Piedmont Natural Gas and NTC invite you to use these e-learning resources to teach your students about the importance of natural gas conservation and safety. The digital materials below are designed to get your students excited about understanding this important natural resource.
Want to know the best way to use the related videos, games, smart speaker activity and other lessons to educate your class? Watch this short video and learn how to add The Energy Time Trek to your curriculum.
We know your class time is extremely valuable. That’s why we ensure that all of our digital e-learning materials are aligned with state and national educational standards. It’s important that the The Energy Time Trek digital program adds to your existing curriculum and keeps students on track with their ongoing learning.
See below for details about how each digital activity aligns with educational standards and corresponds with your state’s curricula.
Our live in-school theatrical programs are a great way to educate students about a wide variety of important topics. Theater has the ability to capture imaginations and educate at the same time! This 25-minute show features two engaging actors performing a fun story that keeps kids laughing and learning.
The Energy Time Trek teaches viewers about the following educational points:
During the show, your students will learn important lessons about natural gas conservation and safety. You can use the lessons and activities on this page to prolong the engagement for months to come.
Your students can enhance what they learn from the program with these fun, hands-on lessons and experiments. These lessons can be done in the classroom or easily adapted for students to do at home with their families.
They’re a fun and educational way for students to learn with family members. The materials needed for these lessons are basic supplies that most people have at home. Follow up with your students to make sure they enjoyed and learned from these activities.
Lesson 1:
Students will learn that air has weight and that this fact can be concretely illustrated.
PURPOSE OF ACTIVITYIdentify Details, Apply Skills, Define
COGNITIVE LEVELStrategic Thinking, Extended Thinking, Skills and Concepts
CLASS TIME45 minutes
MATERIALS
Lesson 2:
Students will learn that some appliances are more energy efficient than others and that the energy efficiency of major appliances can be quantified.
PURPOSE OF ACTIVITYIdentify Details, Apply Skills, Define
COGNITIVE LEVELStrategic Thinking, Extended Thinking, Skills and Concepts
CLASS TIME25 minutes
MATERIALS BACKGROUNDThe federal government requires appliance manufacturers to provide information about the energy efficiency of their products to consumers so that they can compare the life cycle cost of the appliances as well as the purchase price. The life cycle cost of an appliance is the purchase price plus the operating cost over the projected life of the appliance. The law requires that manufacturers place EnergyGuide labels on all new refrigerators, freezers, water heaters, dishwashers, clothes washers, room air conditioners, central air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces and boilers. The EnergyGuide label lists the manufacturer, the model, the capacity, the features, the average amount of energy the appliance will use a year, its comparison with similar models and the estimated yearly energy cost.
PROCEDUREFollow-up, formative assessments for you to gauge the learning of your students are especially important with e-learning. Below are some suggestions for how you can assess your students’ performance quickly and effectively.
These assessments are easy for you and your students to complete and help ensure your class is getting the maximum educational value, retention and engagement from the related digital activities.
| Elementary Educational Assessments | Livestream | Hands-on lessons | Digital games | E-book | Graphic novel | Interactive activities | PDFs & Print materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ask students to reflect on the topic and draw their thoughts on paper | X | X | X | ||||
| Write one or two sentences identifying the main point | X | X | X | X | |||
| Think-pair-share | X | X | X | ||||
| One-question quiz | X | X | |||||
| Journal reflection | X | X | X | ||||
| Have students discuss three things they learned, two things they still want to learn, and one question they still have | X | X | X | ||||
| Hand in completed activity | X | X | |||||
| Submit screenshot of completed activity | X | X |
The Energy Time Trek student activities page features games, videos, e-books, educational lessons, downloadable PDFs, a smart speaker app and more. Access in the classroom or at home to learn more about natural gas and have fun exploring The Energy Time Trek!
This downloadable PDF features colorful artwork, entertaining games and activities, and expanded information to complete your understanding of energy conservation and natural gas safety. Read on your own, with your class, or with friends and family and get to know the characters of The Energy Time Trek.
Dive into this colorful, illustrated e-book in the classroom or at home with friends and family. Students can read to themselves or with others, and younger students can use the read-along option.
Flip through this colorful graphic novel for a new and engaging story. With fun artwork, entertaining characters and expanded information, The Blue Flame graphic novel offers a page-turning experience.
We take your feedback and suggestions very seriously. Hearing from educators with firsthand experience with our programs ensures that we continue to improve our digital resources, making them as beneficial as possible for you and your students.
Please complete this brief, two-minute evaluation to let us know what you thought. Enter the code you received on the Teacher Instruction Card or call us for your access code.
Thank you for your time and valuable input.
You’ve covered the basics of natural gas conservation and safety. If you really want to dig deep with your class, explore the expanded information and additional resources below.
These materials provide even more insight into the history, science, usage and importance of natural gas. There are also helpful links and tips for conservation and safety in your community.
Expanded Information 1:
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state, at about -260° Fahrenheit, for shipping and storage. The volume of natural gas in its liquid state is about 600 times smaller than its volume in its gaseous state. This process makes it possible to transport natural gas to places pipelines do not reach.
Liquefying natural gas is a way to move natural gas long distances when pipeline transport is not feasible. Markets that are too far away from producing regions to be connected directly to pipelines have access to natural gas because of LNG. In its compact liquid form, natural gas can be shipped in special tankers to terminals around the world. At these terminals, the LNG is returned to its gaseous state and transported by pipeline to distribution companies, industrial consumers and power plants.
LNG is loaded onto double-hulled ships, which are used for both safety and insulating purposes. Once the ship arrives at the receiving port, LNG is off-loaded into well-insulated storage tanks, and later regasified for entrance into a pipeline distribution network.
Source: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/liquefied-natural-gas-lng