Download Intermediate Lesson Plan

Cheerio for the Planets!
Building Towards
PE-MS-ESS1-3: Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the
solar system.
Science and Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models
 Develop and use a model to describe phenomena.
Science and Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data
 Analyze and interpret data to determine similarities and differences in findings
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Science and Engineering Practices: Mathematical and Computational Thinking
 Apply mathematical concepts and/or processes (e.g., ratio, rate, percent, basic
operations, simple algebra) to scientific and engineering questions and problems.
Disciplinary Core Idea: ESS1.B- Earth & Solar System
The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons,
and asteroids that are held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them.
Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
Time, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study
systems that are too large or too small
Crosscutting Concepts: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology
 Engineering advances have led to important discoveries in virtually every field of
science, and scientific discoveries have led to the development of entire industries and
engineered systems.
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.Math.Content.6.RP.A.1
 Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship
between two quantities.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.4
 Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions,
facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact,
adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.5
 Include multimedia components (e.g. graphics, images, music sound) and visual
displays in presentations to clarify information.
Instructional Note
This lesson requires students to engage in mathematical reasoning and works best if instructed
in conjunction with the mathematics teacher.
Driving Question: How do you study a system that won’t fit in the classroom?
Investigation 1: Considering Scale
Preparation:
Prior to class, instruct students to research how far their homes are from school.
Materials:
Copies of Readings
Instructional Sequence:
Begin by asking students to share how far their homes are from school. You can draw a rough
map on the board, or create a simple Google Map.
After students have had the chance to share their data point, select one of the farther points on
the class map, and ask “Is this home far from school?” Ask students how they judged whether
the point was far or not. Record their answers on the board. Next, add an additional data point
that is much farther than the one you originally selected. Ask students if they would still consider
the original point “far” from school. Ask students why their thinking did or did not change.
After eliciting student responses, have students do a quick write on the following prompt “What
information do we use to judge how far objects or places are from one another?” Use this quick
write to assess student thinking.
Now, begin to introduce the concept of scale. Ask students where they might have heard the
term scale before. Possible responses might include a scale used to measure weight, a music
scale, or a rating scale of 1-10. Based on the students’ responses, begin to craft a working
definition of the term “scale”. Guide students to something similar to the following: “In science
and engineering, scale can refer to a system of determining relationships between data.” Tell
students that scales are important in helping us make sense of information. Refer back to the
example of distance between home and school. The distance of the homes never changed, but
depending upon what scale we were using, whether or not the distance seemed “far” might
have changed.
You can post the working definition of “scale” in the classroom, and then have students refine it
as they make sense of the term throughout the lesson.
Break students into small groups, and using a jigsaw strategy, provide each group with a
reading about a different type of scale. Each group will be responsible for sharing responses to
the following questions with the rest of the class.
Sample Scale Contexts
Geologic time scale
Architectural models
Scale maps
Atomic scale
Guiding Questions
Describe the scale you read about.
What information does the scale make sense of?
What types of tools are needed to gather the information?
What types of relationships does the scale reveal?
Investigation 2: Categorizing Objects in Our Solar System
Materials:
● Chart paper
● Solar System Fact Sheets or Sorting Cards (*teacher must create)
● Paper/notebooks and pencils
● Computers with internet access
● NASA website: http://www.nasa.gov
● An example of a physical model such as a Globe or Volcano with pictures of the real
counterpart (if concrete examples are not on hand, a split screen pictures of model and
real object should suffice)
Preparation:
Construct a set of classroom “Planet Facts” cards. You should make enough so that every team
of two has at least on Planet Facts card for each planet. Great resources to use to create these
cards:
http://space-facts.com/planets/
http://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/facts/
http://www.ride.ri.gov/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Instruction-and-Assessment-World-ClassStandards/Assessment/NECAP/Released-Items/G8-ReferenceSheet-07-08.pdf
Also it may be helpful to get familiar with models and their limits for classroom discussion. Here
are some resources:
http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=50431
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/387006/scientific-modeling
For students who might be struggling, there are a number of great simulations that could be
used to augment this lesson. Here is a list of NASA vetted simulations:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/interactive.cfm
http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/
Instructional Sequence
Tell students that now that they’ve considered different examples of scale in various STEM
fields, they will focus on thinking about scale in the context of the solar system.
Have students think-pair-share the following prompt: What are different objects that we find
in our solar system?
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Planets
Moons
Comets, Asteroids, Meteors
Sun
Stars
After students have come up with a list of objects, ask students to use their science notebook to
jot down some ways that the objects are similar and different. You can use this to assess
student thinking.
Next, let students know that they will be given a set of Solar System Fact cards. Allow them time
to observe and read the information on each card. Then, provide students with the prompt:
What are different ways we can sort, categorize, and group objects in our solar system?
Encourage students to make a list and to draw from the similarities and differences they just
brainstormed. Some ideas/variables they may come up with may include:
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Size
Distance from sun (and each other)
Composition: chemistry, color, gases/atmosphere, etc.
Planetary motion: Length of day, year
Gravitational pull
Possibility of Life
Moons
Allow students to share their ideas on categorization. Create a student-generated list. Tell
students that they will be working on ways to better understand one of the variables mentioned
today.
Begin a brief discussion on models with the students. Possible prompt: What is a model in
science? Why are models used? Allow students to share their thoughts.
You can add to student thoughts by discussing how science and engineering both use models
as tools to help represent ideas and explanations. Models can take many different forms
(diagrams, drawings, physical replicas, mathematical representations, analogies, and computer
simulations), however, we will be focusing on physical replicas and measurements will be used
to develop model design.
Show an example of a physical model to students along with its real counterpart. For example,
you can show them a globe and then a satellite picture of planet Earth. Engage in a discussion
on models and their limits. Have them consider these items:
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What makes [the globe] an effective model, i.e., how does it resemble that which it
represents (planet Earth)?
What makes [the globe] an insufficient model, i.e., how does it differ from that which
it represents (planet Earth)?
How could we improve [the globe] as a model?
Second example: If the students are familiar with geological phenomena (volcanic activity), a
teacher can also use the ever-popular clay volcano with a screen shot of a real one and ask:
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How is the model volcano like a real volcano?
How is it not like a real volcano?
How could we make it more like a real volcano?
Refer to the student-generated list of solar system categorizations. Remind students that they
will be working on ways to begin the foundational work of modeling one of the variables
mentioned today. You may want to use the following prompts:
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How could we make models of some of your ideas to understand some of these
variables better?
Which of these categorizations could possibly be modeled to fit inside the
classroom? Explain.
Points to make with students:
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Size- can be a model inside the classroom using measurement conversions.
**Distance from sun (and each other)-can be a model inside the classroom using
measurement conversions.
Composition: chemistry, color, gases/atmosphere, etc. - may be challenging to represent
as an authentic model within the classroom limits.
Planetary motion: Length of day/rotation, year/revolution- may be challenging to
represent in an authentic and consistent way.
Gravitational pull - challenging to represent as an authentic model and if magnets are
used, there may be inaccuracies.
Possibility of Life- challenging to represent as an authentic model and current research
is inconclusive.
Moons- may be challenging to represent planets with various multiple moons within
scale.
Begin to focus in on one variable: Distance of each planet from the sun (and each other).
Ask students to work individually to create an annotated drawing of how they would represent
the distances between planets and the sun. Use this drawing to assess students’ prior
knowledge about distances in the solar system as well as their thinking about how to represent
that information. For students who may struggle with this task, you can create a scaffolded
worksheet that includes the names and images of the planets. Alternatively, you could have
students work in small groups to complete the drawing, but you will lose some of the richness of
an individual assessment activity.
Investigation 3: Technology and Models
Materials:
NASA webpage printouts: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/912/features/telescope_feature_912.html
Instructional Sequence:
Tell students that before moving on to creating their own models, they will first think about how
people obtain data that is used to build models. Ask students to work in small groups to
brainstorm some examples of tools that can be used to gather data about objects in the solar
system. Record student responses on the board.
After this short discussion, ask students to think about when each of the tools/technologies that
they listed were developed. Which do they think came first? Why? What do they think prompted
each advance?
Split students into small groups, and have them use the short article to create a mini-timeline of
advances in telescopes. They should include dates when possible, but also focus on what new
information was accessible with each new telescope.
Remind students that a telescope is just one tool used to learn about the solar system, but it
provides a great example of how scientific discovery and technological advances go together.
Engineers develop advances in technology that allow us to make increasingly more accurate
models.
Investigation 4: Establishing a Distance Scale for Planets
Materials:
● Solar System Fact Sheets or Sorting Cards (*teacher must create)
● Paper/notebooks and pencils
● Computers with internet access
● NASA website: http://www.nasa.gov
● Various everyday round objects (e.g. cheerios, tennis balls, coins, DVDs, basketballs,
frisbees, hula hoops, etc.)
● Yardsticks, rulers, measuring tapes
Instructional Sequence:
Remind students that they’ll be focusing on a single variable: distance. In order to do this they’ll
first have to tease out only the data they need. Using the Planet Facts cards, have the students
compile their data using the table below. Again, remind students that the information on these
cards comes from technology that has been refined over time.
Planet
Distance from the Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Once the students have filled out the table, explain to them that you’ve mocked up a model not
for distance, but for planetary size, and that that may help them in the planning of their distance
models.
Inform them that you’ll be using Pluto as a reference point to figure out how you could model the
size of the Earth’s diameter. (This is a great time to talk about why we no longer consider Pluto
a planet). Use the following steps as guides:
1) Give every student 10 cheerios.
2) Have everyone hold one cheerio in the air. Inform them that that cheerio represents a
scale model of Pluto.
3) Write the “2,300 km” on the board. Tell them that Pluto is approx. 2,300 km in diameter,
and in our first scale model one cheerio will represent that diameter. For reference,
Pluto’s diameter is roughly the distance from Boston to Miami. Seems long, but that’s an
entire planet.
4) If we’re using the scale of 1 cheerio = 2,300 km, how many cheerios would we need to
represent the diameter of the Earth? Have students show their work and complete the
Earth calculation on their own, and then pass it in. Remind them to refer to their Planet
Facts card to find the diameter of Earth. (It’s 5.5 cheerios)
Use this as an opportunity to assess students’ math skills. If you see that students are
struggling, you can do a few more examples together or provide a worksheet to support
their calculations.
5) Have students work in small groups to complete the chart.
Now that they’ve examined a way in which to use small objects to make a scale model of much
larger ones, explain that their challenge is now to work in small groups to figure out a way to use
a different, round object to construct a scale model of the average distances the eight planets
are from the sun. (At this point you could choose to have some students come up to measure
the various objects you’ve amassed, or simply list the measurements). Remind them that the
entire solar system model must fit within the confines of your ___ x ___ classroom.
To get students started, you can hold up two of the objects available to them. Select one of the
larger objects and one smaller objects. Ask students to talk with their group about which object
might make for a better basis for their scale and why. As students discuss, walk around the
room and listen to the discourse. They should also jot notes in their science notebook as they
discuss. This conversation is a way for you to assess student understanding and to redirect their
thinking if needed.
Have your students fill in the following table with the data they’ll be using in order to construct
their model:
Planet
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Distance from the Sun
Scaled Distance from The Sun
1 (whatever object they choose)
Things to remind students as they construct their scaled table:
● They are not attempting to represent the size of the planets
● They are not attempting to represent the distance of the planets from each
other.
● Regardless of the total number of the objects they choose, their equivalency
from The Sun to Neptune must fit within their classroom. Inform them that
they’re more than welcome to use yardsticks and/or measuring tapes during the
construction of their table so as to ensure a good classroom fit.
● If they need to, they should refer back to how we scaled the Earth using one
cheerio to represent Pluto. We are essentially doing the same thing but using the
object of their choice to represent the distance from The Sun to Mercury.
At this point, you could ask students with high interest to return to the variables they listed in
investigation 2 and begin to think about how they might model those relationships. How would
those models differ from the distance model they just created? Why wouldn’t the model they
just created work for properties such as gravitational pull?
Alternatively, you could ask these students to apply their thinking about scale to different
disciplines. For example, you could return to the example of a geological time scale and ask
them to investigate how that relationship could be represented.
Oral Presentations
To culminate the lesson, have each team create short oral presentations. Review the
Presentation Rubric with students so they know how they will be assessed. Be sure that
students will not only share what they chose to use but why they chose to use it.
To add to the presentations, place The Sun on the board (or in a corner) and use that as the
starting point for the teams to demonstrate the scale they created.
Wrap-Up
Once the students have had a chance to experience the scales derived by their classmates, lead
the group in a discussion about the benefits, challenges, and limitations of the scales they’ve
created. Key question prompts:
● How did our scale models help us to better understand the size of our solar
system?
● Can you think of any similar systems or sets of objects that we could better
understand through the creation of a similar scale?
● What were the limitations of our calculations?
● What (if anything) would you have done differently if instead of using our
classroom we used our gym? Or playground?
● What can’t our scaled calculations help us to better understand?
● Could we improve our model by having the planet’s sizes also be appropriately
scaled? Why or why not?
● What did you like about this activity? What didn’t you like?
● Let’s return to the definition of Scale that we originally created. Is there anything
you would change now that you’ve thought more deeply about this topic?
During the discussion, students should take individual notes to create a recap of what they’ve
done, what they’ve learned, and how they could improve upon these new understandings
moving forward.