KEEP Activities Supporting School Building Energy Efficiency

At Watt Rate (Grades 5-8 / 9-12)
Students complete a survey to determine how much electricity various appliances in their home use.

The Cost of Using Energy (Grades 5-8 / 9-12)
Students calculate the cost of energy used by various products found in the home and at school.

Supplement this activity with information from KEEP's home energy education page

Reading Utility Bills (Grades 5-8 / 9-12)
Students recognize and interpret electricity and natural gas use patterns for one year by reading a set of utility bills.

Sample Utility Bills

MG&E 

We Energies

We Energies, Solar Cogeneration

WPPI Energy (Columbus Water & Light)
WPS

Xcel Energy

Reading Utility Meters (Grades 5-8 / 9-12)
Students observe and interpret daily and weekly patterns of energy consumption by reading utility meters.

Sample Digital Meter Readings

Readings A 

Readings B

Readings C