Renewable energy sources take centre stage in this Grade 4 science reading resource, where students explore how sunlight, wind, and moving water can provide usable energy. Through informational passages and main idea organizers, they examine different renewable energy sources, consider how people choose between them, and discover why energy storage matters.

Explore how renewable energy works

The reading moves through several connected topics. Sunlight Makes Power introduces energy from the Sun, while Wind Turbines at Work explores how moving air can be used to generate electricity. Moving Water Power focuses on using flowing water as an energy source. These passages give students different examples of how natural energy sources can be put to use.

The resource then broadens the discussion. In Choosing Energy Sources, students consider factors involved in selecting an energy source, including environmental effects. The final passage, Storing Renewable Energy, introduces the importance of storing energy for later use. Together, the topics help students build a connected picture of renewable energy rather than treating each source as an isolated fact.

Read, identify, and support the main idea

Each informational passage is paired with a graphic organizer. Students identify and highlight the main idea in the text, locate supporting details, and record the information in the organizer. This main idea and supporting details activity gives students a clear purpose for reading while developing their ability to distinguish a central point from the information that explains it.

Students also encounter environmental considerations when thinking about energy choices. The material includes habitat impacts, encouraging them to consider that energy sources and the ways people use them can affect the natural environment.

What the resource includes

• Informational passages about solar, wind, and moving-water energy.
• Reading on choosing energy sources and storing renewable energy.
• Main idea and supporting details graphic organizers paired with the passages.
• Picture layouts connected to the reading topics.

Ways to use it in a Grade 4 science unit

Use this renewable energy reading resource during a unit on energy sources, natural resources, or environmental effects. Students can work through a passage and its organizer independently, or read with a partner and discuss which details best support the central idea. The different energy examples also provide material for class discussion about how sunlight, wind, and moving water are used, why energy may need to be stored, and what environmental factors people should consider when choosing energy sources.

The supplied curriculum reference names the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectation 4-ESS3-1.