Energy Teaching Resources
Explore energy in your science classroom with engaging activities, printable worksheets and more teacher resources aligned with the Australian science curriculum.
This collection of teacher-created resources covers everything you need to introduce primary students to sound, light, heat, electricity and so much more! Save time on your lesson plans with easily editable resources and differentiated options that have been carefully reviewed by the science teachers on the Teach Starter team to ensure they're ready for your classroom and your students!
Is this your first year engaging kids on the topic of energy? Or maybe you are just looking for fresh ideas? Read on for a help from our teacher team!
What Is Energy? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Ever wish you had a script handy to introduce any topic to your class for the first time? We hear you! The Teach Starter site is packed with kid-friendly definitions made just for teachers! Here's one that we use to explain what energy means to our students:
Energy is the ability to do work or cause change. It's found all around us — even when we can't see it — making things happen!
For example, energy is what makes a lightbulb glow or creates the sound we hear when we play a musical instrument.
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Solar Electricity
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate the use of solar panels and determine if they are a viable source of electricity.
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Transforming Energy Into Electricity
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how moving air and water can turn turbines to generate electricity.
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Feeling the Flow - Electrical Conductors and Insulators
A 60 minute lesson in which students will classify objects as conductors or insulators of electricity.
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What is Electricity?
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Refracting Light
A 60 minute lesson in which students will observe the refraction of light at the surfaces of different transparent materials.
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Thermal Insulators - Keeping Out the Heat
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate which materials are the best thermal insulators.
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Thermal Conductors - Feel the Heat
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate which materials are the best thermal conductors.
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Sound Research
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how sound travels.
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Sounds of Change
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate if the pitch and volume of sounds can be changed.
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C'mon, Feel the Noise
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore sound and how it is made.
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No Light, No Sight
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate if light is needed in order to see.
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Sources of Heat
A 60 minute lesson in which students will identify kinetic, electrical and chemical sources of heat energy.
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Shine Bright, Electric Light!
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how changes to electrical circuits affect their components.
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Wired Up! - Building Electrical Circuits
A 60 minute lesson in which students will read and draw circuit diagrams.
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True Colours
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how the colour of an object depends on the properties of the object and the colour of the light source.
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In Living Colour
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate how the colour of an object depends on the properties of the object.
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In the Shadows
A 60 minute lesson in which students will compare shadows from point and extended light sources.
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What is Heat?
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore the concept of heat as a form of energy.
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Keeping Warm
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore prior knowledge and understanding of heat.