KS3 Energy Project/Assessment: Design an off-the-grid home

This activity has students apply their knowledge of concepts related to energy in designing an off-the-grid house. It can be used as a project or an alternative assessment. A suggested mark scheme is provided, as well as teaching notes, which include a sample lesson plan, and options for scaffolding or extending the activity.

This was originally designed as the end-of-topic assessment for a Year 7 unit on energy. While the curriculum was the school's own, this activity will also work in the context of the National Curriculum, and could be adapted to include other National Curriculum outcomes. It could also be suitable for some KS4 students, as it touches on some of the relevant concepts (renewable energy, energy transfers), and it proved to be quite challenging for my high-ability Year 7s.

Includes the activity brief and mark scheme in a single file in PDF, Word and Pages format. I copied the brief and the mark scheme front and back onto a page, so each student had the mark scheme while they were completing the assignment. Also includes teaching notes in PDF format.

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Legal stuff:
Cover image of the Brighton Earthship is by Dominic Alves and is from Flickr via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEarthship_Brighton_Front.jpg). This image is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en).