Activity 6: Energy Web Objective Students will be able to describe the relationships of systems in the home or school and how they affect energy use, costs, and indoor air quality in buildings.
Time Two 45 minute class sessions
Materials Ball of yarn Energy Web Hang Tags, pages 26-29 Clear plastic name badges (optional)
2 Preparation Copy the Energy Web Hang Tags onto cardstock or paper. Cut out the cards (on the solid lines) and fold down the dotted line so the description of each term is now on the back of the card. Place one tag into each name badge holder if you have them. We suggest using ones that students can hang around their necks. If you do not have name badges, simply punch holes in the top of each tag and string yarn through the hole to make it like a necklace.
Procedure 1.
Hand out the role card hang tags and ask students to read the backs of their cards describing the term on the front. Give students a chance to ask any questions they have about what is written on their cards, or research if needed.
2.
Have students put on their hang tags and stand in a circle.
3.
Hand the ball of yarn to one of the students. Explain that he or she should look around the circle and identify another component of the system that is related to his/hers.
4.
He/she should then hold on to the end of the yarn and pass the ball of yarn to that student, explaining how that part of the system relates to them. That student then repeats the process, holding onto the yarn and passing the ball on.
5.
Continue passing the yarn around until everyone has their hands on the yarn. In the end, the students will have created a web made of yarn connecting all of them. Some students can be passed to more than once.
6.
Now choose a student to give a tug on the string. Explain that this tug represents a stress of some sort on that part of the system. For instance, the person wearing the ‘Heating System’ tag might give a tug, and you would say, “There is something wrong with our heating system. It is not performing well, and is not running efficiently.” Ask students to describe who also feels a “tug” and ask them to identify why they might be related.
7.
Repeat this several times with different students tugging. For each tug, describe how the stress on one component is causing stress on the other parts of the system.
8.
Ask students to describe how the system is dependent on all of the components. Students should be able to explain that a change in one part of the system can affect all other parts of the system—sometimes in unexpected ways!
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