Solar Curriculum for Teachers

We have compiled a comprehensive list of educational resources and curricula for teachers interested in incorporating solar energy into their lesson plans. The information listed emphasizes solar energy, but also contains activities and lessons that encompass other forms of renewable energy and energy conservation.

Green Power Overview Sun Power for Schools Training - Jan 2006 Sun Power for Schools with Green Power EMC 2-10-06 Sun Power for Schools DAS
Union of Concerned Scientists "Renewables are Ready"- http://www.ucsusa.org/documents/Renewablesready_fullreport.pdf
	Well organized lesson plan for all middle and high school students with activities covering renewable energy with an emphasis on solar.
NEED Curriculum Guides and Activities - http://www.need.org/guides.htm
	Detailed solar curriculum with lesson plans for k-12 students with additional information on constructing your own curriculum.
NREL "Getting Energized!"- http://www.nrel.gov/education/lessons.html#K-6
	Detailed, comprehensive PDF curriculum with lessons, activity sheets, and research projects for k-12 students.
The Sun's Joules - http://www.eere.energy.gov/power/success_stories/pdfs/sunsjoules.pdf
	A renewable energy encyclopedia with an optional teacher's guide to help teachers add renewable energy to their curriculum. This CD is no longer available from the EERE website but it is still available for purchase from third party sites.
FSEC "Solar Matters" solar science unit- http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/ed/sm/index.htm
	Solar science unit for grades 4-8 with activities, projects and teacher resources about solar energy in the classroom.
Solar Now Inc - http://www.solarnow.org/renenergyfr.htm
	"Curriculum Framework" not a complete curriculum, lists goals and provides guides for teachers to create their own curriculum.
If you would like to add another resource or make a comment on an existing resource, please contact Laura Uhde at laura [at] southface.org.
Some of the above information and additional resources are available in hardcopy in the Southface library. The materials we currently have are listed below.
NEED Curriculum Guides and Activities.
Union of Concerned Scientists "Renewables are Ready"
NREL "Getting Energized!"
Solar Now Curriculum Framework
Solar Energy Curriculum
	A source of hardcopies of solar curriculum including the FSEC "Solar Matters" unit and science projects and activities for all grade levels.
Alabama Photovoltaics Education Instruction Manual
	Instruction manual for photovoltaic learning activities for middle and high school students.
Science Activities in Energy: Solar Energy II
	Solar science experiments for secondary students.
Solar Science Projects for Georgia High School Students
	A complete guide to conducting solar science projects in high schools.
Solar Energy Activities
	Solar activities covering basic photovoltaic principles and electrical skills.
The Solar Cat Book
	Children's book introducing k-2 students to basic solar principles such as passive and active heating.
Sunlight Works · Solar Science
	Children's book with games and illustrated activities to help young children learn about the sun and solar energy.