Science lesson plan · 7th grade (Year 8 in England) · 45 minutes
Kilowatt-hours and the cost of electricity
Energy
CCSS NGSS.MS-PS3-5CCSS NGSS.SEP 5England: KS3 Physics: Energy (energy costs)
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Kilowatt-hours and the cost of electricity.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Identify energy stores in everyday situations
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
Materials: Wind-up toys or a pendulum, Energy transfer diagrams, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Identify energy stores in everyday situations). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which energy store is the main one here: wood for a campfire? (chemical store / gravitational potential store / kinetic store / thermal store) → chemical storePrompt: Is it moving, high up, stretched, hot, a fuel or food, or atomic?
- A cup of tea cools down on a table. Where does the energy go? (to the tea's kinetic store / to the thermal store of the surroundings / to a nuclear store / it is destroyed) → to the thermal store of the surroundingsPrompt: Energy cannot be destroyed.
- Energy stores: which statement is NOT true? (Energy is used up when a battery goes flat. / Food contains energy in a chemical store. / Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred between stores. / A faster object has more energy in its kinetic store.) → Energy is used up when a battery goes flat.Prompt: Is light a store or a way of transferring energy?
Hook · 5 min
- Wind up a toy or stretch an elastic band and ask where the energy goes.
- Share the objective: Kilowatt-hours and the cost of electricity. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: An oven with a power of 1.5 kW is used for 6 hours. How much energy does it transfer, in kWh?
- Step 1: 1.5 × 6 = 9
- Step 2: So the answer is: 9 kWh
- Answer: 9 kWh
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- A heater with a power of 0.5 kW is used for 6 hours. How much energy does it transfer, in kWh? → 3 kWhPrompt: energy (kWh) = power (kW) × time (h)
- Electricity costs 28p per kWh. How much does 3 kWh cost, in pence? → 84Prompt: cost = energy used (kWh) × price per kWh
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Electricity costs 28¢ per kWh. How much does 20 kWh cost, in cents? → 560Prompt: cost = energy used (kWh) × price per kWh
- An electric heater rated at 2000 W runs for 45 minutes. Electricity costs 24¢ per kWh. What does it cost, in cents? → 36Prompt: Convert W to kW (÷ 1000) and minutes to hours (÷ 60).
Watch out for
- Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
- Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Identify energy stores in everyday situations.
- Use concrete materials: wind-up toys or a pendulum.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-7.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder