Power Shift

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question to guide discussion: What leads to societies making major shifts in how they function?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• conventional (p. 8)
• efficient (p. 8)
• dependence (p. 9)
• existential threat (p. 10)
• supplementing (p. 10)
• essentially (p. 11)

3. Engage
Poll students on whether they think more of our electricity in the U.S. is powered by coal or by renewable energy sources, such as solar energy. Then have students examine the two graphs on page 10 and share what they find interesting or surprising about the graphs.

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: Power Shift, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear on the facing page of this lesson, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• What is the author’s main purpose in the first section of the article? (Author’s purpose, text structure) (The author’s main purpose is to set up some of the central ideas of the article—that people are making the shift to renewable energy and that making the shift can be easy and financially beneficial. The author does this by giving an example of an everyday family that has installed solar panels on top of their carport.)

• Based on the article, why is renewable energy usage growing in the U.S.? (Central idea, cause and effect) (One reason for the increase in renewable energy usage is that people are becoming more aware and concerned about the impact that burning fossil fuels has on the environment. Another reason is that making the switch to renewable energy sources can be financially beneficial through rebates, tax credits, and lower energy costs. Other government initiatives, such as setting energy goals and leasing areas for offshore wind farms have also helped promote the growth in renewable energy usage.)  

• What are some challenges to shifting even further to renewable energy? Which of these challenges do you think is the most difficult to overcome? Why? (Problem and solution, make judgments) (Challenges include passing federal funding, training new renewable energy workers, updating the power grid so that it can receive energy collected from customers, developing a way to store electricity, and convincing people in areas that are economically dependent on fossil fuel energy sources to support the shift to renewable energy. Opinions will vary, but students should support their ideas with text evidence.)

• Several sources are quoted in the article, and some of these quotations contain opinions and assessments. What factors should readers consider when evaluating whether to agree with these opinions or view the assessments as valid? Give an example from the text. (Evaluate sources, make inferences) (Readers should consider the job the person holds and their experiences. For example, the article quotes Eric Williams, a professor of sustainability at the Rochester Institute of Technology, as saying the nation’s electricity grid is not designed for receiving and storing large amounts of electricity from customers. Based on his job title and area of expertise, readers can safely assume that his assessment of the grid is valid.) 

• How does the U.S. compare with the rest of the world in renewable energy use? (Compare and contrast, key details) (Two states in the U.S.—Texas and California—are doing well compared with the rest of the world in terms of integrating renewable energy sources. Other states lag way behind. Overall, though, the U.S. lags behind other countries with offshore wind turbines, having just seven. In contrast, Europe has more than 5,000 of them.) 

• What do the graphs on page 10 add to the article? ( Integrate sources) (The line graph visually expresses information from the opening section about when Americans first began burning coal and from the last paragraph of the section “Challenges Ahead,” which discusses how the use of renewable energy has surpassed coal for the first time since 1885. The pie chart visually expresses information from the opening section about where the U.S. gets its electricity and how fossil fuels are still dominant.)

6. Writing Prompt
Write an opinion essay about the feasibility of getting 45 percent of our electricity from solar energy by 2050. Support your points with details from the article, other research, and your own experiences.

7. Video
What does the video about Hawaii’s solar challenge add to your understanding?

8. Classroom Debate
Should businesses face tax penalties for not installing solar panels on their buildings?

9. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess students’ comprehension and Be the Editor to review grammar skills.