Define energy as the ability to cause change, and identify evidence of energy in everyday events.
Energy is the ability to make something change: start moving, stop moving, heat up, cool down, light up, or make a sound. You cannot see energy itself, the way you can see a rock or a leaf. You can only see what it does. When you notice a change happening, energy is at work behind it.
Look around any room and you will find energy everywhere: a fan spinning, a lamp glowing, a kettle whistling, a dog running across the yard. Scientists do not ask "is there energy here?" so much as "what changed, and what caused it?" That question is the starting point for this whole unit.
Mastery looks like: They can point to an everyday change (something starting to move, heat up, light up, or make sound) and correctly identify it as evidence of energy.
Common stumbles: Confusing the object itself with energy (saying the ball IS energy instead of the ball's motion SHOWS energy); expecting energy to be something visible on its own.