Aerogel, commonly called "frozen smoke," is a super-material with some amazing properties. In this lesson and its associated activity, students learn about this silicon-based solid with a sponge-like structure. Students also learn about density and how aerogel is 99.8% air by volume, making it the lightest solid known to humans! Further, students learn about basic heat transfer and how aerogel is a great thermal insulator, having 39 times more insulation than the best fiberglass insulation. Students also learn about the wide array of aerogel applications.

Students learn about using renewable energy from the Sun for heating and cooking as they build and compare the performance of four solar cooker designs. They explore the concepts of insulation, reflection, absorption, conduction and convection.

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the unit on transformations and develop an understanding of motion geometry.

Included is a YouTube video to support Grade 5 Blended Learning Math - Unit 8.0: Transformations - Introduction.

In this activity, students will test whether the color of a material affects how much heat it absorbs.

This webpage from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) provides an astronautå�è÷€�åÜ€�_s photograph of the moon viewed from the top of the atmosphere. The appearance of the nearly translucent moon is described in regards to optics, and an introduction to NASAå�è÷€�åÜ€�_s observations of the top of the atmosphere is provided. The site also contains links to numerous new images from the Earth Observatory.

Students are introduced to sound energy concepts and how engineers use sound energy. Through hands-on activities and demonstrations, students examine how we know sound exists by listening to and seeing sound waves. They learn to describe sound in terms of its pitch, volume and frequency. They explore how sound waves move through liquids, solids and gases. They also identify the different pitches and frequencies, and create high- and low-pitch sound waves.

Use the sliders in the Rose-Colored Glasses SIM to play around with different colors for the light source, the car, and the glasses to answer these questions and learn more about the concept of light and color!

We have also created a short (2:44 min) tutorial video that goes into more detail on how to use this SIM for both you and your students.

Check out the entire collection of over 120 CK-12 Simulations at www.ck12.org/sims.

Students learn about the nature of thermal energy, temperature and how materials store thermal energy. They discuss the difference between conduction, convection and radiation of thermal energy, and complete activities in which they investigate the difference between temperature, thermal energy and the heat capacity of different materials. Students also learn how some engineering requires an understanding of thermal energy.

Students learn how the sun can be used for energy. They learn about passive solar heating, lighting and cooking, and active solar engineering technologies (such as photovoltaic arrays and concentrating mirrors) that generate electricity. Students investigate the thermal energy storage capacities of test materials. They learn about radiation and convection as they build a model solar water heater and determine how much it can heat water in a given amount of time. In another activity, students build and compare the performance of four solar cooker designs. In an associated literacy activity, students investigate how people live "off the grid" using solar power.

In this lesson, students are introduced to the types of renewable energy resources. They are involved in activities to help them understand the transformation of energy (solar, water and wind) into electricity. Students explore the different roles of engineers working in renewable energy fields.

This document map is meant for teachers to use and interact with as they support students through their ELA courses. It provides links to the course Curriculum at a Glance, Grammar Scope and Sequence, Outcome Based Rubrics, and 21CC Guidebooks.