Wind Energy and Adding Fractions Lesson
Lesson Plan
45 minutesGrades5Mathematics
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Written by Pamela Fellner, Sustainable Jersey for Schools
About this lesson
In this lesson, students explore how adding fractions can help people understand how to make mathematical adjustments to account for the growing need for clean energy in their community.
Inquire: Students are introduced to a scenario where the energy needs of the apartment building are changing due to new families moving in.
Investigate: Students learn how to add fractions with unlike denominators and participate in guided practice.
Inspire: Students work independently to solve fraction addition problems with a clean energy and community-building theme.
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Everything you need to teach it
How to edit these materials (video)Teaching tips
Suggestions
- This lesson can be taught during a unit on adding and subtracting simple fractions.
- This lesson is designed to work in conjunction with any already existing textbook series; however, links to video instructions can be used to facilitate learning. One video is a traditional method for adding fractions and the other is a shortcut method which might be new and more sophisticated information.
- Homework or extension questions from a traditional text can follow this lesson.
- This lesson highlights the awareness of wind turbines as a source of clean energy and various applications of wind turbine energy to benefit a community.
- The first page of the worksheet can serve as guided practice while the remaining two pages can serve as a formative assessment.
- This lesson helps children explore their feelings about accepting, accommodating, and celebrating newcomers. The Teacher Slideshow prompts students to consider the drawbacks and benefits of allowing others to join an existing activity, as well as some useful strategies. Anticipated responses: students might respond that it's hard to allow newcomers to join something others have worked hard to organize, or that the team numbers might be uneven. Benefits could include a more varied skill set, and more opportunities to extend the game. Students can weigh the pros and cons using a simple pro and con graphic organizer as a whole group. The teacher can help the students use a priority number system to objectively reach a conclusion. It may also be beneficial for students to consider how their feelings might change if they were the newcomers instead of members of the established group.
- The word problems showcase example scenarios. The equations are not meant to show fully accurate data but are rather designed to help students practice a skill within the context of climate change and wind energy. To explore accurate scientific data, visit Our World in Data.
Prerequisites
- This is lesson 2 of 3 in our 5th grade Wind Energy and Fractions: Math Unit.
- More information about pacing can be found in the unit plan.
- Each lesson in the unit can stand alone.
- Students should have an understanding of how to create equivalent fractions.
- This lesson includes the second part of a two-part video series on Wind energy.
Differentiation
- The last question on the worksheet challenges students to add three fractions with unlike denominators and gives them the opportunity to develop their own question set.
- The first video explains the traditional algorithm for adding fractions with unlike denominators and the second explains a shorter, but more advanced method.
- The Student Document includes a number problem-only set with limited text. This version only includes the numbers without the word problems for student accessibility.
- Teachers can adapt the town names to better reflect their community and students.
- Students can learn about new technologies that can make wind power more accessible: PowerPod: A New Wind Turbine for Urban Spaces - Innovation & Tech Today
From the scientist review
Students can learn about equivalent fractions and come up with ideas for how to utilize them to calculate the total shared energy derived from wind power for household and community consumption, and also model changes in renewable energy use when the population of households and community fluctuate. After reviewing the lesson, it passed our credibility assessments in science.
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About the teacher writers
Pamela Fellner
Pamela has been teaching 5th and 6th grade Science and Math for twelve years in Warren County, NJ. She enjoys spending quality time with her family, whether exploring nature trails or engaging in DIY science experiments at home, and is passionate about rehabilitating orphaned squirrel babies.
Sustainable Jersey for Schools
Sustainable Jersey is a network and movement of municipalities, schools and school districts working collectively to bring about a sustainable New Jersey. Acting with state agencies, non-profit organizations, foundations, academia and industry, Sustainable Jersey researches best practices for what communities could and should do to contribute to a sustainable future.
