Energy Picture Book For Educators
Submitted by Chris Fanchi
2012-12-08 14:50:53
Exploring Energy is a full-color, 64 page picture book about energy in the United States aimed at elementary and middle school age children. Energy production in the United States is a critical issue facing the nation and will be for many years to come. The country faces significant decision-points about which sources of energy to focus on and which to begin shifting away from. Education of the general population is a necessary step to help guide public policy on energy decisions.
Children today will be key players in energy decision-making in the next two decades. "Exploring Energy" is a 64-page, full-color picture book that guides children through the various forms of energy that are being used today to provide electricity in the United States. This book was written following an eight state road trip across the Western U.S. that covered over 5,000 miles and visited various sites including solar plants, hydroelectric dams, massive oil fields, wind farms and even a nuclear power plant. The photos taken on this trip are used to illustrate the wide array of energy sources included in the American energy mix, and to educate students about those energy sources.
The book provides a wide range of teaching opportunities for a grade school teacher. In addition to covering all of the energy sources by type, and characterizing them as renewable and non-renewable, the book offers opportunities to teach about geography, geology, world history (in the context of nuclear power and weapons in particular), and even about politics. The book does not take a political stand, but rather seeks to inform about all energy types without the biases often found in energy literature.
Exploring Energy is seeking funding to be self-published by the author using the crowd-funding site Kickstarter. There is little time left to act, as the project closes on December 13th, 2012. If you would like to learn more or make a pledge, please visit the site:
<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/251744073/exploring-energy">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/251744073/exploring-energy</a>
Also see the web site of the authors:
<a href="http://energy.fanchi.com/energy-education/exploring-energy/">http://energy.fanchi.com/energy-education/exploring-energy/</a>