How much is your toaster costing you every day? Young environmentalists calculate the monetary costs of household appliances based on their average consumption of wattage.

Concepts

electricity, 2-digit multiplication, multiplication, renewable resources, non-renewable resources, non-renewable energy, renewable energy sources, electrical energy, watts

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Additional Tags

math

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Instructional Ideas

• Collaborate with your colleagues to create a cross-curricular project between math and science 
• Have learners report on their findings in a unit about renewable energy resources
• Bring to a school-wide focus on environmentalism, or a unit about Earth Day
• Expand the writing part of the assignment into a full research project about ways to conserve energy in their homes

Classroom Considerations

• Resource was published in Michigan, so the auxiliary links are relevant to that state; if the information doesn't reflect the costs and needs of your state, look for additional information to add to the lesson
• Publishing company's logo is at the top of each page, which might be distracting to some learners

Pros

• Thorough lesson is practical and applicable to real-world situations
• Encourages learners to think critically about their energy use
• Promotes interdisciplinary research and math application

Cons

• None

Common Core

6.NS.B.2 6.NS.B.3 7.NS.A.2.a 7.NS.A.3