What if you could challenge your fourth graders to create a minimally invasive, highly efficient dam? With this volume in the STEM Road Map Curriculum Series, you can! Hydropower Efficiency outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem solving while grounding them in integrated STEM disciplines. Like the other volumes in the series, this book is designed to meet the growing need to infuse real-world learning into K-12 classrooms.
This interdisciplinary, four-lesson module uses project- and problem-based learning to help students create a highly efficient dam that has a minimal impact on the environment. Students will explore the use of natural resources to provide energy needs, specifically hydropower, whilst exploring the workings of watermills, wind turbines, and generators to help build an understanding of the effects of dams. In creating their dam, they will learn about the various types of alternative hydropower sources, includi