Curriculum

Northwest Territories:
Social Studies
10-1 and 10-2

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
• Compare and contrast the use wind power by different countries of the world.
• Identify how global demands for energy affect our choice for power generation in the NWT.

Teaching Process

Discuss how electricity is currently generated in your local community. In many communities in the NWT, power is generated by diesel turbine or hydroelectric power. Where nationally and globally do the fossil fuels come from for power generation?

Brainstorm other methods of generating electricity around the world (i.e. solar, wind, nuclear, coal-burning, gas and oil, hydro, etc.).

Provide students with the Student Handout: National Wind Energy Statistics. Examine the data. Ask students to provide a verbal summary of the table. What is being shown? What does each heading mean? What units are being used? (i.e. MW – megawatts, kW – kilowatts, GWh/y – gigawatt hours per year, TWh/y – terawatt hours per year) What country generates the most electricity per year by wind turbines? What country generates the largest percentage of their electricity from wind?

Ask students to form groups. Assign each group a country from the data table. Ask each group use the information provided to discuss the profile for their given country. Have the group create a table to organize their information. Provide the groups with additional resources (like an atlas or the internet) to find additional information about their country such as topography of the country, population, population density, standard of living, domestic supply of fossil fuels, etc.

On a large piece of chart paper, have each group draw a wind turbine with three blades. On each blade, have them write one piece of information about the country’s current use of wind power. On the base, write at least six reasons why using wind power would be a positive move for that country. Along the bottom of the paper, write two challenges that the country will have to overcome.

Discuss how Canada ranks against other countries with regards to its use of wind-generated energy. Why have some countries, such as Denmark, decided to use wind-generated energy to such an extent? Is there a link between the decision to use alternative energy sources and the domestic supply and cost of fossil fuels? How do global demands for energy affect our choice for power generation in the NWT?

Write a summary statement or brief description (3-4 sentences) that captures your ideas regarding Canada’s use of wind-generated energy as it compares to other countries.

Teachers Notes

*Students handout is located at the bottom of the lesson plan attachment.

Assessment/Evaluation

Students to share their current knowledge regarding their community’s power generation.

Students to share their knowledge of electrical generation methods.

Students will examine the Student Handout: National Wind Energy Statistics in order to understand the information presented.

Students examine a country’s use of wind-generated energy as it relates to other factors.

Students will consider how their assigned country is utilizing wind energy. Each group will share and discuss its findings with the class.

Students create a wind turbine on chart paper.

Students will consider how Canada ranks against other countries with regards to wind generated energy. They will write a summary statement.