Grade Level: 6th Grade | Duration: 50 minutes
This interactive graphing game teaches students about renewable and non-renewable energy resources through hands-on data collection and histogram creation. Working in small groups, students use colored beads representing different energy sources to simulate energy extraction from the Earth, discovering firsthand how non-renewable resources deplete over successive rounds while renewable sources remain available. The lesson addresses Alabama College and Career Ready Standards in both mathematics (Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 24) and science (Earth and Human Activity 15), requiring students to represent numerical data graphically using histograms and analyze evidence to explain how consumption of natural resources affects Earth’s systems.
Learning Objectives
Students will analyze rates of renewable and non-renewable energy use and explain how consumption of natural resources affects human activities. Through the game’s three rounds, students will record energy extraction data by graphically representing their results using histograms, practicing both data collection and graphical representation skills.
Background & Context
In the early twentieth century, solar energy was a leader in the developing energy industry but was quickly displaced by less expensive coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Fossil fuels became the dominant energy source because they were available and plentiful. Today, however, fossil fuels are becoming more difficult to discover and more expensive to recover.
Renewable energy remains as plentiful as it was 100 or 1,000 years ago, and ongoing research and development have increased the economics and competitiveness of these resources. Renewable energy represents a valuable, non-polluting resource with great potential to help meet future energy needs. Additionally, technological progress has enabled us to accomplish tasks with substantially less energy than ever before.
Lesson Activities & Structure
Engage Phase (5 minutes) – “Make it active!”
Students have 2 minutes to find an object in the room that is “using energy,” placing one hand on the object or pointing to it and freezing in place. Students then form groups of 3-4 with surrounding peers for a 3-minute open-ended discussion about where the energy used by these objects comes from. This kinesthetic opener activates prior knowledge and connects abstract energy concepts to tangible classroom examples before students return to their seats.
Explore Phase (35 minutes) – “Graph it!”
Students form groups of 3-5 at shared tables, on the floor, or in hallway/outdoor areas. Each group receives a Searching for Energy kit and empties all beads into the large bowl (representing Earth). Each student gets an energy excavator (spoon) and a small bowl. One student may serve as the “data collector,” responsible for creating histogram axes with “amount of energy excavated” (number of beads) on the y-axis and “types of energy available” (bead colors) on the x-axis.
Round 1: Students have 30 seconds to excavate energy from Earth by scooping beads from the large bowl into their small bowls, one bead at a time. Groups record their totals in the Table 1 histogram, coloring bars according to bead colors collected.
Round 2: Students return only the renewable energy sources (yellow and blue beads) to the bowl. All non-renewable sources (other colors) remain set aside permanently. Students again have 30 seconds to excavate energy and record results in Table 2.
Round 3: Students again return only renewable sources to the bowl, keeping non-renewables set aside. After another 30-second excavation round, results are recorded in Table 3. By this round, students visually observe that only renewable sources remain available for extraction.
Evaluate Phase (10 minutes) – “Make a conclusion!”
Students write a one-paragraph conclusion reflecting on the concept demonstrated and the results of their recorded data from the Searching for Energy game. This reflection can be completed individually or as a group, synthesizing observations about resource depletion and sustainability.
Materials Required
For the teacher:
- Timer, watch, clock, or device with timer app
For each group of 3-5 students (Searching for Energy kit):
- 3 pieces of graph paper (one for each round)
- Colored pencils
- Ziploc bag (for kit storage)
- Large bowl or tub (represents Earth)
- 3-5 plastic spoons (energy excavators—one per student)
- 3-5 small bowls (one per student)
Beads for each kit:
- 100 yellow beads — solar energy (100% Renewable)
- 100 blue beads — wind energy (100% Renewable)
- 82 brown/black beads — coal (82% of non-renewable reserves)*
- 15 red beads — uranium (15%)*
- 2 white beads — natural gas (2%)*
- 1 orange bead — oil (1%)*
*These proportions approximate non-renewable energy reserves in the U.S. and Canada.
Extension Ideas
Teachers can extend this lesson with additional activities: show pictures of each energy source before the game begins, including some humorous incorrect options; color water in containers to represent different energy types; demonstrate pouring water at different speeds to represent energy efficiency concepts; or use a U.S. map to have students identify regional energy sources. Discussion questions might include examples of how energy efficiency has improved over time, such as fuel mileage in vehicles.
Resources & Downloads
Searching for Energy: A Graphing Game
A PDF file containing everything you need for this lesson.
PDF Document