Introduction

Imagine you're about to reach a new level on your PlayStation. All of a sudden the screen flickers then turns black. The room is plunged into darkness, and you can hear mom calling from the kitchen that dinner plans have changed. Dad calls on his cell phone to say the subway has stopped and he's not sure when he'll be home.

Many times in history groups of people have set out on their own to establish new communities. Often the decision is made because people want a new or different lifestyle. If rolling blackouts or even more severe energy shortages begin occurring with great regularity, it is likely that groups will decide to move to less populated areas and set up new communities. If you were part of a planning team for a new community, where would you go? What would be your new community's energy needs? Where would be your energy sources? What would be the costs? What would be the benefits? In this Web Quest, you and your teammates will explore regions of the United States and how location guides energy choices.

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The Task

You will be an ekistician and part of an ekistics team. Your task is to locate and to establish a new community in an undeveloped area of your region. To determine how communities and societies in different regions of the United States make decisions about energy, you and your teammates will read articles, investigate energy sources, explore alternative energy sources, and discuss ideas. Based on your research, your team will create an energy plan for your new community, and present your plan in a creative way to the class.

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The Process

1. You are a member of a team that has been hired to help plan a new community in a specific region of the United States. Your task is to pick a particular location for the community that has a low population density. Then decide what types of energy sources and building measures will work best to run its homes and transportation. Consider the resources and limitations of your specific geographic location. Your energy decisions must be based on your knowledge of the geology, ecology, and climate of the area.

2. Read the information in Energy Overview. Then take the Energy Quiz to see how much you know.

• Energy Overview
• Energy Quick Quiz

3. Each group should choose one of the following sites to read together.

Print the Energy Checklist to organize the information from this site.

4. Each of you has an assigned role on your planning team. You will begin by reading the description of your individual role below and familiarizing yourself with your particular job. Each group member will use the resources provided on their job pages to gather information.

	Investigator Guiding Question: What energy sources are available and which are best for a particular location?
	Historian Guiding Question: What are the costs and benefits of forms of energy primarily used in this region historically?
	Resource Manager Guiding Question: How does a community's location dictate energy needs and available resources?
	Citizen Guiding Question: How can citizens make responsible energy decisions for themselves and their communities?

5. Next, briefly visit each of the sites listed under your role in order to develop an understanding of how and why different energy sources and conservation measures are used in different locations. (For example, would you be more likely to find solar houses in the rainy Pacific Northwest Coast or in the sunny Southwest.?)

Spend about 10 minutes per site. You do not have to read everything -- just enough to get an idea what useful information can be found at each site.

 6. Use your Guiding Question to focus your research. You must write an in-depth report, complete with diagrams, photographs, or other visual aids to present to your teammates. The purpose of your report will be to inform the rest of your team about different aspects of using and saving energy in your area from the point of view of your role. Your information will help the group make decisions about how to address the energy needs of its new community.

7. Next, your group will work together to fill out the worksheet, "Energy for Our Community".

When filling out the sheet, and making your decisions and recommendations, be sure to review and discuss the data from each member. All members of the group need to have a chance to clarify their ideas and recommendations.

8. When your charts are complete, use that information to come to a consensus about what types of energy would be efficient and effective for your area.

9. Each team will make a presentation to the class based on the following guidelines.

 The team plan for the community:

• Summarize background information from research.
  • *There must be at least one paragraph from each member: historian, resource manager, investigator, and citizen.
• Identify the selected location for the community.
  • *Justify your choice.

    *Include the geology, ecology, and climate of the location.

• Justify the energy sources selected based on the needs for your community.
  • *Remember to explain community needs for work, play, transportation, etc.
• Recommend your community plan for construction and energy conservation.
  
• Include a bibliography of all sources used.

   A team project chosen from the list below to illustrate some aspect of your plan:

information skit	picture book	demonstration of energy generation
hyperstudio	newspaper	model of energy generator
model house	magazine	3-D map of community
diorama	videotape	radio or television show
transportation model	brochure	2-D road map of community

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Evaluation

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Conclusion

 

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Credits & References

Many thanks to:

Stephanie Hebdon, Technology Specialist
Nancy Margolin, Media Specialist
Bob Stocking, Director of Media and Instructional Technology
and to the hospitality of Scroggs Elementary School

Teacher Notes

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• created during WIRED, summer 2001
  Chapel Hill - Carrboro City Schools, Chapel Hill, NC 27516

  Based on a template from The Web Quest Page