The Energenius® Program

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Free Classroom Materials on Energy Efficiency and Safety

Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Energenius Educational Series teaches kids to use energy wisely and safely with interactive, engaging programs for grades kindergarten through eight. Through two animated characters children learn how they can save energy and conserve resources. The WATT-A-LOT character shows children examples of wasteful electric energy uses and THERM-A-LOT shows children examples of wasteful natural gas usage. If you are an educator in Pacific Gas and Electric Company's service territory, you qualify to receive free Energenius instructional materials.

How to Order

Take a look at the different programs we offer outlined below by grade level. Once you've made your selection use our Online Order Form to request your free classroom materials. Remember, you must teach in a school located within Pacific Gas and Electric Company's service territory to get this program free of charge. Please specify exactly how many teacher sets and student sets you will need.

The Energenius Program offers students:

• Many colorful posters, handouts and activity sheets.
• Group learning games and lively videos.
• A sense of empowerment to positively impact their environment.

Energenius offers educators:

• Clear, detailed lesson plans.
• Field-tested materials that meet California State Content Standards.
• An interesting way to teach children about energy, energy efficiency and safety.

Grade K: Kindergarten

Energenius Kindergarten Program—Three lesson plans

The Energenius Kindergarten Program is designed to teach young children simple actions they can take to save energy and conserve natural resources, such as water. Lesson activities emphasize how everyone can become an "Energenius" by practicing smart energy habits to conserve energy and resources in the classroom and at home. Children use listening, reading, and speaking skills as they follow the illustrations and text in The Energenius Big Book. Each child receives a copy of The Energenius Little Book, which provides the same text and illustrations for children that focus on colors, letters, and numbers.

This educational program introduces children to the energy character, Energenius, who is a genie who teaches children how to save and avoid wasting energy that is used to light, heat, and cool their homes and classrooms. The program features a section on energy saving activities in The Energenius Little Book that students can do at home with their parents or guardians.

I am an Energenius! Coloring Calendar illustrates additional ways to conserve natural resources, such as water, by not wasting it, and trees, by reusing and recycling paper. The program also introduces students to safety behaviors around electricity, such as putting only plugs and safety caps in electrical outlets and keeping appliances and electric cords away from water.

See a one page example of the Kindergarten Program (PDF, 478 KB)

Grades 1-3

Energenius Habits—Four lesson plans

Saving energy begins with an understanding of how we use energy and how we waste it. Energenius Habits helps very young students identify wasteful energy habits in the home and, through games and exercises that involve their families, gives them ways to change those habits to save energy.

Habits features three cartoon characters-Energenius, Watt-a-lot_® and Therm-a-lot_®-who model energy-efficient and wasteful habits. Watt-a-lot wastes a lot of electricity and Therm-a-lot is careless about his use of natural gas. Both of them want to lure students away from the Energenius, who uses energy safely and wisely.

The central activity in Habits is the repair of a Habits House. On a poster of a house that depicts wasteful habits, students place stickers that show good energy habits instead. A spirited video called "Scott's Energy Adventure" reinforces the good habits students can adopt. The video mixes live actors with computer-animated cartoon characters. An Energenius Coloring Calendar presents energy-saving tips as monthly reminders. Teachers find the calendar especially appropriate for primary students.

Finally, students fill out a 10-question "See and Check" survey with the help of their families. This survey gives students practice applying what they have learned to their own homes.

See a one-page example of the Energenius Habits (PDF, 183 KB).

Energenius Primary Safety—Four lesson plans

Although energy used in the home is very safe, every year some children are seriously or fatally injured in accidents. Energenius Primary Safety tries to help children stay safe by giving them 12 basic safety rules to follow. The 12 rules cover the most common types of exposure to electricity and natural gas in the home.

Students first learn the rules through the Home Safe Home class activity that features a double puzzle. To make sure the rules are taken home, they are listed in a Safety Measures poster given to each student. The Energenius Coloring Calendar is another reminder and offers monthly tips for staying safe.

Primary Safety concludes with a safety checklist that students complete at home with the help of their parents or guardians.

See a one-page example of Primary Safety (PDF, 64 KB).

Grades 4-5

Energenius E Program—Four lesson plans

Students using the E Program will learn about energy through a series of research activities, experiments and investigations. In their experiments they will demonstrate how electrical energy can be converted to heat, light and motion. As they participate as school energy investigators they will discover how energy efficient habits and technologies work together to reduce energy consumption and conserve natural resources.

The E Program includes a 30 page colorful workbook with a myriad of activities, experiments and internet research focusing on sources of energy, scientists who were energy pioneers, and on energy saving technologies.

The Energenius E Calendar provides suggested activities that students can take to save energy, conserve resources, and protect the environment. Themes include celebrations for America Recycles Day and activities focused on tree planting and water conservation.

The Energenius E Calculator features a way for students to understand how the use of energy is measured and the amount of electricity needed to power various appliances.

See a one-page example of the E Program (PDF, 282 KB).

Grades 4-6

Energenius Intermediate Safety—Six lesson plans

Today more and more older kids find themselves home alone at least part of every day. To help them stay safe around energy in the home, Energenius Intermediate Safety uses a movie theme to integrate safety instruction into lessons on science, language arts and performing arts. Students receive guidelines for coping with potentially hazardous situations and practice making decisions in the classroom.

Students watch other students stage their own productions of "roller movies" that feature safety lessons they've learned and answer the "Big Six Safety Questions." The questions include how to avoid electric shock, what to do when electric appliances malfunction, how to stay safe around utility equipment and how to prevent or put out fires in the home.

Throughout the program, students work on their own script books to practice drawing, characterization, plot and scriptwriting. Intermediate Safety includes two roller movies—"Coming Attractions" and "Ready on the Set"—two theater scripts—"Down to the Wire" and "Barn Burner"—and a newspaper—The "Energenius Star Times." The "Star Times" is written in the style of movie gossip journalism. It presents guidelines for staying safe while teaching the science of electricity and how utilities distribute energy.

See a one-page example of Intermediate Safety (PDF, 43 KB).

Grades 6-8

Bill Buster—Seven lesson plans

The quality of the environment is closely linked to our use of energy because electricity and natural gas are produced with the use of natural resources. By conserving energy at home, Bill Buster helps students understand that they can also conserve natural resources.

Bill Buster identifies nine sources of energy, including alternative sources such as wind and solar energy. Through "Source Cards," students trace the production of energy from natural resources through the delivery of energy to their homes. They learn that they themselves can be sources of energy by recycling and practicing energy efficiency. Additionally, a video titled Energy Future takes students on a ride to see various energy sources.

A key activity of Bill Buster is a before-and-after Energy Survey analyzed with special software. The survey tests students' knowledge of their own energy use and ways to save energy. The software generates personalized energy statements that quantify a student's home energy use and allow a student to look for improvements after starting Bill Buster.

See a one-page example of Bill Buster (PDF, 137 KB).

Grades 6 and above

Energenius Light Right Program—Four lesson plans

The Light Right is a curriculum that focuses on the connections between energy used for lighting and the environment. As students conduct surveys of lighting in their own school they identify not only wasteful habits but how lighting technology and hardware can reduce the amount of energy used.

The students will study how energy efficient lighting and habits can result in energy savings, money savings, conservation of resources and cleaner air.

The Light Right program includes E information cards, student workbooks and a teachers guide.

See a one page example of Light Right Program (PDF, 42 KB).

Other Online Resources for Teachers and Administrators

Online Energy Resources for Educators (PDF, 248 KB).

The School Resource Program (SRP) is an innovative program that combines available resources from the California Energy Commission’s Bright Schools Program, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to provide energy- efficiency services to participating public school districts.

The SRP was created to help K-12 school districts save energy and money and to improve the physical quality of the learning environment. By providing energy audits, technical assistance with retrofit plans, information about financing methods, staff training and educational programs, the School Resource Program helps schools identify many ways to save energy and free up money for what schools do best — educating students.