Olwen+Elizabeth+Chin+Resource+Files


 * Unit Plan - Nuclear Power**

Nuclear power and its technological capability is a controversial topic in the 21st century world we live in. Some people see it as a benefit in terms of reducing energy costs and also as a very clean way of making electricity. Others see it as a danger to the communities in which these plants operate and protest the fact that the waste from this energy is difficult to contain or reuse.We will explore both sides of this argument in a class discussion.

I begin my unit with an introduction as to what nuclear power is and some basics about fission and fusion. I want my students to understand what is happening when we split atoms of uranium-235 and create heat. I will also go through a brief history of nuclear power and some basics about nuclear power plants and discuss the potential future benefits of fusion energy. The topic of radiation and the fear of nuclear war is one we will approach from a scientific standpoint. We will ask the question: How does the concept of fear play into the development of technology? I will discuss the events of Chernobyl in 1986 and we are going to watch a video about what happened.

My next topic will deal with how the technology of nuclear power is used by the US Navy, specifically on submarines. We are going to take a field trip to the USS Nautilus Museum in Groton, CT to see the first nuclear powered submarine in person. We will then move on to the subject of modern nuclear plants and briefly discuss breeder reactors and new technologies in this field. We will look at the disaster in Japan and the Fukushima plant that was affected by an earthquake in 2011.

As a combined unit, we will be participating in a joint writing assignment and my class will also be making electronic infographic posters. The writing assignment will focus on answering the question: At what point does technology advance or hinder society? My class will be outlining a paragraph dealing with the science aspect of this to include in a larger essay being written in their English class.

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 * __5 Text Resources:__**

Article on residual radiation from Fukushima disaster 2011 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/daily_videos/scientists-fish-for-data-in-the-waters-around-fukushima/ Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 10.6
 * 1) __Scientists Fish for Data in the Waters Around Fukushima__**

Discovery News Article http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-pros-cons-nuclear-power.htm Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 11.1
 * 2) __10 Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power__**

Unit 10: Energy Challenges - Section 6: Nuclear Power http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=10&secNum=6 Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 16.3
 * 3) __Annenberg Learner - The Habitable Planet__**

http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A32364281 Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 12.7
 * 4) __USS Nautilus - The First Atomic Submarine__**

http://www.howstuffworks.com/nuclear.htm Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 11.0
 * 5) __How Nuclear Radiation Works__**

For any of these readings, you can utilize the following website to differentiate the text and make it easier to read: http://www.rewordify.com/


 * Video/Web Resources:**

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 * Fukushima**

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 * Splitting Atoms: Khan Academy**

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 * Chernobyl**

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 * USS Nautilus**

http://www.epa.gov/radiation/understand/calculate.html
 * __Calculate your radiation dose - (Interactive website sponsored by the EPA):__**


 * __Other Resources:__**

1) **__Common Core/SBAC Activity and Writing Assignment__** http://commoncore.greenwich.wikispaces.net/Grade+11+Performance+Task

2) **__How Nuclear Power Works__** http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm

3) **__How Nuclear Submarines Work__** http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-submarine.htm

4) **__Duran Duran Song - Playing with Uranium__** media type="custom" key="25359116" 5) **__Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (song and music video)__**

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6) Political cartoons dealing with nuclear power: