Monday December 15

This week...
We will finish the roof and the exterior walls. The metal roof will be here on Tuesday and will go up Wednesday. We will wrap the house in TYVEK and be ready to install windows after break. The roof will be covered with tar paper before the metal roof panels go up.
Here is the rubric for your service learning project. Be sure to get your volunteer supervisor to sign off on your hours before you finish your paper.


For Wednesday...

1. Measure the area of each of the 4 types of photovoltaic (PV) panels that are in the classroom.
2. Look at the electrical specifications label on the back of the PV and find the maximum wattage.
3. Find the amount of daylight that we will experience in Denver today.
4. Calculate (in kWh) the amount of electricity that each of the PV cells could generate.
5. Calculate electrical generation/area (kWh/m2) for each of the PV cells.

In your group discuss and answer the following questions:

1. There are 60 fluorescent bulbs in this classroom that are each rated at 32 watts. How much electricity is consumed by using those lights for a full school calendar year? (Assume 8 hours per day and 185 days each year.)
2. If those 60 bulbs were to be replaced with LED (light emitting devices) that are rated at 12 watts, how much electricity would be saved?
3. The fluorescent lights cost $3.95 per bulb and last for 10,000 hours. The LED's cost $39.95 and last 50,000 hours. 
1. What is the cost to light this room with both of these options? (Electricity in Colorado costs (on average) $0.12/kWh.) 
2. How long (payback period) does it take for the LED option to be less expensive?
4. How many (of the most effective) PV cells would be needed to meet the electrical demand for each of (fluorescent and LED) options?

Use the CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) model to shape your answer to the following questions. 

1. If each of the PV cells receives the same energy input (sunlight) can you rate the relative efficiencies of them?
2. Why do you think the solar panels are as efficient (or inefficient) as they are?

Below is the rubric for the report that you need to write for your service hours this semester. If you are still short hours, you may attend the Eco-Action meeting after school every Wednesday. In addition, we are going to be working on the house after school tomorrow and then again on Monday -Wednesday next week.

Service Based Learning Report Rubric

Monday November 17th

Here is an image of the wastewater collection and treatment system.

There are 8 parts of the wastewater treatment system and 2 parts of the wastewater collection system that you need to be able to identify.

1. Be sure that you can describe what is happening to the wastewater at each step. 
2. Be sure to identify if the process is mechanical, chemical or biological for each step. 

There will be a wastewater quiz on Friday November 21st! The homework that was assigned last week is due today! (Questions 1-5)

Tuesday November 11th

Use this link and this link to complete the wastewater treatment assignment.

Lesson #1 Questions

1. Diagram and describe a typical wastewater treatment facility. (full page drawing)
2. Describe wastewater collection systems.
3. Identify the sources and types of wastewater.
4. Describe the appearance of wastewater.
5. Describe the composition of wastewater.

Week of October 20-24

Monday October 20th:
In class today, you will conduct an internet search for "recycled furniture". You may select any type of furniture that could be used in the Tiny House. By the end of class today, your group must identify the type of furniture that you would like to build and the source material for that item.

The due dates for this activity are as follows:

10/22: Rough Sketch of object (including dimensions, you need to keep in mind where the item is going to go in the house.
11/14: Material List (refer to the rubric, I would like you to find 10 items that are going to be "re-purposed".
11/21: Scale Drawing of object (final/actual dimensions)
12/05: Material Acquisition (you need to create an inventory of these items and take pictures of them; also keep track of where each item came from.)
01/09: Building Completion

Please use this rubric to design and build your unique piece of furniture that we could use in the Tiny House. We will use this activity to supplement the work that we are doing on the house. Check out the "free" section on craigslist for material ideas. The goal of this project is to take materials that would be garbage and turning them into useable items.  This is called material up-cycling.

Tuesday October 21st:
You will complete a rough sketch of your furniture and begin a material list. We will (in small groups) begin to build the first roof section. This will be built in class, disassembled and then reassembled on the Tiny House! Pictures to follow!

Week of October 13-17

Monday October 13th:
Today, you are going to calculate the number of solar panels that will be needed on the roof of our Tiny House. Please use this document if you were not in class. This worksheet is provided in class, but the links are only active on the electronic version (obviously). This assignment should be completed in class tomorrow (or will become HW). Use this link to find average daylight hours in Colorado.

In case you missed it, here is a link to a great documentary about building and living in a "Tiny House"

Tuesday October 14th

Please complete the solar panel activity that we started yesterday. The goal for this activity is as follows:

1. Understand the difference between a watt and a watt-hour.
2. Know how to convert from watt-hour to kilowatt-hour.
3. Calculate the electrical generation potential of a solar panel.
4. Estimate the electrical needs of our "Tiny-House".
5. Estimate the number of solar panels needed to meet those needs.

You should be able to answer the above questions after completing this activity.

Wednesday October 15th
We have a re-design of the Tiny House roof design. We are going to do a flat pitched roof. Check out the Tumbleweed Tiny House website.
We will review the 5 questions above. Here is a presentation that reviews these concepts if you were absent.

Thursday October 16th
Please use the floor plans linked above (on the Tumbleweed site) and redesign the basic floor plan (portfolio drawing #3) to layout the following rooms: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen/dining room & living space. Be sure to use your scale and layout the rooms based on realistic uses and measurements.

Friday October 17th
Design and build day...

Week of October 6 - 10

This week, we will finish the material list for the window rough openings and install the openings. We will add the rough opening and the window to the scale drawing of the side profile. Please note that the brown window is for the "living room" side and the white window is for the "kitchen" side.
By the end of the week, you will have portfolio drawings 1-9 completed.

Here is a link to an extra credit opportunity.  There is an "upcycling" event called "pallet-fest" in Denver this weekend. This is an event that celebrates the re-use of materials that are usually thrown away or recycled.  If you attend, you can earn extra credit by selecting one item that caught your attention and explain how it represents the re-use of an item that would ordinarily be "trash". Please bring that summary to class on Monday for discussion.

Week of September 29-October 3

This week in Environmental Science...
On Monday, final revisions for portfolio drawings 4 & 6 and 8 & 9 are due.
Students who check off on those will make measurements for 5 and then begin 7.
For those students who have not finished 4 & 6 and 8 & 9, those grades will be locked down at the end of class today. Points will be deducted for late work and for revisions that are not completed.

Here is a link for an amazing artist in the Oakland area that is building tiny houses for the homeless.

On Tuesday, we will review the Unit 1 test and students will have the opportunity to complete portfolio drawings 5 and 7. The portfolio should be complete (1-9) by the end of class on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, we will make formal measurements for the side profile drawing (rough sketch is #5 and scale drawing is #7). We will work on framing out the windows and making measurements to create the framing.

On Thursday, we made a material list for the lumber needed to create a rough opening for our windows. The wood was cut and installed for the first window.

On Friday, we have a quiz and will be talking about energy efficiency and insulation.

Week of September 15 - 18

Monday September 15th

1. Today is a work day. Students may earn 5 participation points for being involved and engaged in tasks involving "the build". 
1. Our list for the week is
1. Screw down floor
2. Strip & sand pallet boards
3. Drill weep holes in the sub floor
4. Design & construct a fence/barrier
5. Frame openings for two (2) windows
6. Frame opening for the front door
7. Frame the bathroom/kitchen wall
2. Our rainy day contingency plan is
1. Complete rough sketch of the two (2) profiles (side and rear)
2. Begin scale drawing for the two (2) profiles (side and rear)
3. Design and sketch the rafters
4. Calculate rafter spacing and create a material list
3. TODAY (9/15) we began making measurements for the sketches listed above. 

Tuesday September 16th

1. Today is a work day. Students may earn 5 participation points for being involved and engaged in tasks involving "the build". 

Wednesday September 17th

 

1. Today is a portfolio work day. Students need to complete the drawings specified in the above list.

Thursday September 18th

1. Unit #1 Test and then work on scale drawings.
2. 
   

Week of September 8-12

Howdy Gang!

Here we go...

1. We are getting closer to holding hammers and pounding nails. You did a great job on the quiz last week, especially the practical portion. Keep working hard, practice and remember to measure twice and cut once!
2. Your portfolio should contain the following so far... AS OF September 10
1. Scale Drawing #1: Lab Table
2. Rough Sketch: Tiny House
3. Scale Drawing #2: Tiny House
3. You should have completed a calculation sheet for the 3rd scale drawing. That was graded this week along with the above drawings.

For Wednesday September 10th

1. You need to have completed the above material(#2 above) already. If you have not and if it is not in the grade book, I need to see you NOW!
2. You need to read the article (here). There are instructions at the end of the article. Please read them first! 
1. Analysis Questions (complete sentences; typed; turned in for Wednesday 9/10).
1. What is suburban sprawl?
2. How is suburban sprawl related to the environment?
3. What is a carbon footprint?
4. What is your (individual) carbon footprint? For your family? (Check this out....)
5. Using the interactive map from the article, pick 3 places anywhere in the USA and list the carbon footprint for that area. Be sure to select an urban, rural and suburban location!
6. What differences do you see between the different areas? What categories are used to measure an area? How do these areas compare?
3. Here is the review that we will use on Wednesday to talk about the article. If you are absent, be sure to read the article linked above before you check out the presentation!

For Friday September 12th

1. We will start class with this warm-up.... 
1. the write-up for the warm-up is due on Monday (if you do not complete it in class.

1. In class today, you will begin two profile sketches. The first sketch is a rear-profile and the second is a side profile. We will use the measurements that we made in class on Thursday. 
1. The width of the trailer is 108",
2. The height is 159 3/4",
3. The length of the trailer is 240"

Week of September 2-5

Welcome Back!

I hope that you enjoyed your long weekend.  We will be starting the week by taking the measurements that were collected on Friday and using them to create your 3rd portfolio entry. You should have a data table in your notes that looks similar to the one below. Please make sure that I have checked off your measurements and be sure to work through the scale calculations using the worksheet provided (in class).

We will be stabilizing the foundation of the house this week and reinforcing any walls that might have been damaged over the summer. Pending weather and efficiency of work, we might be able to hang the rest of the particle board (OSB) on our walls.

We will have our first quiz of the semester on Friday. It will be 10 questions and will include information from your notes, my presentations (which are on-line) and The Tragedy of the Commons lab activity that we did last week.

If you have any questions about missing assignments or missed classes, please refer first to my website and then see me if you need hand-outs or if you have any questions.

The Notes from Tuesday

In case you were out of class on Tuesday or missed some of the ideas/concepts that we discussed, here are the "notes" from our first attempt at creating a humanity to tiny house concept map! Let me know if you came up with your own in a different way!

Week of August 25 - 29

Howdy Folks!

We got SO much accomplished this week! We uncovered a summer's worth of grit and grime on the trailer. We organized all of the wood into piles of 1x4's and 1x6's and 2x4's.  It was all very exciting for me (and I hope you) because this marks the beginning of our next step in our construction project.

Here is a link to the company that we are modeling our house off of.  The company is named the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.

The homework for this week is as follows:

• Portfolio Drawing #1 (lab table drawn to scale) was due on Monday
• The Tragedy of the Commons (going fishing) was due on Tuesday
• Portfolio Creation and Organization will be done on Thursday.
• Portfolio Drawing #2 (tiny house drawn to scale) will be completed on Friday

August 26

The Tragedy of the Commons

Watch the above video after completing the lab activity. This was the goldfish activity. You should have turned in the worksheet at the end of class along with answering the questions on the back of the data tables.

Daily Outline of Events

Monday August 18, 2014

Introductory Information

Day #1 Presentation

• Lab/Field Activity Permission Form
• Course Description & Expectations
• Pre-course on-line survey
• Service-Based Learning (SBL) Requirement