Time for some forms of energy activities in your classroom? Which forms of energy can you see around you right now? They are everywhere right? The computer that I’m typing on at this moment has SO many forms of energy transferring all around! This makes it another cool topic to teach.
That’s why I love science SO much. It’s all around. Science IS life! Ok, got a little excited, but yes. Energy is another awesome topic to teach to middle school students, and there are so many neat teaching ideas that you can implement in your classroom.
I’ll get to those, but first, let talk about what forms of energy actually are.
What are Forms of Energy?
Energy is the capacity to do work about how things move and change. So, what is forms of energy, and what does that mean?
Energy can exist in different forms. The amount of energy in a closed system will stay the same but transfers to different forms. The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
How many forms of energy are there? Scientists have not agreed on how many forms of energy there are, but it’s important to note that there are many forms, and the forms are constantly transforming from one form to another.
Although the exact number of forms of energy are not agreed upon, just know that there is energy that is store and energy in motion. There are subcategories for each. So, what are these forms of energy?
What are the different forms of energy?
- Mechanical Energy: the sum of potential and kinetic energy
- Potential Energy: stored energy
- Kinetic Energy: energy of motion
- Gravitational Energy: energy stored at an object’s height
- Elastic Energy: a potential energy that is stored in the compression or stretching of an object
- Nuclear Energy: energy is released by nuclear fission or fusion
- Chemical Energy: energy that is stored in chemicals
- Radiant Energy: energy of electromagnetic waves
- Light Energy: carried by waves that are within the visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum
- Solar Energy: energy that comes from the sun
- Magnetic Energy: energy of a magnetic field
- Sound Energy: the movement through substances in longitudinal waves
- Electrical Energy: electrons are in motion
- Thermal Energy: energy due to the movement of molecules (heat energy)
Forms of Energy Activities for the Classroom
Want to help your students answer these questions?
- What are forms of potential energy?
- What kind of energy is wind?
- What kind of energy is electricity?
- What forms of energy are produced by the sun?
- What kind of energy makes a car move?
- What kind of energy is oil?
- and more!
Check out these 3 teaching ideas for explaining forms of energy to your students!
Digital Interactive Lesson
This NO-PREP lesson will be an awesome addition to any middle school science classroom, going over all of the forms of energy listed above with detailed descriptions and examples of each form.
Better yet, there are so many interactive activities within that check your students understanding of the material such as drag and drop multiple choice, answering questions in the text box, filling in the blanks, drag and drop graphic-organizers, and so much more.
Did I mention no prep?
Digital interactive lessons are great for individual learning, direct instruction, small groups/partners, for ELL students, science centers, distance learning, enrichment/tutoring, and so much more!
Forms of Energy Gallery Walk
Gallery walks are one of my favorite ways to teach a topic in the classroom because it gets students up and moving and out of their seats!
I love them even more because they can be used in a variety of ways. Of course, they can be used for the actual science lesson, but they can also be used for test review, anchor charts, bulletin boards, online/distance learning, and more!
If you want to use this as a lesson for your students, the only prep required of you is to:
- Print out the posters.
- Post them around the classroom.
- Make copies of the recording sheets for your students..
So, students can then walk around the room, reading about the different types of energy and record their notes in the charts. They can work in partners or individually.
What do you as the teacher do? You walk around, facilitate, and answer student questions. This opens you up to help students individually, which is an amazing opportunity for teachers the classroom.
Forms of Energy Jigsaw
Have you ever tried a jigsaw in your classroom? To do a jigsaw, you split your classroom up into groups/partners and have them each research a different topic.
For the types of energy, you can split your class into 13 sections and have each group research one type.
After each group researches, they can present their findings to the class. This way each student takes ownership in learning and also has to rely on the teamwork and community of their classroom to learn all of the material.
This has the potential to work very nicely, and you, as the teacher, can help fill in any missing information that the students skip over.
When doing a Jigsaw, especially in the middle school classroom, it’s important to have guiding questions.
Here are some examples:
- What is the definition?
- What are some examples of this form of energy?
- Give 2 interesting facts.
- Provide a picture of this form.
More Resources for Form of Energy Activities
What teaching idea is right for you? If you’d like to dive deeper into this subject, check out these resources!
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