GRADE 8 

We Share Solar 2025

The 8th-grade Robotics Design class spent a learning unit on electricity and energy, utilizing the We Share Solar program.

We Share Solar empowers middle school students to be agents for positive change in the world while also growing academically through a STEM-positive learning experience. While this program has great appeal to a wide range of students, the program is significant to students who become engaged in engineering activities that help others through real-world impact. It gives students the ability to connect and create a regional and global social impact focused on English, Science, Math, and Social Studies. One We Share Solar suitcase has the potential to provide light to 450 students and teachers each year in a remote village in Kenya or Uganda. It allows students to engage in different learning methods to help them with their literacy and mathematical skills while expressing their ideas through social impact and communication. Meaning, that the level of engagement increases because they can see how technology affects education and everyday living in other countries. The students at the Center for Innovation at John Rolfe Middle had the opportunity to support their education and grasp of understanding SOL content through engineering technology, and innovation.

Students learned about DC electricity, how to build a Solar Suitcase for international deployment, and how the Solar Suitcase worked to provide sustainable energy from the sun. After building the deployment Solar Suitcase, students sent it back to We Share Solar for final inspection and deployment to a school where reliable sources of electricity were not readily available. With this gift of light, students in other parts of the world would have increased hours for study, which could lead to better life opportunities.

LEARNING SUMMARY

Our 8th graders learned the importance of global energy accessibility by experiencing a day without light. As they entered the classroom, they were given a small flashlight per table and tasked with completing a writing assignment in their engineering notebooks. They described what it felt like to study without electricity, which electrical device they missed the most, and how the lack of electricity affected their studies.

To connect with the regions they were helping, students engaged in cultural activities, including songs and languages from Kenya, Uganda, and India. We explored the different lifestyles in these countries.

Students learned about each component of the Solar Suitcase and how it converts and transfers energy from solar to electric through various solar systems and scenarios. They then worked in teams to assemble the Solar Suitcase and prepare it for deployment.

Additionally, students used the PhET platform to build virtual circuits, describing how the circuits would behave. They measured electricity through current, charge, voltage, power, and energy, and assessed the electrical capacity of the Solar Suitcase.

Students had the chance to hone their relationship-building skills in communication outreach by presenting their project outcomes to county and state officials through public relations and broadcast journalism. Additionally, Ms. Walker was able to offer a sneak peek of the upcoming event on News 12.