NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water

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published by the National Energy Education Development Project

Available Languages: English, Spanish

This resource for middle school provides 13 complete lessons for teaching about hydropower and conversion of moving water to electrical energy. The unit crosses the curriculum to include physical science, engineering design, earth systems, language arts, social studies and math. As with all NEED educational materials, this resource includes every component required for immediate classroom use: lesson plans, illustrated lab procedures, rubric, pre and post-test assessments, age-appropriate background information, worksheets, graphics for classroom projection, and student guidebooks.

Specific physical science objectives revolve around energy transformation, energy flow in systems, kinetic vs. potential energy, gravitational potential energy, magnetic field, and electromagnets. Each investigation requires students to first read about the topic in "infobooks" (included in the materials), then make predictions, complete the lab, record data, and write a conclusion. The NEED Project is a national initiative to bring innovative curriculum materials in energy education to teachers and learners from the primary grades through co

https://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/guides/Energy%20of%20Moving%...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - Work and Energy = Conservation of Energy = Mechanical Power Education Foundations - Cognition = Cognition Development Education Practices - Active Learning = Inquiry Learning Electricity & Magnetism - Capacitance = Energy Storage - Electromagnetic Radiation - Magnetic Fields and Forces = Force on Wires = Magnetic Fields - Magnetic Materials = Magnets Thermo & Stat Mech - First Law = Heat Transfer - Thermal Properties of Matter = Thermal Expansion	- Middle School	- Instructional Material = Curriculum = Instructor Guide/Manual = Laboratory = Problem/Problem Set = Student Guide = Unit of Instruction - Assessment Material - Audio/Visual = Image/Image Set

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Access Rights:: Free access; Lesson plans and Teachers Guide are available for free download and may be reproduced for educational purposes. Lab kits may be purchased from the NEED Project or obtained from science supply retailers.
Restriction:: © 2012 National Energy Education Development Project
Keywords:: dams, electrical energy, energy flow, energy forms, energy lessons, energy sources, energy transformation, heat loss, hydropower, light energy, nonrenewable energy, radiant energy, renewable energy, solar energy, thermal energy
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created May 10, 2013 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: August 17, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4E. Energy Transformations

6-8: 4E/M1. Whenever energy appears in one place, it must have disappeared from another. Whenever energy is lost from somewhere, it must have gone somewhere else. Sometimes when energy appears to be lost, it actually has been transferred to a system that is so large that the effect of the transferred energy is imperceptible.
6-8: 4E/M2. Energy can be transferred from one system to another (or from a system to its environment) in different ways: 1) thermally, when a warmer object is in contact with a cooler one; 2) mechanically, when two objects push or pull on each other over a distance; 3) electrically, when an electrical source such as a battery or generator is connected in a complete circuit to an electrical device; or 4) by electromagnetic waves.
6-8: 4E/M3. Thermal energy is transferred through a material by the collisions of atoms within the material. Over time, the thermal energy tends to spread out through a material and from one material to another if they are in contact. Thermal energy can also be transferred by means of currents in air, water, or other fluids. In addition, some thermal energy in all materials is transformed into light energy and radiated into the environment by electromagnetic waves; that light energy can be transformed back into thermal energy when the electromagnetic waves strike another material. As a result, a material tends to cool down unless some other form of energy is converted to thermal energy in the material.
6-8: 4E/M4. Energy appears in different forms and can be transformed within a system. Motion energy is associated with the speed of an object. Thermal energy is associated with the temperature of an object. Gravitational energy is associated with the height of an object above a reference point. Elastic energy is associated with the stretching or compressing of an elastic object. Chemical energy is associated with the composition of a substance. Electrical energy is associated with an electric current in a circuit. Light energy is associated with the frequency of electromagnetic waves.

8. The Designed World

8C. Energy Sources and Use

6-8: 8C/M1. Transformations and transfers of energy within a system usually result in some energy escaping into its surrounding environment. Some systems transfer less energy to their environment than others during these transformations and transfers.
6-8: 8C/M2. Different ways of obtaining, transforming, and distributing energy have different environmental consequences.
6-8: 8C/M4. Electrical energy can be generated from a variety of energy resources and can be transformed into almost any other form of energy. Electric circuits are used to distribute energy quickly and conveniently to distant locations.
6-8: 8C/M5. Energy from the sun (and the wind and water energy derived from it) is available indefinitely. Because the transfer of energy from these resources is weak and variable, systems are needed to collect and concentrate the energy.
6-8: 8C/M8. People have invented ingenious ways of deliberately bringing about energy transformations that are useful to them.
6-8: 8C/M10. Some resources are not renewable or renew very slowly. Fuels already accumulated in the earth, for instance, will become more difficult to obtain as the most readily available resources run out. How long the resources will last, however, is difficult to predict. The ultimate limit may be the prohibitive cost of obtaining them.

11. Common Themes

11A. Systems

6-8: 11A/M2. Thinking about things as systems means looking for how every part relates to others. The output from one part of a system (which can include material, energy, or information) can become the input to other parts. Such feedback can serve to control what goes on in the system as a whole.

11B. Models

6-8: 11B/M1. Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly, or on too small a scale to observe directly. They are also used for processes that are too vast, too complex, or too dangerous to study.
9-12: 11B/H5. The behavior of a physical model cannot ever be expected to represent the full-scale phenomenon with complete accuracy, not even in the limited set of characteristics being studied. The inappropriateness of a model may be related to differences between the model and what is being modeled.

12. Habits of Mind

12C. Manipulation and Observation

6-8: 12C/M3. Make accurate measurements of length, volume, weight, elapsed time, rates, and temperature by using appropriate devices.
6-8: 12C/M5. Analyze simple mechanical devices and describe what the various parts are for; estimate what the effect of making a change in one part of a device would have on the device as a whole.

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics Alignments

Standards for Mathematical Practice (K-12)

MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

MP.5 Use appropriate tools strategically.

Ratios and Proportional Relationships (6-7)

Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems. (6)

6.RP.2 Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b ? 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship.
6.RP.3.d Use ratio reasoning to convert measurement units; manipulate and transform units appropriately when multiplying or dividing quantities.

Expressions and Equations (6-8)

Solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations. (7)

7.EE.3 Solve multi-step real-life and mathematical problems posed with positive and negative rational numbers in any form (whole numbers, fractions, and decimals), using tools strategically. Apply properties of operations to calculate with numbers in any form; convert between forms as appropriate; and assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies.

Common Core State Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6—12

Key Ideas and Details (6-12)

RST.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.

Craft and Structure (6-12)

RST.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6—8 texts and topics.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (6-12)

RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
RST.6-8.9 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity (6-12)

RST.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 6—8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Common Core State Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6—12

Text Types and Purposes (6-12)

1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. (WHST.6-8.1)
2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes. (WHST.6-8.2)

Research to Build and Present Knowledge (6-12)

WHST.6-8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=12742">National Energy Education Development Project. NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water. Manassas: National Energy Education Development Project, 2012.</a>

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(National Energy Education Development Project, Manassas, 2012), WWW Document, (https://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/guides/Energy%20of%20Moving%20Water%20Teacher.pdf).

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NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water (National Energy Education Development Project, Manassas, 2012), <https://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/guides/Energy%20of%20Moving%20Water%20Teacher.pdf>.

APA Format

NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water. (2012). Retrieved May 1, 2025, from National Energy Education Development Project: https://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/guides/Energy%20of%20Moving%20Water%20Teacher.pdf

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National Energy Education Development Project. NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water. Manassas: National Energy Education Development Project, 2012. https://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/guides/Energy%20of%20Moving%20Water%20Teacher.pdf (accessed 1 May 2025).

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NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water. Manassas: National Energy Education Development Project, 2012. 1 May 2025 <https://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/guides/Energy%20of%20Moving%20Water%20Teacher.pdf>.

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@misc{ Title = {NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water}, Publisher = {National Energy Education Development Project}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Year = {2012} }

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%T NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water %D 2012 %I National Energy Education Development Project %C Manassas %U https://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/guides/Energy%20of%20Moving%20Water%20Teacher.pdf %O application/pdf

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%0 Electronic Source %D 2012 %T NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water %I National Energy Education Development Project %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %9 application/pdf %U https://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/guides/Energy%20of%20Moving%20Water%20Teacher.pdf

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NEED Project: Energy of Moving Water:

Accompanies Energy of Moving Water: Student Guide

This pdf student guide is part of the "Energy of Moving Water" curriculum unit.

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