![[photo of Bonneville Power Game]](../pics/fish.jpg)
The Northwest Power System Curriculum
The following chart travels through the 13 lessons in the NPSC curriculum, tying them to the Washington Benchmarks for 10th grade that are addressed by that lesson. Sometimes only parts of a particular benchmark will be applicable to a NPSC lesson, but we thought it best to cite the entire benchmark for easier reference to these state goals. Please note also that because a lesson can be taught and expanded on at many levels of thoroughness, benchmarks were included assuming the most thorough coverage of the topic. Therefore, each teacher will want to review the listed benchmarks in order to see for her/himself which ones are in agreement with their plans. Hopefully you will find this to be a helpful and timesaving tool as you help students rise to the challenge of meeting these goals. On the right, lesson materials available from BPA, other sources, or the teacher (if you are not using the full NPSC curriculum kit from BPA)
| Chapter - Content .... = abbreviated description |
Subject
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#1 History – Orientation To The Pacific Northwest Formation of political boundaries Bodies of water Geographic features |
Section 1: Natural History and historical Development Reading 1.2 – Build vocabulary through reading B: Examine and increase vocabularies relevant to different contexts, cultures, and communities Reading 3.2 – Read to perform a task B: Understand and follow complex information to perform tasks for a specific audience.
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BPA or NPSC denotes items supplied by BPA or in the NPSC kit. Suggestion denotes items or experiments to be supplied by the teacher. * An asterisk indicates that the suggestion /experiment is in the NPSC text.
NPSC text: Physical and Political maps of the Pacific northwest. |
| #2 Columbia river System; head-
waters and watershed. Map interpretation The Water Game: Experiments with water runoff And water penetration |
Geography: The student uses maps, charts, and other geographic tools to understand the spatial arrangements of people, places, resources, and environments on Earth’s surface.
Geography 1.1 use and construct maps, charts, and other resources B: Produce and interpret maps, tables, and graphs that explain problems and may be used to construct solutions… Geography 1.2 recognize spatial patterns on Earth’s surface and understand the processes that create these patterns B: Evaluate how physical and human processes that change the physical features of the Earth can affect public policy debate, for example, how river damming influences the debate about electric power generation |
River gorge, A Natural History BPA Backgrounder: Voyage To The Pacific, July 1990 22 pg. Story of Columbia River journey by grandfather and granddaughter. Suggestion: Teacher’s atlas showing mountains and rivers of the Columbia River system.
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#3 Columbia River Basin (or Watershed). Inquiry: Where does river water come from? Experiments: The Water game
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Mathematics 5.3 – Relate mathematical concepts and procedures to real-life situations B: identify situations in which mathematics can be used to solve problems with local, national, or international implications… Mathematics 3.2: - predict results and make inferences B: make and explain conjectures and inferences based on analysis of problem situations Science 1.3: Understand how interactions within and among systems cause changes in matter and energy. Earth/Space Science (Hydrosphere/atmosphere) B: Correlate global climate to energy transfer by the sun, cloud cover, the Earth’s rotation, and positions of mountain ranges and oceans. |
NPSC Water Game: dice, map and precipitation record
Suggestion*: Run-off and soil experiment: Materials needed: Milk cartons Sand, soil, gravel Suggestion*: Watershed Experiment Large plastic box or plastic lined box with layer of soil and items from Runoff experiment (above). |
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#4 Salmon In The Rivers The life cycle and ecology of the Salmon. Math Lesson: Dam kills Suggested math lesson: Have students estimate water flows in several watershed areas feeding into one dam by introducing some of the following variables:
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Mathematics 1.1: Understand and applies the concepts and procedures from number sense B: Understand and use properties and symbolic representations of real numbers. Computation B: Compute with real numbers, powers and roots. B: use mental arithmetic, pencil and paper, calculator or computer as appropriate to the task involving real numbers Mathematics 2.2: Formulate questions and define problems B: identify questions to be answered in complex situations B: Define problems in complex situations. B: identify the unknowns in complex situations. Geography 3.1: Identify and examine people’s interaction with and impact on the environment B: Analyze how environmental knowledge and responsible action can affect a specie’s survival. Geography 3.2 analyze how the environment and environmental changes affect people B: analyze how technological innovation may both solve environmental problems and create new ones Science 2.1: Develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Modeling: B: Use mathematics, computers and/or related technology to model the behavior of objects, events or processes |
"Splash" – game produced by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Park Service
BPA Backgrounders: "The World’s Biggest Fish Story" (7/87) "Enhancing Our Fish and Wildlife Resources" (3/87) "Downstream Fish Migration: Improving the Odds of Survival BPA – Water Cycle Hexaflexagon (complex 3 dimensional shape). BPA library or Columbia River Inter-Tribal Commission (Portland), periodical: "Wana Chinook Tymoo" |
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#5A Native Americans, Salmon, and The Columbia River |
History 1.2: Analyze the historical development of events, people, places, and patterns of life in U.S., world, and Washington State history.
B: Analyze the historical development of Washington State history and government including the state constitution History 3.3 Understand how ideas and technological developments Influence people , resources and culture. B: Analyze and evaluate how technological developments have changed people’s ideas about the natural world… Social Studies: History 1.3: examine the influence of culture on U.S., world and Washington State history B: examine and discuss historical contributions to U.S. society of various individuals and groups from different cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds. |
NPSC Map: "Historic Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest"
Suggested Field Trip: Arrange a class trip to the nearest watershed and stream area. BPA –Salmon Hexaflexagon. BPA library or Columbia River Inter-Tribal Commission (Portland), periodical: "Wana Chinook Tymoo" |
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#5B Native Americans – That’s My Chair! The game in this lesson explores Native American and European value systems.
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History 3.1 Explain the Origin and impact of an idea on society B: Examine how ideas have conflicted with each other… History 3.3 Understand how ideas and technological developments Influence people , resources and culture. B: Analyze and evaluate how technological developments have changed people’s ideas about the natural world… B: Evaluate the consequences of ideas and technological developments on the human and natural world… |
Suggestion: Local resources: Invite a Native American guest speaker to discuss his/her culture with your class |
| #6 Dams on the Columbia River
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History 3.3 Understand how ideas and technological developments Influence people , resources and culture. B: Analyze and evaluate how technological developments have changed people’s ideas about the natural world. B: Evaluate the consequences of ideas and technological developments on the human and natural world. |
BPA Video: "River of Power"" |
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#7 Magnets and Magnetism Experiments in magnetism |
Science 1.2: Recognize the components, structure, and organization of systems and the interconnections within and among them. Physical science – Energy sources and kinds B: Understand many forms of energy a they are found in common situations on earth and in the universe. Physical Science – Energy transfer and transformation B: Understand that total energy is conserved; analyze decreases and increases in energy during transfers
(These benchmarks are continually addressed in lessons 7 – 12) |
NPSC Materials: Magnets and Compasses |
| #8 Electromagnetism, Part 1
Electricity, running through a coil creates a magnetic field which can be detected with a compass
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NPSC Materials: Magnets and Compasses |
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| #8 Electromagnetism, Part 2
Moving a magnet near a coil can produce electricity which can be transmitted and used at another location . |
Physical Science 1.2 (continued) | NPSC Materials: Magnets and Compasses |
| #10 Turbines
Paper pinwheel project is used to stimulate design ideas for generator made of a turbine and magnets.
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NPSC Materials: Paper pinwheel pattern Suggested Field trip: Arrange a field trip to the nearest hydroelectric dam |
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#11 Turbine Choices Students design and make turbine generators using available materials.
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NPSC Materials: Paper, straws, wire, magnets BPA Materials: 3-D hydro cut-out project – build dam, transformer and transmission tower. dam |
| #12 Resource Choices and the
Environment Air, water and combustion gases can be used to spin turbines. These propellants are powered by various sources of energy. Each combination of energy source and propellant is a resource choice. Resource choices have important environmental considerations. Intense comparison of various resource choices. |
Geography 3.1: Identify and examine people’s interaction with and impact on the environment B: Analyze and evaluate the possible benefits and consequences of people’s use of the environment... Geography 3.2 Analyze how the environment and environmental changes affect people B: Analyze how technological innovation may both solve environmental problems and create new ones. Economics 1.1 Comprehend key economic concepts and economic systems B: Explain how the scarcity of resources (human, capital, technological, natural) requires the development of economic systems to make decisions about how goods and services are to be produced and distributed. History 3.3 Understand how ideas and technological developments influence people, resources and culture B: Analyze and evaluate how technological developments have changed people’s ideas about the natural world. B: Evaluate the consequences of ideas and technological developments on the human ad natural world … Civics 4.3 Explain how citizen participation influences public Policy. B: Evaluate the positive and negative consequences of public opinion and the media on public policy.
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NPSC Materials: Coal is examined as a sample resource choice to begin discussion of environmental impacts.
NPSC Worksheet: Classroom Environmental Quality Form |
| #13 Resource Choices and the
Environment Further considerations of the different types of power generation and the resulting resource choices. Conservation as a choice. Electrical energy: Watts, Kilowatts and megawatts
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Geography 3.1: Identify and examine people’s interaction with and impact on the environment B: Analyze and evaluate the possible benefits and consequences of people’s use of the environment... Geography 3.2 Analyze how the environment and environmental changes affect people B: Analyze how technological innovation may both solve environmental problems and create new ones. Economics 1.1 Comprehend key economic concepts and economic systems B: Explain how the scarcity of resources (human, capital, technological, natural) requires the development of economic systems to make decisions about how goods and services are to be produced and distributed. History 3.3 Understand how ideas and technological developments influence people, resources and culture B: Analyze and evaluate how technological developments have changed people’s ideas about the natural world. B: Evaluate the consequences of ideas and technological developments on the human ad natural world … Civics 4.3 Explain how citizen participation influences public Policy. B: Evaluate the positive and negative consequences of public opinion and the media on public policy. Communication 2.2: develop content and ideas B: Make a well reasoned, insightful presentation supported by related details] Communication 3.3: seek agreement and solutions through discussion B: respect that a solution may require honoring other points of View B: analyze group interaction to anticipate consequences B: accept accountability for group results.
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NPSC text Conservation math: Calculate the savings from switching from one energy source to another. NPSC text Conservation Lab: competition to design the most energy conserving jacket for cups of hot water. Suggestion: Advanced lesson: Create a pictorial or physical (topographic) model using dams, watersheds, and hydroelectric output. Introduce mathematics appropriate to the grade level. Introduce related topics for discussion:
issues. |
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The Power Game – next page |
The power game uses all of the knowledge gained in the prior lessons. Teams of students compete and present their views on power resource alternatives, conservation and public policy. The communication – advocacy aspects of the benchmarks are addressed here: See Communication 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1 and 4.2 | |
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Section 3 The Power Game The Power Game is the last chapter in the Northwest Power System Curriculum. It gives students a chance to discuss and debate power generation scenarios using the knowledge they have acquired in the previous lessons. The students form teams which operate power companies. The teams are faced with decisions reflecting the real world: economics, environment, government, consumers, weather and technology. Each team discusses its options and tries to reach a consensus on what strategy to proceed with as it supplies electrical energy. The teacher can decide how and to what degree success should be measured; the real goal is to precipitate a lively discussion of the myriad conflicts and choices made in the power industry. There are 2 versions of the game: The Power Game and the Power Board Game. Game pieces: Power Resource Cards (showing Purchases price, power output and annual operating cost), current event cards, dice, recording sheets, "Pass cards," siting tokens and power system map. A game board is supplied for the Power board Game. The Power Game - This set of instructions has a practice game and 2 simpler versions of the game which can be used to build skills before playing the full simulation of the game. The Power Game has these basic rules:
The Power Board Game.
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