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Technology Infused Lesson Plan

Title: Our Solar System

Subjects: Science, Earth Science, Astronomy

Learning Level: Middle and/or High School

Abstract:

Students use the Internet and other resources to word process a log book describing their "flight" through our solar system. During their "flight," they discover a new planet. They study and describe conditions on this planet. Then the students use their log books to create a PowerPoint presentation so they can share their adventures with the class.

Invitation:

In the future, NASA has launched several unmanned space probes. These probes are flying throughout our solar system. You are a scientist tracking one of these flights. jYou must keep detailed notes about the data sent back to NASA from this probe.

1. Using the Internet and other resources, make detailed entries into your log book tracking the satellite’s progress. You will use a word processor for you log book. As the satellite passes each planet include the following in your log book:
   • Each planet’s distance from the sun
   • Each planet’s position relative to Earth
   • Any satellite(s) revolving around the planet
   • Evidence of gravitational force

2. As the satellite reaches the end of the known solar system, the onboard telescope shows an unidentified planet. The satellite circles the planet and sends back digital data about the surface. The probe reveals that the new planet orbits outside of Neptune. It is a solid sphere slightly smaller than the Earth and rotates on an axis perpendicular to the sun at a rate of one cycle in 20 Earth hours. The new planet also has a moon revolving around it at a rate of one cycle in 30 Earth days. Describe how the following events and features might be the same or different on this unidentified planet than they are on Earth:
   • Moon phase
   • Tides
   • Seasons
   • Eclipses
   • Gravitational force
   • Planetary motion

PowerPoint

After you finish your log book, you will present your findings to your peers using PowerPoint.

Your PowerPoint slide show must include the following:

• A title slide
• At least one slide for each known planet
• At least one slide describing unidentified planet
• A bibliography slide
• At least one imported image
• At least one imported animation
• At least one audio
• At least one scanned image

Feel free to add additional slides describing other space features your probe might encounters (comets, asteroids, etc.).

Your presentation will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Accuracy and completeness of information
• Attractiveness and creativity
• Use of technology
• Presentation

Tasks:

Rubric - Flight Log Book

Rubric - PowerPoint

Situations:

Start with the science content pre-test. This can be done in the classroom and should take one class period or less. The technology pre-test can be found on the Internet at http://profiler.pt3.org/. The students can accomplish this as a large group in the computer lab in one class period. Then spend about one week introducing the unit and beginning to cover the Space Unit in their textbooks. During this time a trained para-professional, student teacher or other staff will pull the students one at a time to a quiet location for the pretest CBA.

You will spend the next three weeks alternating between the classroom and computer lab.

While in the classroom, cover the appropriate material in their textbooks and relate it back to this project. Much of what they learn about planetary motion, seasons, eclipses, etc., will help them describe the "new found" planet. They will also pick up information that they can add to their log books.

In the computer lab, they may need a tutorial on word processing and the Internet. We found the students worked best if the had specific assignments each day (by the end of this class session, everyone should have a log book entry for Earth completed). Encourage them to add scanned images or pictures from the Internet to their log books (these can be copy/pasted into their PowerPoint presentations later on). They should be completing their log books (see template in PROJECTS section) at about the same time you finish the textbook unit.

Creating the PowerPoint presentations will take up all of your class time for the next two to three weeks. The students will need instructions on how to create PowerPoint presentations; copy/paste text and images from their log books, add sound, etc., from the Internet and add scanned images. The time needed for presentations will depend upon the size of your class. Plan on at least ten to fifteen minutes for each presentation.

Textbook review and post-testing will take one to two weeks. It has been several weeks since the students have worked in their textbooks; so, a day or two of review could be helpful. The test is rather long, so some students may take several days to complete it. The technology post-test will require one day in the computer lab. Staff can pull students one at a time to a quiet location for the CBA post-test.

We started this unit in mid-October and we did not complete it until late January.

Tools:

• A computer lab, preferably with a computer for every student.
• Word processing software, PowerPoint, and Internet access.
• Storage space for files. With scanned images, animation and sounds, some of the presentations may get rather large. You will need either a secure location on your Intranet or a Zip drive and Zip disks to store the students' presentations.
• LCD projector for projecting student presentations.

URLs:

We created a Web page with numerous links to sites where students could access information about the planets, animation, clip art, graphics and sound.

• Welcome to Astronomy for Kids
  http://www.dustbunny.com/afk/
• Astronomy Sight
  http://www.astronomysight.com/as/welcome.html
• The Space Place
  http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/index.shtml
• Journey into the Heavens
  http://library.thinkquest.org/28743/main.html
• The Online Planetarium Show Homepage
  http://library.thinkquest.org/3461/
• Star Journey
  http://nationalgeographic.com/features/97/stars/index.html
• Views of the Solar System
  http://www.solarviews.com
• Liftoff to Space Exploration
  http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/
• NASA Homepage
  http://www.nasa.gov

Assessment:

We administered a pre-/post- test of the science content; a pre-/post- Curriculum Based Assessment of each students reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension; and a pre-/post- test of their computer/technology skills.

Pre-/post- science content test:

Name _______________________ Date __________________

Astronomy

Pre-/Post- Test

Chapter 3, Motions of the Earth

1. Draw and label a diagram that shows how Earth’s rotation causes day and night. Write a short explanation of your diagram.
2. Why do the stars you see at night change during the year?
3. Which Earth motion determines the length of a day? Of a year?
4. Imagine a planet whose axis is at a 90° angle when compared with the plane of its orbit. (In other words the axis is not tilted.) Explain why this planet would not have changing seasons.

The table below lists information about six imaginary planets near an imaginary sun. Use the information in the table to answer questions 5-7. Explain and support your answers, using drawings when necessary.

5. Which planet(s) would have changing seasons? Which planet(s) would not?
6. On which planet(s) would the sun rise and set just once each year?
7. On which planet(s) would the sun reach the same midday altitude every day?

Chapter 4, The Moon

8. Sketch and label the sun, Earth, and moon in a solar eclipse. Include the shadows of both the moon and Earth. Then sketch a lunar eclipse.
9. Spring tides occur at what phase(s) of the moon? When do neap tides occur?
10. Describe the two kinds of eclipses that you could see from the moon. For each kind of eclipse, give the phase of the moon.
11. Compare the tides when the moon is closer to Earth in its orbit with tides when the moon is farther from Earth.
12. Sketch and label the moon’s waxing phases. Then draw the waning phases. How do the waxing phases compare with the waning phases?

Chapter 5, Exploring the Solar System

13. List the planets according to increasing distance from the sun.
14. List the planets in order of size, beginning with the smallest.
15. Why is it difficult to design a scale model for the distances and diameters of the planets that fits on one standard sheet of paper?
16. Classify the planets according to their surface type. Name those planets found in each classification.
17. List three moons in the solar system and the planets around which they revolve.
18. Describe one unusual feature of each planet.
19. Compare and contrast comets, asteroids, and meteors.

Vocabulary for Chapter 3, Motions of the Earth

Write the letter of the term in List A in front of the phrase in List B that best describes it.

List A:

1. Altitude
2. Day
3. Equinox
4. Revolution
5. Summer solstice
6. Year
7. Axis
8. Ellipse
9. Orbit
10. Rotation
11. Winter solstice

List B:

1. ____ The shape of Earth's orbit
2. ____ Earth’s spin on its axis
3. ____ Day when the sun has its lowest midday altitude of the year
4. ____ Period of time determined by Earth’s rotation
5. ____ An imaginary line around which an object rotates
6. ____ Day when the sun reaches its highest midday altitude of the year
7. ____ Movement of Earth in its orbit
8. ____ Period of time determined by Earth’s revolution
9. ____ The angle between a level line and a line pointing to an object in the sky
10. ____ Path of an object as it moves around another object
11. ____ A day when daylight and night are equal lengths

Vocabulary for Chapter 4, The Moon

Write the letter of the term in List A in front of the phrase in List B that best describes it.

List A:

1. Lunar eclipse
2. Solar eclipse
3. Universal law of gravitation
4. Penumbra
5. Umbra
6. Tide phases

List B:

1. Changes in sea level due to the moon’s gravitational pull are called ______________ .
2. A(n) _____________ occurs when the shadow of the moon falls on Earth.
3. The _____________ is the darkest part of the moon’s or Earth’s shadow.
4. Monthly changes in the appearance of the moon are called _________.
5. A(n) _____________ occurs when the moon passes through Earth’s shadow.
6. The _____________ is the lighter part of the moon’s or Earth’s shadow.
7. The _____________ states that each object in the Universe is attracted to all other objects.

Vocabulary for Chapter 5, Exploring the Solar System

Write the letter of the term in List A in front of the phrase in List B that best describes it.

List A

1. Mars
2. Asteroids
3. Pluto
4. Mercury
5. Jupiter
6. Neptune
7. Saturn
8. Venus
9. Uranus
10. Sun
11. Earth
12. Meteors
13. Comet

List B

1. ___ Planet that would float if you could put it in water
2. ___ Pieces of rock that burn up as they fall through the atmosphere
3. ___ Planet that has no atmosphere
4. ___ Dirty snowball
5. ___ Most are located between Mars and Jupiter
6. ___ Largest object in the solar system
7. ___ Is tipped over with its pole now facing the sun
8. ___ Has liquid water on its surface
9. ___ The largest planet
10. ___ Observed by Voyager 2 in August 1989
11. ___ A double planet
12. ___ Has polar ice caps made of carbon dioxide and water
13. ___ Planet with highest average temperature

Directions for CBA Pre-test:

CBA Pre-test Space Unit: Do stars move through space?

Use a stop watch to time the student reading the entire passage (278 words).

• Accuracy = (278 ­ errors) divided by 278
• Rate cwpm = (accuracy x 60 x 2.78) divided by total seconds

Allow the student to review the passage while answering the questions. Have the student answer orally; you write down the answer.

• Comprehension = (correct answers divided by 6) x 100

Pre-test CBA Reading:

Do stars move through space? If they do, then why do constellations always look the same? In fact, stars move through space at speeds hundreds of times faster than a jet plane. When you see a plane from a distance, it seems to cross the sky very slowly. The farther away the plane is, the slower it seems to move. But the nearest star is more than 40 trillion kilometers from Earth! At that distance, a star’s motion is too small to see without telescopes.

Of course, stars appear to move because Earth is moving. The stars move in a full circle once every 24 hours because Earth is rotating on its axis. Stars also circle the sky once each year as Earth orbits the sun. Finding constellations is easy once you understand the motions of the stars.

Looking south, the daily motion of stars is different from what you observe toward the north. In the south, stars move in large arcs, rising in the east and setting in the west. In the north, stars circle around Polaris. Stars close to Polaris move in such small circles that they never rise or set. These stars are called circumpolar stars. Circumpolar stars are visible all year, weather permitting.

You can observe the daily motion of the stars in the south in a period of an hour or two. Go out at 8 p.m. on a clear night and face south. Look up and choose a bright star. Sketch the position of your star compared to a landmark on the horizon. Then observe the same star again at 9 p.m. and at 10 p.m. Which way did the star move?

Pre-test CBA questions (with answsers in parentheses):

Name _________________ Date _____________

1. Do stars move through space faster than a jet plane? (yes)
2. What do circumpolar stars rotate around? (Polaris)
3. Why are circumpolar stars visible all year? (Because they move in such small circles)
4. If you want to observe the daily motion of the stars, why do you look to the south instead of the north? (Because they move in such large arcs you can see the motion)
5. In the south, are stars moving in a clockwise or counter clockwise direction? (Counter clockwise)
6. Why are star constellations in the south sometimes called seasonal constellations?
   (Because you can only see particular constellations at certain times of year. OR They rise and set).

Post-test CBA directions:

CBA Post-test: Space Unit
All the stars you see at night…

Use a stop watch to time the student reading the entire passage (307 words).

• Accuracy = (307 – errors) divided by 307
• Rate cwpm = (Accuracy x 60 x 3.07) divided by total seconds

Allow the student to review the passage while answering the questions. Have the student answer orally and you write down the answer.

• Comprehension = (Correct answers divided by 6) X 100

Post-test CBA reading:

All of the stars you see at night are part of the Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way contains about 200 billion stars. On a clear night, you might think that you can see millions of stars. Actually, you can see only about 3000 stars with your unaided eye. To understand why so few stars are visible, think about how you see a flashlight from a distance. At one meter, the flashlight is bright. At 50 meters, it appears dimmer. If the flashlight were far enough away, it would be too faint to see. For the same reason, you cannot see most of the stars in the Milky Way because they are too far away.

Astronomers measure distances to stars using the speed of light. Light travels at 300,000 kilometers per second. At this rate, sunlight takes eight minutes to reach your eyes. Thus, the distance to the sun is 8 light-minutes. Distances to stars are measured in light-years. A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year, about 9.5 trillion kilometers. The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light-years from Earth. The distance to Polaris is 680 light-years. When you look into space, you look into the past. The light you see from Polaris left the star long before Columbus set sail for America.

Parallax is the apparent shift in an object's position that is caused by the motion of the observer. You can see the parallax of your finger if you look at it only with your left eye and then only with your right eye. Your finger seems to move compared to the background. Try observing the parallax again with your finger closer to your eyes. How does the parallax change? You can observe the parallax of nearby stars with a telescope. The closer a star is, the greater is its parallax.

Post-test CBA questions (with answers in parentheses):

Name ____________________________ Date ___________

1. How fast does light travel? (300,000 km/sec)
2. How many stars are in the Milky Way? (2 billion)
3. There are two stars, two and three light-years from Earth. Which of these stars would have the greatest parallax? (two light years)
4. If you could look up and see Proxima Centauri, when would the light you see have left the star? (4.2 years ago)
5. Why does Mars have a greater parallax than Neptune? (Because it is closer)
6. Does the light from Venus or Saturn take longer to reach Earth? (Saturn)

Standards:

Learning Area: Scientific Concepts and Applications
Education Level: Middle
Content Standard: Earth Systems

Standard Specification:

A student shall demonstrate understanding of the structure of earth systems and the relative position and motion of objects in the solar system including moon phases and tides, seasons, eclipses, gravitational force, and planetary motion by:

1. Analyzing data to support or refute hypotheses by identifying patterns in data; and comparing results to known scientific theories, current models, or personal experience; and considering multiple interpretations of data;
2. Describing how a premise is supported by scientific concepts, principles, theories, or laws.

Large Processes and Concepts:

1. Communicate and defend a scientific argument
2. Formulate and revise scientific explanation and models using logic and evidence

Authors: Sharon Belanger, Joyce Strand and Robert Lloyd.

Submitted by Gitchi Gummi Collaboratory, Arrowhead "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology" Project, Dept. of Education, University of Minnesota Duluth.

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