Sarah Cooper and Tess Kokiousis
SPACE PROBE
BENCHMARK LESSONS
Benchmark lessons are teacher directed classroom activites that present concepts, principles, or skills that students need in order to understand the work of a project (Krajcik, J, 2003). These lessons provide students with the strategies and skills they will continuously use throughout this project. Benchmark lessons help the students learn difficult concepts and build new inquiry abilities.
Our unit contains 7 benchmark lessons:
Benchmark # 1: Computer Simulation on Seasons
Benchmark # 2: Outside Interactive Lesson on Seasons
Benchmark # 3: Distance in the Universe
Benchmark Lesson 1-Computer Simulation on Seasons
Overview:
The goal of this lesson is for the students to understand the reason for why we have different seasons. The students will learn about the combination of Earth’s orbit around the sun and the tilt of Earth’s axis. This is important to our overall project because the student needs to make a decision if they want a probe on their final design that will test for seasons on the unknown planet. We will first begin by asking the students why we have seasons and record their answers on the board, avoiding correcting any misconceptions. We will then have students work on an interactive activity and as they are working on it they will create a vocabulary list of relevant terms. The students will work in pairs to investigate how the angle of sunlight can vary, but moving the Earth around the sun to see what the affect of the Sun is at different times of the year. After comprising a list of necessary vocubulary terms, the students will answer questions on a worksheet. They will answer the first part of the worsheet on their own, and the second part of the worksheet will be with a partner. In this lesson, they also will be reviewing the concept of the angle of incidence since they previous learned it in Investigation 1.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
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Know that Earth is tilted on its axis and that this tilt, is responsible for the seasons.
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Recognize that different parts of the world experience different seasonal changes.
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Apply their knowledge of the tilt to infer what would happen at a different angle.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):
§112.33. Astronomy, Beginning with School Year 2010-2011
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8) Science concepts. The student knows the reasons for the seasons. The student is expected to:
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(A) recognize that seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth's axis;
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(B) explain how latitudinal position affects the length of day and night throughout the year;
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(C) recognize that the angle of incidence of sunlight determines the concentration of solar energy received on Earth at a particular location.
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Benchmark Lesson 2- Outside Interactive Lesson on Seasons
Overview:
While working in groups, students manipulate a hands-on, physical model to better
comprehend the Earth's position in space, the Earth's rotation axis and seasons. Students
use the model to observe changes in insolation between the equator and poles, and explore
the relationship between axial tilt and seasonal changes. During the lesson, have the
student groups work through each of the following tasks. After groups have completed a
task, the teacher will demonstrate the correct answer using the instructor's demonstration
model.
Task #1
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Use flashlight and ball-on-stick to represent the Sun and Earth respectively. (For this demonstration, keep the stick vertical.)
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How does the distribution of incoming sunlight vary between the Equator and the Poles? (Can you explain why the equator is hotter than the poles?)
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Task #2
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Use flashlight and ball-on-stick to represent the Sun and Earth respectively. (For this demonstration, tilt the stick.)
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What effect does tilting the stick (Earth's axis) have on the distribution of incoming solar radiation?
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Use the model to show the relative positions of Earth and Sun for our winter and summer.
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What happens when you rotate Earth on its axis? What are you demonstrating?
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Task #3
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Use flashlight and ball-on-stick to represent the Sun and Earth respectively. (For this demonstration, tilt the stick.)
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Demonstrate the annual orbit of Earth around the Sun and use the model to explain:
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Why it can be winter in the U.S. when it is summer in Australia;
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The contrasting positions of the Earth and Sun for each season in the U.S.
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What happens to seasonal temperatures at various locations if the tilt angle increases or decreases?
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Objectives:
Students will be able to:
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Know that Earth is tilted on its axis and that this tilt, is responsible for the seasons.
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Recognize that different parts of the world experience different seasonal changes.
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Apply their knowledge of the tilt to infer what would happen at a different angle.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):
§112.33. Astronomy, Beginning with School Year 2010-2011
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8) Science concepts. The student knows the reasons for the seasons. The student is expected to:
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(A) recognize that seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth's axis;
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(B) explain how latitudinal position affects the length of day and night throughout the year;
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(C) recognize that the angle of incidence of sunlight determines the concentration of solar energy received on Earth at a particular location.
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Benchmark Lesson 3- Distance in the Universe
Overview:
This will be a lesson intended to educate the students about the the units needed to measure very large distances. This lesson will get the students thinking about just how large space is and how far away certain planets are from each other. We will begin our lesson by discussing the vastness of the universe. We will begin by asking the students how big they think the universe is. We will get their ideas and write them on the board. After getting the student’s input and ideas, we won’t tell them the exact answer but instead go into a discussion. We will give a short lecture to the students about how light travels at the unimaginably fast speed of 300 million meter per second and explain how light takes years to travel to us from the stars and takes thousands or even millions of years to travel to the depths of space between galaxies. After discussing with the kids, we will give them a hand out that we will go over as a class. The students will take turns reading each example one by one so they get an overall idea about comparing distances. We will then go into a short demo so the student’s can grasp the idea on a smaller scale.
Demo:
We will ask one student to stand in front of the class and give them a quarter to hold. The teacher will ask the question “Using a scale in which this quarter represents the Earth, what would the distance from Earth to the moon be?” The students will then comprise a list of “need-to-knows.” After discussing how to measure it, and getting the information they need, the students will flip over their first handout to see the equations written down, so they can see the calculations.
Before starting on the worksheet questions, we will lastly go over scientific notation, using a second handout as a guide. Once the handout is done being discussed, the students will answer the questions on the worksheet in pairs. The worksheets will be due at the end of the class period.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
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Understand how scaling factors can be used to make representations of astronomical distances.
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Learn how to write and solve equations that relate real distance measurements to scaled representations of the distances.
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Understand how the use of scientific notation makes calculations involving large numbers easier to manage.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):
§111.25. Implementation of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Mathematics, Middle School, Adopted 2012.
(4) Proportionality. The student applies mathematical process standards to develop an understanding of proportional relationships in problem situations. The student is expected to:
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(H) convert units within a measurement system, including the use of proportions and unit rates.
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§112.33. Astronomy, Beginning with School Year 2010-2011
(6) Science concepts. The student knows our place in space. The student is expected to:
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(A) compare and contrast the scale, size, and distance of the Sun, Earth, and Moon system through the use of data and modeling;
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(B) compare and contrast the scale, size, and distance of objects in the solar system such as the Sun and planets through the use of data and modeling;
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(C) examine the scale, size, and distance of the stars, Milky Way, and other galaxies through the use of data and modeling;
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(E) demonstrate the use of units of measurement in astronomy, including Astronomical Units and light years.
Benchmark Lesson 4- Sun's Role
Overview:
Students will have the opportunity to understand about the Sun as an activity using the internet. The students had answered 3 questions on a slip of paper at the end of the previous day of different topics about the Sun. We will evaluate this answers and do a short intro discussion of a topic that a lot of the students may have been confused about. After that, they will take out their ipads and enter in this website to do this interactive activity. They will go through page by page, answering the questions on a worksheet that follows the website. This will take about 30-35 minutes. When they are finished, we will have them compare answers with the person next to them and then we will go over the worksheet as a class. At the end of the class, we will discuss the effects of the Sun on our Earth and how it will impact our future. The students will write down 3 things that they learned that they will use on their final project.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
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Identify the Sun’s role in our solar system.
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Explain the distance of the Sun from the Earth
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Compare the Sun’s size to that of the Moon and the Earth
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Determine an ideal distance of their Sun in their model solar system (final project).
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):
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(6) Science concepts. The student knows our place in space. The student is expected to:
(A) compare and contrast the scale, size, and distance of the Sun, Earth, and Moon system through the use of data and modeling;
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(10) Science concepts. The student knows the role of the Sun as the star in our solar system.
Benchmark Lesson 5- Atmosphere
Overview:
This will be a lesson on another aspect of what makes Earth able to sustain life, the atmosphere, the whole layer of air that surrounds Earth. The atmosphere supports life and protects it. The gases of the atmosphere keep Earth warm and transport energy to different regions of the planet. Without the atmosphere, the oceans would not exist, life would not survive, and the planet would be a cold, lifeless rock. In this lesson, students will learn about the atmosphere by making observations and taking measurements. They will go outside and use scientific equipment to collect atmospheric moisture data (temperature, humidity precipitation, and cloud cover) Students will use this qualitative and quantitative data to understand how water is found in the atmosphere, how the atmosphere determines weather and climate, and how Earth’s spheres are connected through the water cycle.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
• Describe Earth’s atmosphere using qualitative (words) and quantitative (numbers) information
• Interpret data to assess the state of moisture in the atmosphere
• Explain why the atmosphere is an important part of the water cycle
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):
(9) Earth and space. The student knows components of our solar system. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze the characteristics of objects in our solar system that allow life to exist such as the proximity of the Sun, presence of water, and composition of the atmosphere; and
(B) identify the accommodations, considering the characteristics of our solar system, that enabled manned space exploration.
Benchmark Lesson 6- Temperature of the Earth
Overview:
The students will start off this lesson by learning about the temperature of the Earth and how we measure it. They will start off by a short demo of taking the temperature of 5 different beakers of water around the classroom. The teacher will tell them when to switch, so the class is rotating through each station. They will take the average of the temperatures they record. The students will then read a handout given to them and answer a few questions in groups. They will follow a link to read about the differences in temperature between three different planets. Finally, the students will have to develop a temperature that they think would be ideal for a planet to survive in. They will use Ipads to research more information in order to make their decision.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
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demonstrate how the temperature of Earth is determined
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understand the difference in temperatures of different planets
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create their own ideal temperature for a planet
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):
§112.33. Astronomy, Beginning with School Year 2010-2011
(9) Science concepts. The student knows that planets of different size, composition, and surface features orbit around the Sun. The student is expected to:
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(A) compare and contrast the factors essential to life on Earth such as temperature, water, mass, and gases to conditions on other planets
(13) Fluid Earth. The student knows that the fluid Earth is composed of the hydrosphere, cryosphere, and atmosphere subsystems that interact on various time scales with the biosphere and geosphere. The student is expected to:
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(C) analyze the empirical relationship between the emissions of carbon dioxide, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, and the average global temperature trends over the past 150 years;
Benchmark Lesson 7- Magnetic Field
Overview:
This Benchmark lesson will first have a PEOE lesson to clarify some misconceptions. The teacher will do a demonstration in the front of the classroom with a magnet to get the students thinking about magnets. The will be filling out the PEOE Activity 1 worksheet and then the teacher will go over the answers to make sure the students are understand the concepts. Next, the students will continue with a PEOE activity and a worksheet for the remaining of the period. The second PEOE activity will include them to practice with two magnets and iron fillings at their table in groups of 4. They will discuss their answers with the other students at their table. The teacher will be checking to see if they complete worksheet before they exit the classroom. If there is extra time at the end of the lesson, the students may go on their Ipads and look at different pictures of magnetic fields in our universe.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
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Understand what objects a magnet will attrack to
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Describe Earth's magnetic field and explain why it is important
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Draw the general pattern of a magnetic field
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):
§112.36. Earth and Space Science, Beginning with School Year 2010-2011
(9) Solid Earth. The student knows Earth's interior is differentiated chemically, physically, and thermally. The student is expected to:
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(D) describe the formation and structure of Earth's magnetic field, including its interaction with charged solar particles to form the Van Allen belts and auroras.