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Clarkson Energy Choices Board Game
http://www.clarkson.edu/highschool/k12/project/energychoicesgame.html

Clarkson and St. Lawrence Universities

This board game, designed for middle school students, introduces the concepts of energy use in our lives and the real impact that personal choices can have on our energy consumption, energy bills, and fuel supply.

Activity takes about 1 class period for game and 1 class period for follow-up discussion. Cards and Game board need to be printed.

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Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»

Topics

Emissions Reduction
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Personal Responsibility
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Fossil Fuels
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Efficiency and Conservation
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Grade Level

Middle (6-8)
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Climate Literacy
About Teaching Climate Literacy

Actions taken by individuals, communities, states, and countries all influence climate. Practices and policies followed in homes, schools, businesses, and governments can affect climate. Climate-related decisions made by one generation can provide opportunities as well as limit the range of possibilities open to the next generation. Steps toward reducing the impact of climate change may influence the present generation by providing other benefits such as improved public health infrastructure and sustainable built environments.
About Teaching the Guiding Principle
Other materials addressing GPg

Energy Literacy

Environmental quality is impacted by energy choices.
Other materials addressing:
7.3 Environmental quality.
The quality of life of individuals and societies is affected by energy choices.
Other materials addressing:
Energy affects quality of life .
Humans transfer and transform energy from the environment into forms useful for human endeavors.
Other materials addressing:
4.1 Humans transfer and transform energy.
Other materials addressing:
Various sources of energy are used to power human activities .
One way to manage energy resources is through conservation.
Other materials addressing:
6.2 Conserving energy.
Other materials addressing:
Human use of energy.

Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines

2. Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems:2.3 Humans and Their Societies:A) Individuals and groups
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A) Individuals and groups.
2. Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems:2.4 Environment and Society:D) Technology
Other materials addressing:
D) Technology.
3. Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues:3.1 Skills for Analyzing and Investigating Environmental Issues:A) Identifying and investigating issues
Other materials addressing:
A) Identifying and investigating issues.
3. Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues:3.2 Decision-Making and Citizenship Skills:B) Evaluating the need for citizen action
Other materials addressing:
B) Evaluating the need for citizen action.

Benchmarks for Science Literacy
Learn more about the Benchmarks

Some resources are not renewable or renew very slowly. Fuels already accumulated in the earth, for instance, will become more difficult to obtain as the most readily available resources run out. How long the resources will last, however, is difficult to predict. The ultimate limit may be the prohibitive cost of obtaining them.
Explore the map of concepts related to this benchmark
Decisions to slow the depletion of energy resources can be made at many levels, from personal to national, and they always involve trade-offs involving economic costs and social values.
Explore the map of concepts related to this benchmark

Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

  • Game may miss an opportunity to relate the impact of personal energy use choices on global environmental (focus is on financial cost to player). This piece should be added by the educator.

About the Science

  • Well-designed game that makes relative energy use of household appliances, heating/cooling systems, and transportation choices easy to compare so players can weigh the impact of their choices as they play the game.
  • Neither sources for the numbers that are used are cited nor mathematical equations given for how relative energy use of systems, appliances, and vehicles was determined. Educator should be prepared to answer these questions from students and might need to find this information elsewhere.

About the Pedagogy

  • Game is played in groups, allowing for group problem solving, strategizing, etc.
  • Game structure provides for follow up discussions about energy choices.
  • Great design design - very middle school oriented.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

  • Ready to go.
  • Game and all instructions and materials are downloadable in pdf form from site.
  • Needs prep time to cut out cards.

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