Lesson: The Energy of Decay
Posted on December 22nd, 2009 by ASEE
In this lesson, students in grades K-5 learn how decaying organic matter can be harvested as a source of energy. After brainstorming as to how old metal, plastic, and paper can be a resource, students find uses for an old piece of fruit. They view an informative video on harvesting organic material for energy. Once their their investigation is complete, students observe conditions that promote the most rapid decay of a piece of fruit.
Filed under: Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: The Energy of Decay
Tags: Environmental Engineering, Grades K-5, Recycling, Waste management
In this lesson for grades 5-8, students learn how the process of reverse engineering helps improve technology. Students analyze the mechanisms of a push-toy then disassemble it and draw its inner mechanisms. They then make suggestions for improvements: effectiveness, improved functionality, ecological friendliness, and any additional functionality. Time required: 90 minutes.
Practicing elementary civil engineering, students in grades 1 through 8 build a portable paper structure able to support the weight of a book. They learn that material strength varies with shape and arrangement.
The edible “rocks” lesson helps students grades K-8 learn the importance of observation, teamwork, and communication skills. Students draw and describe the food/meteors, then pair their observations with short descriptions in a geologic “Field Note” style.
Students work in small teams to design a heat- and water-conserving “green roof” of plant material for an urban apartment building. This is a multimedia project for grades 9-12, involving Web and library research, hand drawings, creation of exhibit boards with text, photos and data graphics, and a final presentation of findings.
In this lesson, students in grades 6-8 learn what causes a tsunami, the physics behind its movement, and how scientists know when one is forming. They study its impact on a model town and learn about a 10-year-old girl credited with saving dozens of lives when a tsunami struck Samoa. 
Students in grades 3 to 8 use a table-top tsunami generator to observe the devastation of these huge waves. They make villages of model buildings to test how different material types are impacted, and they learn how engineers design buildings to survive tsunamis.
Ever touch a metal object on a hot day? The heat burns your fingers. But the ground is cool enough to walk on barefoot. Different materials have a different heat capacity, something engineers consider in designing everything from houses to hair dryers. In this lesson for grades 3-5, students compare the heat capacities of different materials and learn why heat capacity is an important property of thermal energy.
