Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students undertake a light audit of their school, recording which ones are off and which ones are on. This activity can be conducted over one session or multiple sessions. Student use the worksheet to record their data. 

Key lessons and understandings of activity:
Gathering data helps us understand if there is a problem with lights being needlessly left on.

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions:

Year 3 Mathematics

  • Collect data, organise into categories and create displays using lists, tables, picture graphs and simple column graphs, with and without the use of digital technologies (ACMSP069)
  • Interpret and compare data displays (ACMSP070)

Year 3 Science

  • Use a range of methods including tables and simple column graphs to represent data and to identify patterns and trends (ACSIS057)

Year 4 Mathematics

  • Construct suitable data displays, with and without the use of digital technologies, from given or collected data. Include tables, column graphs and picture graphs where one picture can represent many data values (ACMSP096)
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of different displays in illustrating data features including variability (ACMSP097)

Year 4 Science

  • Use a range of methods including tables and simple column graphs to represent data and to identify patterns and trends (ACSIS068)

Syllabus Outcomes: ST2-4WS, MA2-18SP, MA2‑1WM, MA2‑2WM, MA2‑3WM. 

Topic: Energy

Year levels: 3 and 4

Indoor or outdoor activity: Indoor/Outdoor

Time required: 60 + mins

Learning areas addressed: Mathematics, Science. 

Level of teacher scaffolding: Ask all school staff about the level of disruption that is acceptable to complete the audit remembering that the next audit will require students to enter most accessible rooms in the school. Don’t tell staff students are auditing lights as this could prompt staff to turn off lights when they would have been left on. Assist students with audit.

Resources required: Printed Student Worksheet, art and writing materials.

Homework and extension opportunities: This activity can be repeated as homework.

Keywords: Energy, audit, lights ,data.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher preparation

Ask your students to conduct an ‘illumination’ audit by finding out:

  • How many light bulbs are used at school 
  • How long they are on for
  • How many are on when they don’t need to be.

Organise your students into groups, and ask them to conduct the audit using the table provided on the student worksheet (each student should fill out their own activity sheet), or ask them to create their own table. Confirm with students your expectations of how they are to behave and where they can and can’t go. If you have organised that they can go into some rooms and not others then confirm which rooms they must not go in, and which rooms they must knock on the door and wait for someone to come and open it.

Collate the class’s results

Discuss with students different ways to present their information. Try bar graphs and other graphical methods and decide which graphical presentation they prefer.

Are student able to draw any conclusions about the use of lights in their school?

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Student Worksheet

Conduct an ‘illumination’ audit by finding out how many light bulbs are used at school, how long they are on for, and how many are on when they don’t need to be.


Date

 

 Time Room
number
or room
name		 Light bulbs
On/Off		 Flouro strip
lights On/Off		 Energy
efficient
lights On/Off		 Room
occupied
Yes/No
 
 
 

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