LESSON PLAN: WebQuest Solar System Colonization Project 2000

Teacher: Vicki Oleson                    School: Northern University Middle School City, State: Cedar Falls, Iowa  Curriculum Area: Science Grade Level: 6 Video Number: 026iams

PURPOSE: 
The overall project goals will be listed first, the specific activity goals for the videotaped lesson will be listed second.

1. Project Unit Goals:

Processing Goals:

Students will develop the following thinking skills:

• Comparing

• Summarizing

• Constructing support

Students will develop the following reasoning skills:

• Decision-making

• Problem solving

• Investigation (historical and projective)

Students will develop the following collaborative skills:

• Accepting multiple points of view

• Providing input

• Making and supporting group decisions

Content Goals:
Students will know:

• Names and locations of the nine planets of our solar system

• Basic characteristics of planets and moons

• Distance relationships between the planets using astronomical units as a measure

• Cause and effects of seasons

• How various planets compare in relation to density

• How various planets compare in relation to size

• The effects of gravity on orbiting bodies

Technology Goals:
Students will:

• Gain understanding of basic operations such as use of the server and use of software

• Use PowerPoint to communicate information and ideas effectively

• Use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources

• Use technology resources for problem solving and making informed decisions

• To synthesize data collected previously into a list of ten basic requirements for humans to survive.

• Rank the requirements in their order of importance.

• Using data previously collected, decide which locations in our solar system could possibly be adapted to meet the requirements for survival.

• In the role of astronomer, meteorologist, geologist, biologist, or psychologist/sociologist, use Internet resources to gather data about possible locations in the solar system to colonize

DESCRIPTION:
During a unit taught at the sixth grade level on the universe, students are given a task that will require them to gather, organize, analyze, and interpret data related to the livability of various planets and moons in the solar system. Then students work on teams in different roles to make decisions about where to build a space station. Students examine advantages and disadvantages of various locations and make decisions based on supporting evidence. Students also determine what adaptations would have to be made for humans to live in that environment. Students then collaborate to create a multimedia presentation that supports their choice of location for a space station based on evidence from their research.

WebQuest Description  View WebQuest

Introduction
In a futuristic setting in which overpopulation has caused catastrophic problems for our planet, students will be asked to explore two questions: Where should a space colony be built? And what adaptations will be needed to support life at that location?

Task
Each student assumes the role of astronomer, meteorologist, geologist, psychologist/sociologist, or biologist. As a team, they research and report on the question of where to build a colony and what adaptations will need to be made.

Process Overview
To complete their task and answer their questions, students will:

• As a class, decide what is necessary to sustain life.

• As a team, investigate our solar system and decide on a location that has the greatest possibility for sustaining life.

• As a team, determine the adaptations that will need to be made to the environment through the space station to sustain life on your chosen planet.

• As a team, create a PowerPoint presentation to describe where they think a colony should be built and why.

Steps in the Process
Before students start the task, during large group instruction students will:

1. Participate and complete the four missions of The Great Solar System Rescue
   (Tom Snyder Productions). Completing the missions will:

• introduce students to many places in the solar system

• provide students with background information about the terrestrial planets and the gas giants and their moons from a geologists perspective

• provide students with background information about the weather and atmospheric condition of places in our solar system from a meteorologists perspective

• provide students with background information about scientific discoveries made about our solar system historically

• provide students with background information about locations, distances, rotations and orbits of places in our solar system from an astronomer's point of view

2. Students must complete the Astronomical Units Activity. (see graphic organizer)

• Completing this activity will help students understand distances in our solar system

3. Students must complete the Size of the Planets Activity (p. 47 GSSR)

• Completing this activity will help students understand the size of various planets and make comparisons between their size and the size of the earth.

4. Students must complete the Reasons for Seasons Activity (p. 296 Science Is) (see graphic organizer)

• Completing this activity will help students understand why earth has seasons and make comparisons between earth and other places in the solar system

5. Students must complete a lesson on evaluating Internet sites in the Media Center.
   

6. Students must complete The Pull of Gravity (p. 124 Science Is) (see graphic organizer)

• Completing this activity will help students understand the relationship between mass and gravity

7. Students must complete Popping Ping-Pong Balls (p. 55 Science Is) (see graphic organizer)

• Completing this activity will help students compare the density of different planets compared to the density of water

Students will determine what is necessary to sustain life
Questions to answer:

• Students will be the resource and answer the following question: As you go through a day what do you need? Make a list of those things. (See graphic organizer Survival Stuff #1)

• What do experts agree are basic requirements for human survival? (see graphic organizer)

• What research has been done on survival? Has anyone been able to colonize an inhospitable place on earth successfully? (see graphic organizer)

• How do distances play into the survival question? If colonizers would encounter problems, would returning to earth be possible? (In space, you could travel 25,000 miles per hour). (see graphic organizer)

• When students finish, they will come together as a group and decide what they need to survive. This will be a basis for them to use as they explore different locations in the solar system. (see graphic organizer)

The WebQuest Challenge:
As with the Great Solar System Rescue, students will have roles. First, students will work in homogeneous teams (same role) as astronomers, meteorologists, geologists, or psychologists/biologists. Their task will be to study planets from each of these perspectives and to gather, evaluate, and present data. Based on their research, students will decide on a location for a space colony. Students will create a PowerPoint presentation that will:

• Describe the location they chose for their colony

• Explain their reasons for choosing the location from each role's perspective

• Describe adaptations that will need to be made for survival

The lesson that was video taped is part of this Web-based unit on the solar system. Using a WebQuest format to develop the task, students are required to gather, organize, analyze and interpret data related to the livability of various planets and moons in the solar system. Students previously had gathered data about what human beings need in their environment to survive. They made observations of what they need to survive through the course of one day. Then they used Internet resources to learn about what experts say that human beings need for survival. They also examined what researchers have learned by living and researching in Antarctica using Internet sources. During this lesson they will, as a class, discuss the data collected and create a list of ten basic requirements for survival. In small groups first, and then as a class, students will discuss locations in the solar system that have potential for adaptation to meet the needs for human survival. When the class has agreed on four to five potential locations, students will break into groups of four (pairs of students in the same role at a computer). In their role (astronomer, meteorologist, geologist, biologist, or psychologist/sociologist) they will gather more information about these locations.

ACTIVITIES:
(Note:  This is a unit plan that may cover several days to several weeks. Not all of the following activities/standards will appear in the video clips used.)

TOOLS & RESOURCES:
Teacher-Created Materials:
Reason for the Seasons

Books:
Read aloud: Walsh, J. (1982). The Green Book . New York, NY: Farrar-Straus-Giroux

Teacher Resource:
Bosak, S. (1991). Science Is… (2^nd edition). Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada: Scholastic Canada Ltd.

Software:

Microsoft PowerPoint. 
Available: http://www.microsoft.com

Laser Disc:
Great Solar System Rescue, (1992). Tom Snyder Productions http://www.teachtsp.com/products/ProductDetail.asp
?PS=GREGSD&QryType=Subject&SubjectID=3&AP=2

World Wide Web Source:
Oleson,Vicki (2000). Solar System Colonization Project 2000 [WebQuest On-line] Available: http://www.intime.uni.edu/lessons/026iams/Solar System WebQuest/INDEX.HTM [2000, September].

Teacher-Created Materials:  
Reasons for the Seasons

ASSESSMENT:
Videotaped Lesson Evaluation:
Students will be assessed by collecting and evaluating the recording sheets that they create following the class discussion for the lesson that is videotaped.

Project Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated several ways:
Evaluation of Data Collection and Use

Activities in the Before You Start section of the WebQuest will be evaluated and scored.

Recording sheets for Background information will be collected, evaluated, and scored.

The information gathered, read, and used in their role to make decisions will be collected, evaluated and scored.

A Quiz and a Test

Students will have a 20 point quiz half way through the project.

Students will have a 25 point unit test at the end of the project.

When the students are completely done, they will answer the following questions:

If you were going to tell a 5th grader about this project, what would be the key ideas you would tell them? What facts would you tell them? What about group work? What about experiences you had doing this project? What about the use of the Internet?

What do you want to remember from this project? (maybe some facts, maybe something about creating a PowerPoint, maybe some of the experience you had doing the project, maybe something about your group, or maybe something about using the Internet)

Evaluation of PowerPoint Presentation

The scoring rubric is on the Solar System Colonization Project Web site under Evaluation.

CREDITS:
Vicki Oleson, Price Laboratory School, Cedar Falls, Iowa
oleson@uni.edu

Karla Krueger, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa
karla.krueger@uni.edu

David Tallakson, Price Laboratory School, Cedar Falls, Iowa
david.tallakson@uni.edu

Patty AcheyCutts, Area Education Agency 7, Cedar Falls, Iowa
pcutts@aea7.k12.ia.us

TIMELINE & COURSE OUTLINE:
The activity that was videotaped was just a small part of a seven-week unit on the solar system. The unit started with the Great Solar System Rescue (Tom Snyder Productions) and included several hand-on activities designed to help with conceptual understanding of the data students were collecting.

The activity was not reenacted. We were taped at the point at which we were completing the Great Solar System Rescue and just beginning to research and decide what humans need to survive.

The activity taped would have normally been two class periods. We taped for two hours that morning.

COMMENTS:
While I have taught a similar unit before, the development of the WebQuest was something that was new for me. I have learned that creating a WebQuest is a wonderful experience that for me became much more involved simply because of the wonderful resources available to the students on the topic. The WebQuest is also an all-inclusive curriculum that I will be able to use again and develop further with each use. Developing a WebQuest is also best done in a group. I needed help searching for sites, and often we were searching for sites as the students were working because of the nature of the project. Our resources had to match the needs of the students because they were making the decisions about locations to colonize.

I will try to create another WebQuest. The motivational aspect of this medium is phenomenal. The students were often leading me. I am also pleased that the students have not only mastered basic conceptual understanding that I had planned, but have also learned and synthesized many facts about our solar system.

Technology Resources:
I chose these technological resources both because of their motivational power and because information about space and our solar system is changing daily. We were fortunate enough to be working through this WebQuest just as a crew was traveling to the International Space Station to prepare for the first crew to live there. What excitement!

Decisions that needed to be made regarding my choice of materials basically centered on finding sites that were of an appropriate reading level. This was one of the difficulties of the project. The students were required to comprehend text a much different way. This type of reading comprehension was not like reading a novel. The students had to be diligent in their efforts to make sense of the information and collect data accurately.

Availability of the Internet at home was also a consideration for the WebQuest. Few of my students did not have access at home, but we did have to make arrangements for students to have time in the library before and after school to make the task possible.

The laser disc was used because it is a valuable teaching tool that is available at our school and conducive to whole class exploration and instruction. This laser disc also prepared the students to collaborate and make decisions as a group.

Both the Internet resources and the laser disc allowed us to view the solar system in a way impossible through books. The nature of the Great Solar System Rescue is a simulation. Simulations were available on the Internet for designing a space station, determining your weight on another planet due to gravity and many others.

The laser disc was available through our local area education agency. I simply checked it out at no cost. There was also no cost for the use of the sites chosen on the Internet.

School Background Information:
The Population of Cedar Falls, Iowa is 36,145 people. The majority of parents employed varies. One hundred and seventy four students have parents employed by the University of Northern Iowa. Enrollment in our school is 526 students. Percentage of students with limited English fluency is less than .2%. We have 400 Caucasian, 78 African American, 35 Asian, 11 Hispanic, and 2 Indian students.

Teaching Strategy:
I chose this teaching strategy because it is motivational and opens a wealth of information and data to the students to synthesize and use.

Principles of Learning:
The situation students were asked to examine is compelling from the standpoint of the question itself - In a futuristic setting in which overpopulation has caused catastrophic problems for our planet, students will be asked to explore two questions: Where should a space colony be built? And what adaptations will be needed to support life at that location? It is also compelling from the standpoint of current events - when the unit was taught, preparations were being made to man the International Space Station early in 2001.

Students were actively involved in creating a list of what humans need to survive. This required Reflection upon the information they had informally gathered about what they needed to survive and also Reflection upon information they had gathered about survival from Internet resources.

Information Processing:
Communication and Evaluation of ideas were necessary to successfully complete the task of listing the 10 most important things needed for human survival. This was accomplished in both small group discussions and large group discussions.

Content Standards:
This activity addresses the Science content standards involving populations and ecosystems (NSE) and the earth in the solar system (NSE). Students are asked to examine physical factors of our planet that permit life. The role of sunlight is one factor that students discussed. Also, abiotic factors such as light, water, temperatures, and soil composition also were discussed. The Earth’s gravity, tilt and seasons also were part of the discussion.

Tenets of Democracy:
This activity required Tolerance for others’ ideas. This is evident in the student responses and interactions in their ability to listen and determine what all agreed upon and what required further evaluation. Critical Thinking and Decision Making were involved in creating and ranking the list of survival needs. Students were individually responsible in their groups and also in large group discussions to adhere to procedures conducive to group functioning. At times it was necessary to vote on an idea to reach consensus. This also required that students be sensitive to group needs in relationship to individual opinions.

Student Characteristics:
The students that were videotaped are exceptionally cooperative. They are also very motivated by the topic. There were students that were less involved. I tried to ask the right questions and position myself physically to enhance their involvement. There was also one student that was very disappointed by the role he was playing. That had been decided in a fair way and it was necessary to visit with him about working as a group even if it wasn’t possible to work in the role he had chosen. Those were very small problems. Generally this group is cooperative and enthusiastic.

School Background Information:
Price Laboratory School
Population of Cedar Falls - 36,145
Where/how are the majority of your parents employed - varies 174 students have parents employed by UNI Enrollment in our school - 526
Percentage of students with limited English fluency - 1 student (less than .2
of one percent)
How does your enrollment break down - 400 Caucasian, 78 African American, 35
Asian, 11 Hispanic, 2 Indian

Evolution of the Activity:
Karla Krueger and I worked through a similar activity last year using a piece of software. That was also motivational and successful.

I feel like the incorporation of the Web Quest makes this activity even more comprehensive and complete. Hands on activities have also been added to assist in the understanding of concepts such as gravity, the seasons, density.

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                                    Last updated: 03/18/08