Teaching second graders about solar energy

Today, I taught a class of second graders at Storer Elementary about solar energy. The students have been learning about solar energy. My task was to work with a partner to develop a lesson that would provide the students with a hands-on activity where they could see solar energy at work. We chose to have students build solar-powered cars.

The lesson went very well. Although I noticed things that could have been done differently. One thing that I struggled with while teaching the students was maintaining their attention. As I was showing them the step-by-step process of constructing the cars, they were progress through the steps at different rates. After I waited for all groups to get done some students would revert to talking with others. I had to take time to get their attention back before I proceeded with the next step. If I were to teach this lesson again, I think I might take a different approach by having students watch me complete a set of tasks and then having them complete the same set. This would save time and also keep the students' attention.

Another thing that I found very interesting was how actively they participated in class discussion. I have spent so many years out of the elementary classroom that I have forgotten how much energy the students have. It's my perception that elementary students have the motivation to learn. However, its a matter of the teacher being able to direct that motivation to academic and beneficial goals.

This teaching experience was definitely a good one. I felt very unprepared for the lesson but the actual instruction went very smoothly. I did have one student ask me if airplanes used solar energy in any way. I have no knowledge of this but that doesn't mean it isn't in R&D. If anyone has any ideas about this question I'd be extremely interested to hear about them. Just post a comment with your responses and ideas.