Lesson Introduction

Click Grade 1: Energy in Everday Life to download the Grade 1—Energy lesson. 

As you work through the lesson, look for evidence of science notebooking strategies and English language arts and reading connections.

Grade 1: Energy in Everyday Life. Content Objective: I can identify and discuss how sound, light, and heat energy are important to my life. Language Objective: I can write about the ways heat, light, and sound energy are important in my everyday life.

The lesson objectives are the TEKS restated in student-friendly text and can be written on your board. You will see the notation RM, which is an abbreviation for Reproducible Master, throughout the lesson documents. These pages are located at the end of each lesson and can either be instructional activity sheets or recording pages for students.

Engage: Identifying Energy

This lesson uses the 5E model. The first E is Engage.

Locate RM 1 in the Grade 1–Energy lesson. Identify the forms of energy you observe in each picture. Identify the forms of energy in the kitchen scene below by clicking on the objects. You may want to turn the volume up on your computer to identify examples of sound energy.

In what ways do you use heat, light, and sound energy every day?

 

Explore: Exploring Energy

This lesson uses the 5E model. The second E is Explore.

Take a moment to read the following excerpt from the lesson.

Content Builder
It is important for students to understand that heat, light, and sound energy exist even though they may not be observed in the same way by all people. Students may have limited experience with or knowledge of people who are blind or deaf. As you discuss light and sound energy, be aware of and address how people who are blind may not experience light energy as people with sight do, if at all. In the same way, people who are deaf may not experience sound energy as people with hearing do.

The Explore portion of this lesson is written as three separate activities. Activities 1 and 2 could be whole- or small-group activities, and it is suggested that Activity 3 be a whole-group activity.

Activity 1: Sound Identification Bingo

Use the following animation to play Sound Identification Bingo.
 

  • What would your life be like if there were no sounds?

Activity 2: Lights On! Lights Off!

Lights On! Lights Off! is a game played by groups of four students or as a class divided into four teams. For purposes of this course, locate RM 3 to view the game cards and rules.

Students will identify sources of light energy and describe how light energy is important in everyday life. The game cards can also be used to lead a discussion or to create a matching game. 

  • What would your life be like without light energy?

Activity 3: Popcorn

Begin this section of the lesson by gathering the necessary materials for the activity. If you do not have the necessary materials to complete the activity, read the Teacher Instruction and Facilitation Questions for Explore Activity 3. 

  • What other sources of heat energy might be used to pop popcorn?
  • In what ways do you use heat energy in everyday life?

Note that to avoid teaching misconceptions, this lesson will not use microwave ovens as examples of heat energy. You can read more about microwaves in the Content Builder section of Activity 3.

Explain: Letters to My Energy Superheroes

The third E is Explain. 

Click Grade 1: Letters to My Energy Superheroes Book to download the student reader for this lesson. Each of the lessons contains a book or short story as part of the Explain section. This does not imply that every lesson has to be formatted with a story. We simply took the opportunity to provide another resource.

Take a moment to read the story.

Picture of three energy superheroes - one for light, one for heat, and one for sound.

Review the Facilitation Questions in the Explain section of the lesson.

After reading the story, invite student volunteers to help write a letter to an Energy Superhero in the class science notebook. Be sure to model how to include the date, salutation, and closing on the letter. Students will be asked to write their own letters for the Evaluate portion of this lesson.

Elaborate: Forms of Energy Sort

The fourth E is Elaborate.

Read the Elaborate section of the lesson. Use the following animation to experience the activity.

When you complete the animation, think about what your life would be like without heat, light, and/or sound.

Evaluate: Letter to My Superhero

The fifth E is Evaluate.

Read the Evaluate section of the lesson.

Grade 1: Energy Evaluate, Picture of student's sample letter to their Energy Superhero.

Click Student Sample to see a student work sample on VoiceThread®.

Did you observe evidence of notebook and English language arts and reading connections in the Grade 1–Energy lesson? If so, where?

Lesson Summary

Locate your Energy Lesson Summaries page. Fill in the activity for each E in the Grade 1—Energy lesson. You will refer back to this page throughout the energy strand as you complete each grade level's energy lesson.

Grade 1: Energy in Everyday Life

Grade TEKS "E" Lesson Summaries
4

4 (6)(A)

4 (6)(B)

4 (6)(C)

 

Electrifying Energy

3      
2      
1 1 (6)(A)

Engage

Explore

Elaborate

Explain

Evaluate

energy in pictures

sound, light, and heat activities

Energy Super Heroes

sorting objects with energy

write a letter to an energy hero

K

K (6)(A)

K (6)(C)

 

Energy is Everywhere