Solar Installer/Solar System Design Engineers, Wind Farm Technician
Elsinore High School, Lake Elsinore Unified School District
Overview
Young students will build a house out of recycled materials and clay on cardboard. They will design a sustainable home and will include solar paneling on homes and wind turbines.
- Subjects: Visual Arts
- Suggested Grade Level: 3rd grade
- California Standards Addressed:
- Visual Arts Third Grade
- Skills, Processes, Materials, and Tools
- 2.1 Explore ideas for art in a personal sketchbook
- 2.2 Mix and apply tempera paints to create tints, shades, and neutral colors
- Communication and Expression through Original Works of Art
- 2.3 Paint or draw a landscape, seascape, or cityscape that shows the illusion of space
- 2.4 Create a work of art based on the observation of objects and scenes in daily life, emphasizing value changes
- 2.5 Create an imaginative clay sculpture based on an organic form
- Time: Weeklong project
- Skills: Mix and apply paints. Basic knowledge of building/home structure—geometrical shapes to make a home. Drawing, gluing, painting, and art in general.
Materials
- Recycled materials such as:
- cardboard boxes or shoe boxes
- broken/pieces of glass and ceramic tiles or plates
- dried leaves/grass/flowers/sand, toothpicks, etc.
- big/thick poster board
- paint
- scissors
- glue
- clay
- internet access.
Preparation and Background
Students learn about the environment and how the average American uses six times more energy than the world per-capita average. Teacher will ask students what would be some ways for people to decrease energy use. Students will learn about how the sun, wind, tides, and Earth’s underground heat reserves are forms of energy that are also sustainable.
Students will learn about solar power and wind turbines and how there are many jobs available that relate to solar power and wind turbines such as solar panel design engineers, solar installers, wind farm technicians, etc. Students will learn about such jobs. For example, students will learn that there is an increased demand for installers to mount rooftop panels, etc. for homes and commercial buildings.
Employers will train electricians who are interested in solar paneling and some will want two years of experience in construction. Another renewable energy source is wind power and it is fast-growing. There will be more jobs if wind technology expands. Students will search for pictures on the internet (for solar power, various designs, wind turbines, wind farms, etc.) to get an idea of what such sources look like.
Students will design their own buildings or homes that will include solar paneling on the rooftops and a wind turbine. They are required to illustrate their vision to communicate their ideas and then use recycled materials to create their project.
Procedure
- Students will gain background knowledge of green jobs—particularly those related to solar power and wind turbines a week prior to project. Students will design their landscape/home as architects and realize their vision by using recycled materials and clay.
- can search on the internet for pictures of well-designed sustainable homes/buildings that include solar panels and wind turbines
- Students will sketch and design (using graphing paper, pencil, colored pencils, etc.) their own sustainable home or building and will include landscape architecture.
- Students can use recycled materials such as gift boxes and cardboard to build their homes. Students can find materials such as toothpicks or scratch paper to build a makeshift wind turbine. Students can use broken pieces of plate or mirrors to create a pretend wind panel. They can use driftwood or grass, etc. for the landscape.
For Discussion
Ask students what kinds of jobs and what kinds of professionals it would take or may have taken to realize their design. Suggest ideas such as employees to operate and maintain the wind farm, design engineers, someone to install rooftop solar panels, someone to do the electrical wiring, etc.
Extensions
Have students research on the internet what types of companies will employ engineers, designers and people who do the electrical aspects of solar installation and operations. Students can do additional research by finding out what the requirements are for some jobs.
Resources
Websites:
Book:
- Green Jobs: A Guide to Eco-Friendly Employment by A. Bronwyn Llewellyn, M.A., James P. Hendrix, Ph. D., and K.C. Golden, M.A.
