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Selected Lessons
 This weeks selected lesson is a science lesson we will be doing this week in class. It uses a dynamic website to learn about and explore the planets of our solar system. It helps students in their understanding of the world outside of our planet. Upon completion of this lesson, we will delve into a project where students create a civilization on a planet of their choice. They will need to create living conditions for humans on their planet and then develop a government and society on their planet. This will be an interdisciplinary lesson incorporating science, social studies, math and ELA.






Unit Topic: Space

Grade: 5

Lesson Topic: Planets and our Solar System



Lesson Objectives: The student will be able to identify and name all the planets of our solar system through an interactive website, while also becoming familiar with NASA missions on given planets.

Instructional Technique: Students will work in partners on a worksheet that corresponds to the website they will be using.


Instructional Materials:

Students: computers, writing utensil, worksheet

Teachers: access to enough computers for class, prepared worksheet for students

Theoretical Perspective: By learning about the planets in our solar system students will enhance their understanding of the world beyond our planet. The website being used also shows NASA missions, showing students how our society is furthering our knowledge about our solar system and the galaxy in which we live. This lesson is the first of many which will lead up to a project. In this project students will chose a planet to create a society on. They will have to decide how humans will adapt to that planet and its conditions, how to create a colony with a successful government and decide who will be allowed to go to this new planet.

Procedure:

Introduction:

  1. Students will watch a brief clip of a video describing the Mars One Mission (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-one-way-trip-to-mars/).

  2. Students will turn and talk about the idea of living on another planet and what it would be like and how they would need to adapt.

Development:

  1. After turn and talk students will break into partners pre-chosen by the teacher.

  2. Students will explore website spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/solar-system-explorer/game.swf (based on worksheet) by finding and reporting information on each planet.

  3. After finding information on each planet, students will explore each NASA mission on given planets (based on worksheet).

  4. To finish the worksheet, students will write down three facts they found interesting about a specific planet or NASA mission.

Closure:

  1. Group discussion on interesting facts students found. Discussion will lead into what planet students would choose to set up a community on, why that planet, and accommodations humans would need to live on it. This discussion will aide in the future project.


Adaptations for Different Learners: Students will be in assigned partners. When teacher assigns partners, students will be partnered with someone who will best accommodate their needs, socially and academically. (Example: Some high performing children will be paired with lower performing children while also ensuring they can be social with one another). For students who are English language learners, the pictures that correspond to each planet will help them to identify the planets with more ease.


Homework: None given with this lesson. Project soon to follow

Evaluation: Students will be evaluated by completion of their worksheet and being apart of the active classroom discussions as well as turn and talk discussions. Further, they will be evaluated upon completion of their project and their knowledge of their chosen planet based on the adoptions they have chosen to create their society.