This resource is a multi-week curricular unit for elementary grades 3-5 on the topic of Energy.  It includes nine lesson plans and activities to introduce students to a range of energy types such as solar, thermal, wind, and electrical.  It is part of a larger collection of digital resources sponsored by the National Science Digital Library (NSDL).  (Open Website)

This student activity is a study of common sources of energy. This activity is part of a PTRA manual on Energy  (Open Website)

One of the best ways for students to visualize Conservation of Energy is to create an energy pie chart or bar graph.  This cost-free web page allows them to select from one of five graph types:  bar, pie, line, area, or X/Y.  They can customize the patterns, colors, grids, and label choices, then print the final product.  (Open Website)

A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy directly to electrical energy, resulting in greater fuel efficiency and fewer emissions.  This online report, written for non-scientists, is an excellent reference for teachers planning a unit on Clean Energy or Alternative Fuels.  (Open Website)

This resource links to the Energy section of the Science Literacy Benchmarks published by the AAAS.  It is a statement of desired learning outcomes on the topic of Energy Transformations for grades 2, 5, 8, and 12.  (Open Website)

A wide variety of online resources related to Energy, with especially high-quality reference materials on nuclear power, geothermal, solar, and wind energy.  (Open Website)

Work-Energy bar charts are a conceptual tool which depict the amount of each form of energy within a system as it undergoes a particular motion or process.  This animated tutorial helps students understand the intricate relationship between work and energy, an area of common misconception.  (Open Website)

This five-part tutorial helps students understand how to analyze motion from the perspective of Work and Energy.  Students explore PE, KE, and total mechanical energy with the help of descriptive text, sample problems with solutions, force diagrams, and links to related animations.  (Open Website)

This is a unit of instruction for Grades 4-8 on the topic of Energy.  It was designed to promote cross-curricular investigations through hands-on activities.  Included are lessons, reproducible student activity sheets, and links to related websites for children.  (Open Website)

This is a unit of instruction for Grades 3-5 on Simple Machines.  It contains excellent background information on the principles behind the lever arm, the screw, simple and compound pulleys, and the gear.  Try teaming it with the computer simulations in Edheads (below).  (Open Website)

This is a good simulation to complement a lesson on work and energy.  As students move objects of varying mass up an incline, they can vary the angle, friction, and applied force.  Can be modified to meet curriculum of grades 5-12.  (Open Website)

This page features animations of carts traveling at constant speed on three inclines of equal distance but varying slopes.  Which path requires the most energy?  (Open Website)

This website contains sets of unique and entertaining animations for children designed to promote understanding of simple machines.  Kids learn as they interactively explore everyday machines found in kitchens, bathrooms, and tool sheds.  (Open Website)

This item is a tutorial that defines and gives examples of energy and energy change for K-8 teachers and their students. This site has easy to follow diagrams, tables, and definitions.  (Open Website)

This is a readable and well-organized tutorial for physical science students to gain understanding of what energy is and how energy is converted from one form to another.   Topics range from batteries and generators to full chapters on seven sources of renewable energy.  (Open Website)

This website contains nine sets of curriculum materials on renewable energy sources, organized into units of instruction for Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.   Topics include High Energy Hydrogen, Solar Matters, and Alternative Fuels.  (Open Website)

This short lesson for grades K-2 helps children build a base of understanding about energy and how it is transformed.  The are required to think like consumers as they probe input/output of battery-operated devices, appliances, televisions, and electric lights.  (Open Website)

This page provides step-by-step directions for building a solar oven. The kit calls for simple materials such as cardboard and duct tape, and includes a pattern for building the oven.  Teachers can also freely download the detailed background information and construction plans for student use.  (Open Website)

This resource is gives step-by-step instructions for building a vertical axis wind turbine in secondary classrooms.  The 17-page construction plans may be freely downloaded and are organized for first-time builders.  A printable lesson plan is provided, as well as comprehensive background information on wind energy.  (Open Website)

This resource gives step-by-step instructions for building a water-powered electric generator from plastic spoons.  The model closely resembles real micro-hydro designs, and can produce enough electricity to light a small light bulb.  Detailed background information and links to animated tours of hydroelectric power plants are included.  (Open Website)

This virtual tour begins as water from a reservoir flows through a large pipe at the bottom of a dam and acts to power a giant turbine.  Students can see how energy is transformed from mechanical to electrical by the excitation of electrons within magnets inside the turbine shaft.   This activity would be great teamed with the project above on building a water-powered generator.  (Open Website)

For the teacher looking for an immersion experience for grades 8-12, this resource offers detailed labs with set-up instructions for constructing a wind turbine,  solar oven, water-powered electric generator, and bio-gas generator.  Content support is integrated throughout.  (Open Website)

A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy directly to electrical energy, resulting in greater fuel efficiency and fewer emissions.  This online report, written for non-scientists, is a great reference for teachers planning a unit on Clean Energy or Alternative Fuels.  (Open Website)

This is a great lesson to do over conservation of energy.  (Open Website)

Explore energy transfer in this easy-to-setup activity.  Place a ping-pong ball on top of a racquetball and drop them together.  Upon impact, some of the energy of the racquetball is transferred to the smaller ball. Background information, printable data sheets, and assessments are also provided.  (Open Website)

Students explore conservation of energy by building ramps, jumps, and tracks for a skateboarder.  The relationship of kinetic and potential energy becomes clear through energy vs. time and position charts.  (Open Website)

One of the best ways for students to visualize Conservation of Energy is to create an energy pie chart or bar graph.  This cost-free web page allows them to select from one of five graph types:  bar, pie, line, area, or X/Y.  They can customize the patterns, colors, grids, and label choices, then print the final product.  (Open Website)

This highly engaging activity allows the student to design a simple roller coaster, and then evaluates the roller coaster based on physical principles such as potential energy and circular motion.  It rates each student's roller coaster design for safety and fun, with detailed explanations of the strength or failing of each design.  (Open Website)

Work-Energy bar charts are a conceptual tool which depict the amount of each form of energy within a system as it undergoes a particular motion or process.  This animated tutorial helps students understand conservation of energy as they visualize the relationship between work and energy.  (Open Website)

In this five-part tutorial, students explore potential energy, kinetic energy, and total mechanical energy with the help of descriptive text, sample problems and solutions, force diagrams, and links to related animations.  (Open Website)

This 4-day unit for grades K-2 uses engaging activities to show the relationship between light, heat, and shadows, helping young children build a conceptual base to understand energy transformations.  Included are printable student activity sheets and science content support for teachers.  (Open Website)

This short lesson for grades K-2 helps children build a base of understanding about energy and how it is transformed.  The are required to think like consumers as they probe input/output of battery-operated devices, appliances, televisions, and electric lights.  (Open Website)

This virtual tour begins as water from a reservoir flows through a large pipe at the bottom of a dam and acts to power a giant turbine.  Students can see two types of energy transformation:  1) Gravitational Potential Energy transforms to Mechanical Energy when rushing water turns the turbine, and 2) Mechanical Energy is transformed to Electrical Energy by the excitation of electrons within magnets in the turbine shaft.  (Open Website)

This tutorial features an animated roller coaster with moving bar graphs that depict kinetic and potential energy as the car descends and climbs.   It is an example of a system in which TME (Total Mechanical Energy) remains the same during the course of the motion.  Try teaming it with the Downhill Skier animation above.  (Open Website)

The motion of a pendulum is a classic example of mechanical energy conservation.  In this animated tutorial, energy bar graphs depict the changing ratios of kinetic-to-potential energy as the pendulum swings.  (Open Website)

Energy is never lost, but yet changes form. Trace the interconversions and energy types here.  (Open Website)