The Grid: Technical Writing via Task Force Research & Reporting
High-voltage power transmission towers and lines are part of the national power grid that carries electricity from power plants to homes, schools and businesses.Copyright 2004 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved.
The class forms a "presidential task force" for a week, empowered by the president to find answers and make recommendations concerning the future of the national power grid. Task force members conduct daily debriefings with the research team and prepare a report and presentation of findings for the president, using a real policy document as a guide. Although this activity is geared towards fifth-grade and older students and Internet research capabilities are required, some portions may be appropriate for younger students.
An obstacle in using wind energy is getting it connected to the national power grid. Most sites that are good for wind power production are far away from the existing power grid and it costs more to install the transmission lines to connect to the grid than to build the wind turbines. Knowing the location of existing grid lines helps engineers to site new wind farms in areas with affordable accessibility.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Use a full range of strategies to comprehend technical writing.
- Write stories, letters and reports with greater detail and supporting material.
- Choose vocabulary and figures of speech that communicate clearly.