Suggested Activity: Understand the many ways we use energy to generate electricity, power transportation, and produce heat. Explore the different energy sources and their impacts.
Alberta – Grade 5 Science Quick-Start Guide
Summary
The Switch Classroom Alberta Grade 5 Science quick-start guide connects free classroom lessons to the Energy organizing idea in Alberta’s new science curriculum. Every activity supports the Grade 5 learning outcome, students investigate and analyze various energy resources, and builds the skills that sit underneath it: interpreting data, comparing renewable and non-renewable resources, and weighing the trade-offs of real energy choices.
Featured lessons include short videos and starter packs on coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, wind, hydropower, and bioenergy, along with foundational lessons like Introduction to Energy and The Energy Mix. Students compare nine energy sources through station activities, anchor their assumptions in real data, and practice media literacy while researching energy topics.
The guide also connects to social studies themes that matter in Alberta classrooms: resource development, local and global trade-offs, community impacts, and the decisions communities make about energy.
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Organizing Idea Energy: Understandings of the physical world are deepened by investigating matter and energy.
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Guiding Question: How are energy resources understood?
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Learning Outcome: Students investigate and analyze various energy resources.
Resources
Science of Nuclear
Suggested Activity: Engage students with the starter pack (bell ringer, short videos, quiz) to introduce non-renewable energy resources.
Science of Coal
Suggested Activity: Engage students with the starter pack (bell ringer, short videos, quiz) to introduce non-renewable energy resources.
Introduction to Oil
Suggested Activity: Engage students with the starter pack (bell ringer, short videos, quiz) to introduce non-renewable energy resources.
Introduction to Natural Gas
Suggested Activity: Explore the energy resources used in Alberta with these short video lessons. Each describes how the energy is obtained as well as some pros and cons of each.
Introduction to Hydropower
Suggested Activity: Explore the energy resources used in Alberta with these short video lessons. Each describes how the energy is obtained as well as some pros and cons of each.
Introduction to Wind
Suggested Activity: Explore the energy resources used in Alberta with these short video lessons. Each describes how the energy is obtained as well as some pros and cons of each.
Introduction to Solar
Suggested Activity: Work through the full teacher guide, ending with a hands-on lab where students capture and transfer heat from sunlight.
Introduction to Bioenergy
Suggested Activity: Explore the energy resources used in Alberta with these short video lessons. Each describes how the energy is obtained as well as some pros and cons of each.
Introduction to Energy
Suggested Activity: Begin with the hands-on activity to set the stage, then have students anchor their assumptions in the data, using the data set.
Energy Sources Activity Stations
Suggested Activity: Have students explore the pros and cons of nine different energy resources with this activity and related videos.
Developing Media Literacy - Mini-Unit
Suggested Activity: Introduce students to the fundamentals of media literacy through the lens of researching energy topics.