Lesson 1 - micro:bit: Solar Energy Collected Paints a Green Life
1. Engage: How land changes?
Show students diagrams:
Data source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (accessed November 27, 2025)
Explain: Forest loss is not limited to Brazil—it is happening all around the world. Why are forests gradually disappearing?
Data source: World Resources Institute (accessed November 27, 2025)
Key question
What is the relationship between solar energy and deforestation? Is it positive or negative?
Explain:
Using solar energy is super important for protecting forests! It gives us a clean way to get energy—instead of cutting down trees for traditional energy. When we use more solar power, we help keep forests all over the world safe and healthy.
2. Explore: How Solar Energy works?
Today, we’ll use a micro:bit to act like a tiny solar panel model! First, let’s learn how solar panels work.
Demonstrate how solar panels work.
1.Sunlight shines on solar panels!
2.Energy turns into electricity.
3.Store it in a solar battery.
4.Power your home.
Activity 1
On the provided activity sheet diagram, draw and label the 4-step solar energy process (sunlight → solar panels → solar battery → power your home) clearly.
The micro:bit has a light sensor (a tiny eye that measures brightness). Let’s make a solar panel model to simulate how a solar panel charges a solar battery.
Introduce the micro:bit’s light sensor (point to the LED grid).
This part can feel light, just like a solar panel! We’ll use it to measure how much sunlight is around.
3. Engineer: Program micro:bit to Show Light Levels
Let’s make the micro:bit show the light level!
Coding Steps:
Open Microsoft MakeCode through the link below.
https://makecode.microbit.org/
Create a new project named “Solar Panel”.
Expand Advanced and drag a serial write value block into the forever loop from Serial. Then change the x to light level.
From the Input category, drag a light level block and connect it to serial write value block as below.
Code example:
Connect your micro:bit to your computer.
Connect device and download.
Then click “show data device” to see a line graph of light level.
Key Question
What is the link between the number and light level?
dark → low number, bright → high number.
4. Experience & Challenge: Store Solar Energy!
Activity 2
Prepare a protractor and a ruler for each group.
Guide students to program their micro:bits and test them.
Record their data on the activity sheet.
Here is a sample table you can refer to.
Note: Below is a reference method for measuring distance and angle.
Key question
What will affect the light level display of micro:bit? (distance, angle and the strength of light)
Similarly, the amount of electricity (in kWh) any solar panel will produce depends on these two factors:
1. How much sun a panel gets, which could be affected by the panel’s angle and the strength of the sun.
2. Solar panel size.
Let’s challenge to build a solar battery model.
Now, make micro:bit act like a solar panel! Program it to charge when light hits it.
Activity 3
Guide students to modify their code to use LEDs to act as a solar battery.
Example code:
Game Time: SDG 15 Quiz Race!
Rules:
1.Teams take turns answering SDG 15 questions.
2.Correct answers let you shine a flashlight on your micro:bit for 3 seconds.
3.The team that gets the highest battery level wins!
5. Elaborate: From Solar Energy to Waste—Our Green Actions
Solar energy helps us use clean power, but what about the waste we produce?
Key Question
If we use solar energy to reduce pollution, how can we make our trash help the land instead of harm it?
Discuss ideas (compost food scraps, recycle, plant trees with old pots).
Wrap Up: Today, we used micro:bit to make a solar battery! Remember: Small actions (like using solar or composting) add up to big changes for our land. Let’s keep painting our world green!
Lesson1.zip 
