Teacher's Guide

EF-A1.1

ISE 5-14 Curriculum Support Materials                                                           Overview advice

Group 4 exemplar Energy & Forces  - Energy (Word)

1. Energy is a very hard concept to understand even for adults and so do not expect all the children to follow this at this stage. Energy can be variously described as :

   ... what makes things happen
   ... what helps us to do things
   ... always present but never visible
   ... the ability or the capacity to do work
   ... a property of matter
   ... equal to mc² (if you are Einstein!)
   ... along with matter, it's what makes up the Universe

   Some of these descriptions are not perfect and can cause all sorts of arguments about who is right or wrong.

   Us humans come across energy when we look at its many forms and the ways in which they can be converted from one form into another - light, heat, sound, movement, stored etc.

   When talking about sources of heat in the classroom it may be appropriate to include heat from the Sun coming through the windows.

   Point out the fact that you can hold your hand some distance from a heat source such as a fire and feel the heat energy coming out of it.

   Worksheet A7 (G) can be used for the children’s drawings of things which give out light, heat and sound energy. Examples could be the Sun, the TV, lights at home and in school, car lights, computers, electronic games, some watches etc.

     (access to video (Eileen Watson - Energy (17 Mb) - probably only suitable if you have Broadband or a great deal of patience!)