Energy saving week

23-24 October 2006

Summary information

Preparation:

Teachers will need to plan ahead to include Energy saving week in the school calendar.

Resources needed:

• Flipchart and pen or interactive white board.
• A digital projector (optional)
• Access to a photo of chimneys producing waste gases: Image 1
  Coal-fired Power plant North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany .
  Credit: © WWF-Canon / Andrew KERR
  Image No.: 113687

Procedure:

• Display a large photo of chimney producing waste gases using a digital projector or make printouts of the photo to give out to the children.
• Ask children what they can see in the photo. Why do they think the black smoke is being produced?
• Give children a short introduction about the energy we use at home and school. Heating and lighting, cooking our food, turning on the TV and using a computer all use energy. We need to energy to travel by car, bus, train and plane as well. This energy is produced by burning, coal, gas or oil. At the same time as we use energy we produce waste substances, such as smoke in the photo that are harmful to us, to the air we breathe and everything around us. We cannot see some of the waste gases that are produced as they have no colour, but they can still be very harmful to people and the environment.
• Introduce children to the idea of having an Energy saving Week. There are many small ways we can all save energy and so really make a difference to the amount of energy we use in school and at home. By saving energy we are also cutting harmful substances put into the air.
  

Reflection

Ask children for their ideas on how we can save energy in school and at home. Discuss these with the children and build up a list of actions to save energy on an interactive white board or flipchart. The children will probably guess some ways of saving energy. Help them with some tips to obtain a good list energy saving ideas. Here are some suggestions:

• Switch off lights when you leave the room or when you don’t need them.
• Switch the TV or computer off when you are not using them. Don’t leave them on stand-by with the red light glowing as this uses half the amount of energy as when they are switched on.
• If you are in a shirt and the heaters are on, then ask your teacher or Mum or Dad to turn down the heat a little and put on a jumper.
• Close the door after you enter or leave a room – this keeps the heat inside.
• Don’t open a window when the heating is on. Ask your teacher or Mum or Dad to turn down the heating instead.
• Persuade your Mum and Dad to use energy-efficient light bulbs at home. As well as using much less energy they last eight times longer than ordinary light bulbs.
• Appoint a pupil energy monitor for each class who is responsible for checking lights are switched off in the classroom when not needed.
• Have stickers and posters put up around the school to remind other pupils and teachers to switch off lights when not needed.
• Re-use and recycle paper, glass, aluminium cans, tin cans, plastic, clothing and plastic bags. It takes a lot of energy and resources to make these.
• Only turn on the tap when you really need water. It takes lots of resources and energy to purify the water that we have in our homes and schools.
• Ask your Mum or Dad if you could walk to school or take the bus instead of going by car.

Encourage the children to try as well as they can to carry out the energy saving actions you compiled together during the assembly. Ask them not to stop at the end of Energy saving Week. These measures will benefit everyone in the school as well as the school itself.

Encourage the pupils to keep their energy saving measures ongoing when the week is over.

Why not use Energy saving week to develop an Energy Saving Action Plan for the school with the help of other staff and pupils.

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