Download Using Children`s Tradebooks in Science

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Bashaer Alkhafaji
Nsci 232
May 21, 2011
Using Children’s Tradebooks in Science
M-Portfolio Component #1
There are many children’s books that can be useful to teachers in teaching
students about earth science, specifically the solar system. I decided to do a lesson
plan on The Magic School Bus: Lost In the Solar System by Joanna Cole (1990). I
prepared three activities that are relatable to the book, allowing students to connect
what they learned in the book to the activities done in class.
About The Magic School Bus: Lost In The Solar System
The story starts off with Ms. Frizzle teaching her class about the solar system
before going on their field trip to the Planetarium. Janet, Arnold’s cousin was visiting her
school for the day kept on bragging about herself which made the other students really
annoyed of her. As they get to the Planetarium, they discover that it is closed. As they
were driving back to school, the bus turned into a rocket and they flew off to outer
space. The bus takes them to the Moon where they learn how it has less gravity than
the Earth. Then they passed by the Sun where they learned that it is the largest and
most luminous. After passing by the Sun, they passed by Mercury and learned that it is
similar to Earth’s moon. The next planet they passed was Venus. The teacher told them
that it is the second planet from the Sun and that it is very hot there. After passing
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Venus, they stopped at planet Mars. They learned that it had weird shaped moons and
how it might have had water in its channels long ago. They ended up landing on Mars
and saw a huge dust storm. Then they went back to the bus and were told by Ms.
Frizzle that the planets they saw were the inner planets and that they will be going to
the outer planets by going through the asteroid belt. The bus’s taillight was hit by an
asteroid and Ms. Frizzle went out to fix it putting the bus on autopilot. She continued to
teach the students about the asteroids, and all of a sudden her tether line broke. Then
somehow the autopilot functioned improperly making the bus fly away leaving their
teacher behind. The children panicked because they thought that they will be lost in
space forever. Janet got up and went to look through their teachers things and found an
information about each planet. As the bus kept flying from one planet to another, she
read aloud what the teacher wrote about the planets. They saw and learned of Jupiter
the gas giant. After which, they saw Saturn and learned that it had thousand of rings
around it. Another planet they saw was Uranus. They learned that it is a gaseous planet
with gray rings and moons. The last planet that they visited is Pluto. The children
noticed that as they were passing Pluto that they were leaving the Solar System. Janet
decided to flip through their teacher’s book and found instructions all about the autopilot.
The students were happy and gave credit to Janet for saving the day. They used the
instructions to set the bus to go back to the asteroids belt so that they can save their
teacher. Once they found their teacher and brought her into the bus, they headed back
to Earth. They went back to class and made charts and a model of the solar system. As
the students were going home from school, they all told their parents about their day in
the solar system, but their parents did not seem to believe them.
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Classroom Activities
The book discussed so many interesting topics that I decided to choose three
ideas and made them into activities. The book discussed Sun, Earth, and Moons orbits,
moon phases, and the solar system. Before I begin the first activity, I will engage my
students in a class discussion of what we know about Sun, Earth, and Moons orbits.
Before I begin the second activity, I will engage my students in a class discussion of
what we know about the moon phases. Before I begin the third activity, I will engage my
students in a class discussion of what we know about the planets in the solar system.
Glec’s:
E.ST.05.21 Describe the motion of planets and moons in terms of rotation on axis and
orbits due to gravity.
(State of Michigan, Department of Education. 2009)
Sun, Earth, and Moons orbits
Provide students with a flash light and two different sized balls representing the moon
and the Earth (The flash light represents the Sun). Put the students in pairs of two and
have them enact how the Sun, Moon, and Earth orbit. Have them point the flash light on
the Earth when it is day time. This will give students a better idea of how they each work
around each other (UC Regents, 2009).
E.ST.05.22 Explain the phases of the moon.
(State of Michigan, Department of Education. 2009)
Moon Phases
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This activity will be on going for about a month. In order for students to better
understand the phases of the moon, I will have students record in their calendars the
phases of the moon. Students will be required to look for the moon every morning
and night (Professor Hartshorn, 2011). Since the students in the story landed on the
moon, it would be interesting for them to see how the phases change throughout the
month.
Model of the Solar System
E.ST.M.1 Solar System- The sun is the central and largest body in our solar system.
Earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes other planets and
their moons, as well as smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets.
E.ST.05.11 Design a model that of the solar system that shows the relative order and
scale of the planets, dwarf planets, comets, and asteroids to the sun.
(State of Michigan, Department of Education. 2009)
Teacher will have the students make a model of the solar system. The Teacher
will have the students put black construction paper a card board box( for the
background) . The teacher will also have the students cut out the shapes of the sun and
the planets according to their sizes. Also, Students will cut out stars made out of foil and
glue them on the cardboard box. Then the students will tape string to the cut out Sun
and the planets and put them in correct order on the card board box. The students in
the book did this activity at the end of the story and students will be able to connect
what they learned to making this model.
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The Magic School Bus: Lost In the Solar System is a great book when
teaching students about the solar system. The book can open children’s wild
imagination into believing that they are actually one of the characters in the story
visiting the planets. The illustrations were depicted very well that the information
that the teacher provided was very clear and interesting. A student who is a
visual learner will learn a lot from this book. The only problem with this book is
that it had information that is outdated. Couple years ago, scientist discovered
that Pluto is not a planet and that it is considered a dwarf planet. The author
should republish this book with the new facts. Subsequent to reading The Magic
School Bus: Lost In the Solar System and completing the three activities,
students will see that the study of the solar system as a fascinating and
interesting that they will want to learn more about it.
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Works Cited:
Hartshorn, P. (n.d.). Moon Phase Journal. Retrieved May 21, 2011
Joanna, C. (1990). The Magic School Bus: Lost In The Solar System. New York, NY:
Scholastic Inc.
Michigan, State of. (2009, 1). Grade Level Content Expectations - Science. Retrieved 5
2011, from Michigan Department of Education: www.michigan.gov/mde
Strange, . (1999, February 13). Solar System Paper Mobile in a Box. In Directions for
Solar System Art Projects. Retrieved May 20, 2011, from
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/space/project1.htm
UC Regents. (2009). What Makes Day and Night? The Earth's Rotation. In Eye on the
Sky: Lesson Plan. Retrieved May 21, 2011, from
http://www.eyeonthesky.org/lessonplans/05sun_daynight.html