Solar and other Clean Energy Curriculum
Essential Question:
What do students need to know about climate change and clean energy sources to enable them to take action in their own homes and communities?
Solar is the fastest growing energy source in the world and is absolutely central to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to a clean energy future. Philadelphia is on its way to its goal of 30% solar by 2030. Phiiadelphia Solar Energy Association has developed curriculum designed to increase students' understanding of solar energy, build their skills in STEM, and enable them to apply this learning to solve real problems in their lives.
All of PSEA's curriculum is aligned with the PA STEELS and the national NGSS standards. PSEA's curriculum is free to download. We are always interested in improving the curriculum and are working to keep it current, so your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Bring Solar to School is a set of 5 STEM lessons, designed specifically for schools that have installed solar systems. These lessons enable students to monitor their school's system by analyzing the real time generation data to deepen their understanding of electricity and solar specifically.
Harness the Power of the Sun is a 12 lesson STEM course, covering Energy, Electricity, Solar, Electric Vehicles, and Infographics. It includes the "Bring Solar to School" lessons, but provides much more preparation and context. It is published as a set of Google Slides.
Solar: Energy of Innovation is a 10 week science course, covering Energy, Electricity, Solar, other Renewables, and how solar can help address Climate Change. It is published as a PDF.
Tracing to the Sun and Back is a 10 week science curriculum that explores solar energy, connects life and physical science to engineering and practical applications, and allows students to trace the path of energy from their own bodies to the sun and back. It covers Photosynthesis, Food webs, Solar, Carbon cycles and Climate Change.
Carbon Markets is a 10 lesson unit. Given the importance of carbon markets to solving climate change, we have published a unit on carbon markets for 9th grade STEM and financial literacy courses. It covers carbon cap and invest, cap and trade, monetizing carbon emissions and existing programs in the USA.