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Energy Literacy Fellows Resources

Summary

This energy literacy fellows classroom resource collection brings together films, short videos, and classroom-ready resources that help Fellows teach electricity and energy systems through real-world examples, strong visuals, and high-quality discussion prompts. The collection supports teachers who want students to understand how electricity is generated and delivered, how demand shapes infrastructure decisions, and how different electricity options carry benefits, trade-offs, and environmental impacts.

Fellows can use this collection as a full instructional sequence or as a flexible menu of resources that fit different pacing needs. Many teachers start with a short concept foundation, then move into demand, grid growth, and electricity options. From there, the collection supports extensions into efficiency, transportation, and modern electricity demand drivers such as data centers and AI.

What this collection helps teachers do

  • Build foundational understanding of electricity using Intro to Electricity and Science of Electricity
  • Teach systems and scale using the Demand Curve video, Energy Demand and Scale, and the Scale video
  • Explore grid growth and infrastructure decisions with Switch On Episode 2: Urban Grid Expansion
  • Introduce distributed power and resilience using Switch On Episode 5 and Switch On Episode 6: Building solar microgrids
  • Compare electricity options using paired intro and science videos:
    • Hydropower: Intro + Science of Hydropower
    • Wind: Intro + Science of Wind + Switch Chapter 11
    • Nuclear: Intro + Science of Nuclear + Switch Chapter 13
  • Strengthen energy efficiency thinking with the Intro to Efficiency video and Switch Chapter 14: The Value of Efficiency
  • Support modern connections to electricity demand with AI and Energy, linking well to student interest in data centers and local infrastructure
  • Extend into transportation and consumer energy decisions with Switch Chapter 8: Electric Cars
  • Build student argumentation and evidence-based reasoning using Intro to Energy Choices, Intro to Environmental Impacts, and the US Energy Issues Debate

How teachers use this collection

  • Use short videos to introduce concepts and build shared background knowledge
  • Pair film segments with the included discussion guides for structured conversation and written responses
  • Use debate and choice-based resources to build evidence-driven claims and trade-off analysis