Power Up!

As we move toward the Common Core and Essential Standards, some of the topics we usually teach are changing or being tweaked. We need new sources and there are lots of fun ones out there! Power Up is a game I found at a recent Thinkfinity training. This is a higher level thinking game for students as they learn more about human impact on the environment and different types of energy, both of which seem to be elements in the new standards for several grade levels. To play the game, students begin with a certain amount of funds, and 3 choices of energy to power their city. Each type has different impacts on the environment, cost, and power amounts it produces. The 3 choices change with each turn. The goal is to power the city fully without destroying the environment or running out of money, so critical thinking comes into play as well as a greater knowledge of which types of energy harm the environment the most.

http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/power-up/