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THE ENERGY JOURNEY: PART 1
WHAT IS ELECTRICITY AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
Subject links
Learning
objectives
RESOURCES
Science, Environmental Studies, Citizenship and ESD with links to English
• To recap learning of ‘What is electricity?’
• To revise the vocabulary associated with electricity
• To understand where electricity comes from
• To understand how electricity is made in a power station
• To understand what non-renewable energy is and become aware of its limitations
• To understand what renewable energy is and become aware of the benefits and
limitations of a variety of renewable sources
• Resources to support all activities are clearly signposted. PowerPoint presentations,
information cards, worksheets and animated diagrams can be found on the easy-tonavigate
CD-Rom. Posters and flash cards have been provided as printed materials.
TEACHER NOTES
This section explores the definitions of energy and electricity; provides
activities that bring the invisible nature of electricity to life; introduces
both non-renewable (fossil fuels), nuclear and renewable sources of
energy; promotes learning of how electricity is made; encourages
children to think about the benefits and limitations of the
different energy sources.
Energy is the ability to do work and electricity is a form
of energy. Electricity has no colour, weight, size or smell.
But, even though you can’t ever really see it, electricity
causes actions and reactions to occur every single day. It is a
secondary energy source which means that we get it from the
conversion of other sources of energy.
Around two thirds of Britain’s electricity is currently produced
by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. However, fossil
fuels are a limited resource. The UK has an abundance of natural
resources capable of generating sustainable electricity – i.e.
energy from fuel sources that will not run out – including the
best wind resource in Europe.
By using the power of nature – solar, wind, hydro-electric,
geothermal and tidal – renewable energy generates electricity
cleanly. In most instances, electricity from renewable sources can
be generated without any long-term environmental damage or
danger and without depleting finite reserves of fossil fuel.

ACTIVITYPLANNERS
In the Climate Cops resource you will find a suite of activities that will help you to deliver the learning
objectives outlined for The Energy Journey: Part 1 – “What is electricity and where does it come from?”
Every activity is supported with PowerPoint slides and relevant stimulus materials e.g. worksheet, poster,
flash card, animated diagram, information card and/or interactive whiteboard game.
You can select the activities that are best suited to your pupils and devise lesson plans accordingly. To give
you a flavour of what to expect, we have detailed one of the activites below.
TASTER ACTIVITY…
Sourcing Electricity
Use the ‘Sourcing Electricity’ PowerPoint slides to explain that electricity is created from the conversion of
other sources of energy. The presentation can be used in conjunction with the ‘Sourcing Electricity’ poster
and corresponding flash cards to introduce pupils to renewable and non-renewable sources of energy.
Detailed examples from each category are provided.
Pupils are given a series of energy cards. Each card contains a picture, a description and key facts about an
energy source. The challenge is to correctly sort the cards into renewable and non-renewable energy sources.
A drag and click whiteboard activity provides an alternative means for volunteers to attempt the sorting
process. Once a correct answer is reached pupils can re-sort their own cards and stick them into their
workbooks for reference.
Then divide the class into groups and assign one source of energy to each group. Using the available
resources the groups should create a mind map of the benefits and limitations of that particular energy source.
Resources
ENERGY JOURNEY: PART 1 – POWERPOINT SLIDES WITH
WHITEBOARD ACTIVITY X-X
RENEWABLE AND N0N-RENEWABLE – FLASH CARDS (X2)
SOURCING ELECTRICITY – CLASS POSTER
ENERGY CARDS – WORKSHEET 1
CREATING ELECTRICITY - INFORMATION CARDS 1 – 6
CREATING ELECTRICITY – ANIMATIONS
Resources
You can download the energy cards
and flash cards when you go back to
the ‘Lesson Planner’ page of this site.
They give you the opportunity to see
the type of materials you can expect
to find in the Climate Cops programme.