Download Lesson #5: Ch 3, Section 3, The Inner Planets

Lesson #5: Ch 3, Section 3, The Inner Planets
Author: Edward Benish
Date created: 03/02/2011 3:45 PM EDT ; Date modified: 04/14/2011 11:20 AM EDT
VITAL INFORMATION
Date
2/25/11
Time
Period 2, 9:00-9:43
Subject(s)
Astronomy, Science
Grade/Level
Grade 8
Content Objective
Students will be able to name the planets, in order, beginning from the Sun
Students will be able to compare and contrast the inner (terrestrial) planets
Students will create a project displaying their knowledge of a planet and display it in two forms for evaluation,
powerpoint/power and a research paper.
Standards
PA- Pennsylvania Academic Standards
Subject: Science and Technology (outdated; see new version above)
Area 3.4: Physical Science, Chemistry and Physics
Grade/Course 3.4.7: Grade 7
Standard D.:
Describe essential ideas about the composition and structure of the universe and the earth’s place in it.
•Compare various planets’ characteristics.
•Describe basic star types and identify the sun as a star type.
•Describe and differentiate comets, asteroids and meteors.
•Identify gravity as the force that keeps planets in orbit around the sun and governs the rest of the movement of the solar system and the
universe.
•Illustrate how the positions of stars and constellations change in relation to the Earth during an evening and from month to month.
•Identify equipment and instruments that explore the universe.
•Identify the accomplishments and contributions provided by selected past and present scientists in the field of astronomy.
•Identify and articulate space program efforts to investigate possibilities of living in space and on other planets.
Rationale
The students need to understand and compare the various planets' characteristics in order to understand Earth's closest
neighbors. I have chosen to do a powerpoint, worksheets, and a project that they will work on for the next week in class and
at home.
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES
For Teacher
Attachments:
1. Inner Planet Worksheetspg 188-192
2. Inner Planets Ppt
3. Planet Project Rubric1 per student, with extras.
For Students
Textbook, notebook, pencil, materials from teachers
PROCEDURES (Lesson Structure)
Transition/motivation
We will start out by reviewing ideas about the Sun and the solar system revolving around it. We will go through again the
history, quickly, and figure out who's ideas we are the widely accepted ones at this point.
In the previous lesson, Lesson #4, we did not get past the green house effect, therefore this is a continuum of the
'supplemental' material that could have been presented yesterday.
Behavioral Objectives
Given a list of characteristics of the inner planets, the student will be able to identify and match up which characteristic goes
with which planet with 100% accuracy. Given the data and criterion listed in the powerpoint, the students will be able to
create a presentation and paper on a given planet within the next week.
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Organizer
Review from last class/ Discussion
Powerpoint with notes
Worksheets highlighting certain questions only
Introduction of project
Sequence of Lesson
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Review of previous lesson/ideas (4 minutes)
Transition into power point presentation with notes (15 minutes) [19]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB8sKobdKCw
Quick verbal quiz based on characteristics given by me, with help from notes (3 minutes) [22]
Transition to worksheets, in either pairs or individually (18 minutes) [40]
Conclude with distribution of Planet Project Rubric and explanation (3 minutes) [43]
Next Class: Review and watch 400 years through the telescope movie. Pause halfway to discuss.
Assessment Strategies
To understand their knowledge of all the inner planets, I will have a 5 question quiz for them as a bell ringer in the next class.
I will also spot check their worksheet packet, but the main way of assessing in this lesson and the next few days will be
through the quality of their planet project and paper. This project is out of 135 points, which is a lot for this class.
Closure
Transition to next lesson
Introduce planet project, specifying that we will go over it in great detail tomorrow to ensure understanding.
Assessment
Short quiz on main concepts next class period, through a project using visual and paper assessments
Homework Assignment
Finish inner planet worksheet packet
Lesson Analysis and
Reflection
This lesson went well because the students are generally interested in the solar system, especially when Earth is involved.
They have great insight into the solar system and I feel that this project will allow them to dive deeper into the solar system
and showcase their skills in two ways instead of a typical exam style assessment. My planning was solid for this and I plan on
having a solid discussion and explanation of the project in the next class. I learned that students like to talk, as my discussion
parts of the lesson are always the best and they get the kids engaged and on task. My students learned the objectives that I set
out and it was apparent through their HW responses the next day. Mr. Smith led that class period and he used it as a quiz
grade. The students only missed a few here and there, but generally understood the main concepts I was trying to get them to
grasp. I will make this lesson more engaging by possibly making and bringing in a scale model of the solar system. They can
then see the size differences in planets compared to each other, as well as seeing their distance from one another and the sun
in our solar system.
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