Download Solar System Unit Plan

Unit Plan Template
Note: Type in the gray areas.
Unit Author
First and Last Name
Shaye Blevins
Author's E-mail Address
[email protected]
Course Name(s)
LTEC
Course Number(s)
4100
Course Section(s)
.025
School City, State, Zip
UNT Denton, TX 76203
Instructor Name(s):
Gerald Knezek
Unit Overview
Unit Plan Title
The Solar System
Curriculum-Framing Questions
How would you explain the Earth’s location to somebody
who was unfamiliar with our Solar System traveling here
from another system?
Essential Question
What is the Sun made of?
Name the 8 planets of our Solar System. What is Pluto?
Unit Questions
Describe the orbit of the planets around the Sun. Of the
Moon around the Earth.
Unit Summary
Students will be able to describe the Sun’s composition, name the planets, and be familiar
with the orbits of the planets around the Sun and the Moon around the Earth.
Subject Area(s): (List all subjects that apply)
Science, option to include Social Studies through dates of historical significance.
Grade Level (Click boxes of all grade levels that apply)
K-2
6-8
ESL
Gifted and Talented
I N T E L ®
T E A C H
T O
© 2001 Intel. All rights reserved.
3-5
9-12
Resource
Other:
T H E
F U T U R E
1
Student Objectives/Learning Outcomes
Students will understand the Sun’s composition and classification as a star.
Students will be able to identify the 8 planets of the Solar System and classify Pluto as a
dwarf planet.
Students will be able to demonstrate the orbit and relative positions and distances of each
planet around the Sun through group activities, in class presentations, and an independent
project.
Students will become familiar with the orbit of the Moon around the Earth.
Students will demonstrate understanding of the characteristics of the planets in our Solar
System.
Targeted State Frameworks/Content Standards/Benchmarks
Science TEKS grade 3 114.12 (b)(8)(B-D)
Social Studies – making connections/reviewing important historical dates.
Procedures
Direct instruction from textbooks and PowerPoint’s.
Watch videos, look at pictures, and play games included in the NASA quest website.
Explore the Solar System through www.kidsastronomy.com to learn about characteristics of
the planets and create a poster or brochure advertising a favorite planet.
Build a virtual Solar System at www.kidsastronomy.com
Real time observation activities. Students will use Celestia software to observe planetary orbit
patterns in real time, exploring these patterns during dates of historical significance.
Real time observation activities. Students will use the naval observatory website to see what
the moon looked like on their date of birth as well as on dates of historical significance.
Class activity. Students will participate in “Estimate the Distance Between the Earth and
Moon” activity in class.
Youtube video – They Might Be Giants: Why does the Sun Shine?
Build a creative model of the Solar System, including general planetary orbits in relation to the
sun and at least one visual characteristic of each planet to distinguish it from the others.
Earth’s moon must be included. One moon from each planet may be included for extra points.
At the end of the thematic unit of study, students will answer the essential question in the form
of a short letter or journal and include a map to Earth for the alien to follow.
Approximate Time Needed (Example: 45 minutes, 4 hours, 1 year, etc.)
1-2 weeks
Prerequisite Skills
Basic knowledge on using a computer. Students will also need to be taught how to use the
Celestia program effectively.
I N T E L ®
T E A C H
T O
© 2001 Intel. All rights reserved.
T H E
F U T U R E
2
Materials and Resources Required For Unit
Technology – Hardware (Click boxes of all equipment needed.)
Camera
Laser Disk
Computer(s)
Printer
Digital Camera
Projection System
DVD Player
Scanner
Internet Connection
Television
VCR
Video Camera
Video Conferencing Equip.
Other:
Technology – Software (Click boxes of all software needed.)
Database/Spreadsheet
Image Processing
Desktop Publishing
Internet Web Browser
E-mail Software
Multimedia
Encyclopedia on CD-ROM
Web Page Development
Word Processing
Other: Celestia
Printed
Materials
Textbook, books about space and the planets readily available for students
to use during projects and independent reading.
Art and writing supplies or computer software for brochures or poster and
final journal and map.
Supplies
Supplies for “Distance between Earth and Moon” activity
PowerPoint on the Solar System
http://quest.nasa.gov/index.html - NASA Quest
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm - Kids Astronomy,
exploring the Solar System
Internet
Resources
http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/time/moon-phaseimages?searchterm=moon+phase+images – Naval Observatory Website
which includes searchable moon phases.
http://www.proteacher.org/a/35552_Estimation_of_distance_between_earth_
and_the_moon.html – Instructions for “Estimate the Distance Between Earth
and the Moon” Activity.
http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/ - A simpler real time simulator of the Solar System
for students who struggle with Celestia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbgul1NpEA8 – They Might Be Giants Why Does the Sun Shine? As shown on Nickelodeon’s Kablaam.
Others
Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction
I N T E L ®
T E A C H
T O
© 2001 Intel. All rights reserved.
T H E
F U T U R E
3
Allow all students to work in small pre-assigned groups on projects so that
students who need help will have a partner to help them without feeling
singled out.
Resource
Student
Pair students in groups in the way you would prepare guided reading groups
so that students who need extra help or accommodations can be helped
together. This idea can also apply to gifted students who would study higher
level material in groups.
For the end of unit project, resource students will be able to work in partners
to make their projects. They may also come after school on certain days to
get help with their projects or any concepts they do not understand.
Any other accommodations that apply as according to law and that students
specific needs.
Include study of the moons of other planets as well as spacial anomalies.
Gifted
Student
Option to participate in higher level thinking activities from various websites
(ex: NASA Quest includes games for students through the high school level.
Gifted students could be encouraged to explore games and do research
based on higher level topics and objectives)
For the end of unit project, gifted students will build a model of the Solar
System based on a specific time period, using Celestia, NASAQuest, and
other internet or print sources. These students will also include a brief
summary of the time period they built and describe why this time period was
important to them or to history.
Student Assessment
End of unit project where students make a creative representation of the Solar System,
including all the planets, their relative locations and orbits around the Sun, and at least one
visual characteristic of each planet, which will be described planet by planet in list format on a
separate sheet of paper. Students should also include Earth’s moon, but may include the
moons of other planets (names of moons and coinciding planets on paper) for extra points.
The projects must display creative thinking and will be presented to the class, with each
student choosing four of the planets on their model and telling the class why they made each
planet look the way it does (essentially describing a visual characteristic of 4 planets).
However, students may use any medium they choose and the projects may be 2 or 3
dimensional.
Page 4 of 4