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.