Wind Farm Site Selection: A Community Debates the Issues
Provided by: Project Look Sharp|Published on: April 27, 2021|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Science, Economics, English Language Arts
Authors: Project Look Sharp, Laurie VanVleet, Sox Sperry
Location: North America, North America > United States, North America > United States > New York
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This is a 15-30 minute media literacy and critical thinking activity from Project Look Sharp in which students analyze two opinion articles on wind farm sites in local communities.
- Students discuss the different messages from the different sources informing others about a potential wind farm in the town of Enfield, NY.
- This resource includes a PDF lesson plan, a student handout, and a guide with tips for teaching and adapting the lesson.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The lesson plan offers many possible variations depending on your focus, including questions for Science, Social Studies, ELA, and Media Literacy.
Prerequisites
- Teachers must create a free account to access the materials.
- The worksheet asks students about the reliability of the sources they are given, so you will need to provide instruction on how they can determine this.
- Be sure you have researched the sources ahead of time so you are aware of their viewpoints and biases.
- The link to Black Oak Wind Farm in the student handout is broken.
Differentiation & Implementation
- The lesson plan refers to a "constructivist media decoding process," which teachers can read more about in the Tips for Media Decoding document.
- Teachers may want to use some process or protocol where students are responding to questions individually and in small groups before discussing them as a whole class.
- The reading for this activity may be dense for some students, so a structured reading process may provide the necessary support.
This resource is recommended as it can guide students to select wind farms sites in a suitable location taking both the socio-economic and environmental impacts into consideration. It is also a good guide to help students make local energy decisions that are realistic, sustainable, reliable, and eco-friendly.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
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