Print Resource

Click Kindergarten: Energy Is Everywhere to download the Kindergarten—Energy lesson. Take a moment to review the content and language objectives.

The lesson objectives are the TEKS restated in student-friendly text and can be written on your board. 

As you work through the lesson, look for evidence of RtI. Although we are highlighting RtI in this lesson, RtI and ELPS should not be used in isolation but woven into the fabric of a well-constructed lesson. You will see elements of both in all lessons throughout the academies.

You will see the notation RM, which is an abbreviation for Reproducible Master, throughout the lesson documents. These pages are located at the end of each lesson and can either be instructional activity sheets or recording pages for students.

This lesson uses the 5E model. The first E is Engage.

Read the questions below. Think about how a kindergarten student may answer.

• Do you have energy?
• Is there energy around you? How do you know?

How would a kindergarten student complete the following sentence?

Energy helps me . . .

View the video to observe how a teacher might conduct the anchor chart activity.

Take a moment and read the facilitation questions and the following excerpt from the lesson. 

Content Builder
Kindergarten students may have varied experiences with and knowledge of energy. Many may have been told they have energy but will not have an understanding of what energy means scientifically. The Engage portion of this lesson is meant to be a discussion to help students understand that energy is all around them and exists in many forms. 

For purposes of this lesson, the following definitions for heat, light, and sound energy will be used. 

• Heat energy: An object that gets warmer or colder has heat energy. Some examples of objects with heat energy include the Sun, people, and an oven that is baking cookies.
• Light energy: An object that lights up or shows light has light energy. Some examples of objects with light energy include the Sun, a flashlight, and a lamp.
• Sound energy: An object that makes noise has sound energy because it is vibrating. Some examples of objects with sound energy include musical instruments, timing devices, and a basketball bouncing on a court.

To avoid teaching misconceptions, this lesson will not use microwave ovens as examples of heat energy. Microwave ovens use electromagnetic radiation rather than heat energy. Microwaves (of the electromagnetic spectrum) speed up the vibrations of water molecules. Each popcorn kernel has water inside. The heated water turns to steam, building up pressure. When there is enough pressure inside, the kernel explodes and you have popcorn.

The second E is Explore.

The Explore portion of this lesson is written as three separate activities. In a kindergarten classroom setting, these activities may be completed individually over several days as a whole group, in small groups, or as stations.

Activity 1: Sound Energy

View the video of Activity 1 and read the facilitiation questions in the lesson.

The items listed in the materials list are suggested items only. Be sure to have a variety of sounds for students to match. Any small opaque containers will work if you do not have access to plastic eggs. Use hot glue to secure the materials in each section of the tray as shown.

Activity 2: Light Energy

Gather materials for Activity 2. If you do not have access to the necessary materials, view the video to see the activity, and then read the facilitation questions for Activity 2 in the lesson.

Activity 3: Heat Energy

Gather materials for Activity 3 and follow the Advance Preparation instructions. If you do not have access to the necessary materials, view the video to see the activity.

What did you notice about the crayons? Use the following animation to show the sequence of the crayons melting.

Take a moment to read the following notes about the activity.

Teacher Note

Because students will be using a hair dryer to melt crayons, you may want to review the appropriate way to use a hair dryer. Students should refrain from pointing the hair dryer in any direction other than at the crayons. Safety goggles should be worn to protect the eyes. Remind students not to touch the melted crayons because they will be hot.

This activity must be carried out in small, teacher-led groups. The time it will take to melt the crayons will depend on the amount of heat given off from the hair dryer and the brand of crayons used.

The third E is Explain.

Click Kindergarten: Energy Mysteries Book to download the student reader for this lesson. Each of the lessons will contain a book or short story as part of the Explain section. This does not imply that every lesson has to be formatted with a story. We simply took the opportunity to provide another resource.

Take a moment to read the story on your own.

Review the facilitation questions in the Explain section of the lesson.

The fourth E is Elaborate.

Take a moment to read the Elaborate section of the lesson and locate RM 1.

The first two pages of RM 1 provide pictures in the energy source column. The third page does not include pictures of energy sources. Use this page to allow students to select or draw their own pictures of energy sources.

Instruct students to use the last column to record observations of each object and clues that help identify the form of energy they observed.

Use the animation to complete the activity. Record your answers on RM 1.

The fifth E is Evaluate.

Read the Evaluate assessment as written in the lesson.

Did you observe evidence of Tier 1 RtI strategies used in the Kindergarten–Energy lesson? If so, where and what were they?

How would these strategies help your students?

Locate  Energy Lesson Summaries. Fill in the activity for each "E" in the Kindergarten—Energy lesson. Note that the kindergarten section is at the bottom of the page. You will refer back to this page throughout the energy strand as you complete each grade level's energy lesson.

Kindergarten: Energy Is Everywhere