Outside Materials and Resources
This page is intended to help educate teachers before they teach this unit, as well as provide resources for educators to use to teach their own students about the content of this unit.
Resources on the general information/background of fossil fuels (important for Day 1)
- This Youtube video, which will be used on Day 1 as an introductory video to fossil fuels for the students, provides an excellent overview of the history of fossil fuels, their uses, how they are collected, and other background information. It is critical that educators of this unit watch this video to become familiar with a wide amount of fossil fuel information.
- This web page allows teachers and students to gain a quick understanding of the background and history of fossil fuels, as well as common information regarding their general uses.
- This fact sheet allows teachers and students to gain a more solid understanding of the essential information regarding each of the three types of fossil fuels. This sheet has a lot more in-depth information, figures, and statistics regarding fossil fuels than the above web page.
- This website run by Energy.gov has a plethora of information regarding fossil fuels for young students, college students, and teachers/parents. For teachers and parents, there are study guides and classroom activities, as well as training workshops. For college students, there are internship programs and other opportunities. For students, there is a wide variety of 'online energy lessons'.
- This web page run by watchknowlearn.org leads to a large list of different videos to be used in a classroom when discussing fossil fuels. There are general videos, which describes overall functions of fossil fuels, as well as specific videos, which for example might go in-depth on something like 'shale natural gas'.
Resources regarding the recent news and events concerning fossil fuels (important for teachers to read before starting this unit)
- This article via Bloomberg discusses how fossil fuels are starting to 'lose the race' with renewable energy resources. According to the article, in 2013 more gigawatts of energy capacity were added across the world via renewable energy resources than fossil fuels. This indicates a shifting trend towards the usage of 'clean energy'.
- This other article via Bloomberg highlights how well Germany is doing as one of the few countries with a strong economy which relies heavily on renewable energy resources. It notes that, despite reliance on weather patterns, renewable energy resources can still be consistent, dependent, and reliable.
- This article published by NASDAQ posits that solar energy may be ready to compete with fossil fuels, namely oil and coal.
Resources regarding fossil fuels and its effects on the climate/environment (to be used in-class on Day 4)
- This simulation, provided by University of Colorado - Boulder, provides a visual example of the greenhouse effect at work. This can be used on day three or day four of the unit study to reinforce the impacts that fossil fuels may have on our planet. This website can also be useful for many other simulations in the realm of science, math, engineering, etc.
- This Youtube video highlights the runaway greenhouse effect on Venus, and its dire consequences for Venus' climate. This should be used at the end of day four of the unit study, after the science lab.
- This video describes the role that fossil fuels and greenhouses have on global warming and climate change. Much of the focus is specifically on carbon dioxide and how its common usage in fossil fuels impacts our planet, since CO2 is one of the primary greenhouses gasses which adds to the greenhouse effect.
Resources on the pros and cons of fossil fuel use (will be used in-class by students on Day 5)
- This site discusses the disadvantages and advantages of fossil fuel use. This is a great resource to use on day five of this unit study as a starting point for students as they research information to use in their writing assignment.
- This national geographic resource has a lot more detailed information on the pros and cons of fossil fuel use. This should be used as a secondary starting point for students who already have an idea of what they will be writing about and/or have an idea of a certain fossil fuel to focus on specifically.
- This link leads to a quick, categorized view of a few of the main bullet points concerning the benefits and disadvantages of fossil fuel uses. These can be used as a general guide for students to determine which side they will take in their writings and discussions.
- This website has many links to different resources, websites, and articles discussing the pros and cons of fossil fuel uses. The articles are organized into different categories.