Discovering Life Beyond Our Planet

EXPLORE

For this space mission, you will be assigned team members to go on this great adventure. The team will consist of 3 individuals. The group is responsible for creating and maintaining a journal of all your findings. Once your missions have been completed, you will be reporting back to Earth (ie: your Classroom) through a video. I hope your ready for what lies ahead. Remember, the sky is not longer the limit!!! Good Luck! 

Before you begin your journey, your group should take just a few minutes to review the following video. Once you have all watched it you can think, pair, and share with your group members. Have one person write a brief summary about what you discussed and place it in your journal.

I would recommend designating one person, preferrably with good, easy to read hand-writing, in the group to be the record keeper for the group portion of the Scientific Journal. If I cannot read what you have written in your journal I will not be able to give you full credit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_bhhpc9jPLs

MISSION 1

Good Day Cadets!! It is time to begin your first mission for NASA. Your first assignment: to explore the central object or our solar system, the Sun. Together, as a group, you must visit the following website and learn about the sun and its features. Your goal is to discover what contributions the sun makes for our solar system. Once you have reviewed the website, you will discuss your findings among your team members. You will need to answer the following questions as a group on one sheet or paper to be placed in your journal. Read the entire article as a group and watch the videos. The last video is a simulation that you will need to take part in. 

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/our_sun.htm

  Question 1: How many minutes does it take for light from the sun to reach Earth?

  Question 2: When did the sun begin to produce its own light and heat? How did this happen?

  Question 3:What are solar flares and what are some effects that they can have on Earth?

  Question 4: What is a solar eclipse? What relationships between the sun, moon, and earth make this phenomena possible?

MISSION 2:

Great Job Cadets! Now that you have learned about the Sun and how it effects the planets of our solar system, I think you are ready for your next assignment. During this phase of your training, you can take off your heavy space gear and relax, your next mission is not quite a world away. You will be returning back to NASA for a brief period to learn about the place you call home, Earth. What is it that makes Earth so different from the rest of the planets? Well, if you didn't already know, you are about to find out! Check out the websites below to learn about some key aspects that allow Earth to sustain an abundance of life.

MISSION 3

Now it is time for you to embark on your last and most exciting adventure! This mission will have each one of your go off on your own personal mission. The time has come to start exploring the rest of the planets in our solar system. Each of you will be traveling to two of the planets in our solar system. One of you will be visiting Mercury and Venus; one of you will be visiting Jupiter and Saturn; and one of you will be exploring Uranus and Neptune. You will all meet up on Mars where you will finish your mission together. 

You may decide as a group who will be going to which planets. Once you have arrived on your planets, keep a scientific log (To be discussed in class) of the information that you have discovered. The information in this log will help you when you create your group video. 

Mercury/Venus (Individual)

Reading:

 http://www.universetoday.com/33059/inner-planets/

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/inner-planets 

Interactive Links: 

http://www.childrensmuseum.org/cosmicquest/mercury_spacecraft.html#mariner10

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/kids/index.cfm

Jupiter/Saturn (Individual)

Reading:

http://www.universetoday.com/33292/the-outer-planets/3/

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/outer-planets 

Interactive Links:

http://www.childrensmuseum.org/cosmicquest/mercury_spacecraft.html#mariner10

Neptune/Uranus (Individual)

Reading:

http://www.universetoday.com/33292/the-outer-planets/3/

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/outer-planets 

Interactive Links:

http://www.childrensmuseum.org/cosmicquest/mercury_spacecraft.html#mariner10

Mars (Group)

Interactive Links:

http://www.childrensmuseum.org/cosmicquest/mercury_spacecraft.html#mariner10

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

EXPLAIN:

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Your team has successfully finished your mission! Your next task is to report back to Earth using the classroom as your NASA newsroom. The teacher will be creating different props that you can use to turn your classroom into the NASA Newsroom. As a group you will decide what information will be reported to Earth (your classmates). Every member of your group must participate in the presentation. You must at least mention the following:

• Information about the sun and why it is vital to our solar system and to our planet Earth in particular.
• What information you discovered that allows the Earth to be able to sustain life.
• Elements that each planet has that makes it unstable for life.

ELABORATE:

You have discovered that life cannot be sustained on any planet's in our solar system other than Earth. The next part of this lesson is going to be done using our imagination and creativity. You will be pretending that while you were on your missions, you happened to discover a new planet in our Solar System! This planet is going to be one that can sustain life. We are going to use the information that we have leaned throughout the week about the planets to create a 3-D model of our new planet. You will be responsible for naming your planet and giving a brief description of its characteristics. The teacher will be providing you with balloons and paper mache which will be used to create the surface of the planet. You can make it as big or small as you would like. Then, you will be painting and labeling the surface area of the planet. Remember to use the information that you have gathered to determine what characteristics are essential for your planet. The following Websites will show you pictures and a step by step process for using paper mache. WE WILL BE DOING THIS AS A WHOLE CLASS ON THE LAST DAY. But if you would like to review the video you can to give you a better understanding of what it is exactly we will be doing. 

http://www.instructables.com/id/Papier-Mache-Planets/step7/Im-ready-for-my-closeup/

EVALUATION:

Your grade will be consisted of the information that is presented in the video and the Scientific Journal that you will be turning in to the teacher after the missions have been completed. If you would like to review the detailed content area to be graded you can do so by looking at the rubric located on the Evaluation Page of this WebQuest. 

Journals (1 for the entire group):

• Must be neat and organized and contain all of the information stated throughout the lesson. 
• First page needs to be a cover page with all of the group members names on it.
• Needs to have the summary of the first video that you watched and discussed in the beginning of this lesson.
• Needs to have the answers to the question for Mission 1.
• Needs to contain all of the information that you discovered while on your missions and the important facts and data that you gathered. This information can be presented in which ever fashion is easy for you as long as it is organized and easy to understand. 

Report/Video (Group Presentation):

• Each member must participate
• Must be presented as if you were in the NASA Newsroom relaying your discoveries for the first time to the rest of the world.
• Must include accurate and appropriate information about the importance of the sun, earth's unique characterisitcs, and information about each planet.
• This is a creative assignment and the teacher will be flexible with the manner in which you present the materials.

If you have any questions pease do not hesitate to ask!