Virginia Energy Sense (VES), the Commonwealth’s electric energy education initiative from the State Corporation Commission, is distributing a new energy conservation curriculum to elementary school principals in rural, and smaller urban, school divisions. This new curriculum teaches students how to be energy efficient at school and at home. The goal of this targeted outreach is to get these important educational materials into the hands of those teachers who may not have access to the same resources as their peers in larger school divisions.

This curriculum was developed in a partnership between the State Corporation Commission and the Virginia Department of Education, and it is designed specifically to meet third grade Standards of Learning (SOL) requirements. It will teach young children how to understand energy efficiency with lessons focusing on how to conserve energy at home and at school. VES has given teachers four complete lessons to teach to their students, and everything they need is included within the curriculum.

“Making these valuable learning tools available to teachers and students across the Commonwealth is important for VES,” said Andy Farmer, the manager of Virginia Energy Sense. Farmer also states, “Our energy efficiency curriculum has important lessons for students living in rural, suburban and urban communities.”

The lessons will be fun, and encourage students to take an active role in conserving energy. The VES curriculum also will allow students to make smart decisions about their energy use at home, at school and in their communities. Overall, this curriculum will teach students that saving energy can save money and ultimately make Virginia a better place to live.

The lessons are easy-to-implement and include numerous engaging activities, such as an energy-efficiency matching game, crossword puzzles, home and school energy checklists, quizzes, an interactive foldable booklet and poster design plans all focused on energy efficiency.