journey into space

lesson plan

Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
1

Introduction: Two major tasks and a class debate:

1. Design and test a Space Station Rescue Vehicle

2. Essay on either:

a.Inventions and discoveries of significance due to the space program

b. Living on the International Space Station

Post Box activity

Possibly revisit Walk through the Solar System and Bringing the Earth Down to Size

Timeline: History of Flight
          Rocketry through the Ages

Teacher uses Overhead transparencies of significant events in aviation to show rapid advances that have taken place in last fifty years.
These from books from the library or internet site.










 

Examine prior learning

Major events in aviation and space history.

 Students to be made aware of KC focus on 1, 2 and 6













 

Student knowledge

 

Go internet site then click History of Flight. Make notes on a timeline

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interdependence:

A range of expertise has contributed to exploration of space
Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
2-4

These from books from library or internet site.

PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES

Properties of air

Moving air, heated air, atmospheric pressure

(from any science text book)

Space Makes Your Blood Boil Experiment

 Prac skills investigation Prac skills Prac Sheets and information on "Space makes blood boil" KC 1,2,6

Interdependence

Understands that to survive in space humans must have essential life giving  resources

Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
5

A Classroom Video: "The History of Space Travel"

Introduce task sheet for Designing a Space Station Rescue Shuttle.

 Revisit major events from timeline.   SASTA model “shuttle gliders” or access internet for ideas    
Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
6-7

Designing and testing a Space Station Rescue Shuttle Glider

Students have 3 classroom lessons to build and test their vehicles.

   Students build a glider from pattern, or design their own Internet and library will have many ideas for students. KC 1,2,6  
Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
8-9

ROCKETRY Video

“Rocketry” (Discovery video) is excellent

     Rocketry through the Ages    
Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
10-12

ROTATION OF ACTIVITIES

1.    The Hero Engine

2.    Balloon Rockets

3.    Alka rockets

4.    Water Rockets

 Newtons laws are evident here and could be mentioned, but no mathematics, just concepts developed. Assess students in group work

Hand out practical sheets

Rockets NASA Educator Guide

 KC 1,2,6  
Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
13

Humans in Space

Excellent videos are available from NASA.

Go for EVA, Newton in Space, but Quantum and other sources also have good videos.

Students should see that humans in space have apparent weightlessness, but that gravity must still be acting on them.

The next series of experiments will help with explaining this.

  

Survive in Space

Suited for Spacewalking Guide ( large file - many activities)

  

Interdependence:

Understands that to survive in space humans must have essential life giving  resources

Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
14

Microgravity Experiment
Read notes in resource column

1.    Falling Cup of water

2.    Falling Magnets

3.    Falling Candle

4.    Falling floating cork

5.    The weightlessness demo

Astronauts are still affected by gravity, but they “fall”  in orbit.

All of these experiments may be done by students. If pushed for time at least the first one should be a student investigation and others demonstrated.

  

Set experiments and notes available

Chagas Disease and its connection with Space

 

 

Futures

Understanding patterns and connections within systems

Understand world views
Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
15

Space Stations

Past, present and Future

Students investigate Skylab, Mir and the International Space Station.

Students to fill in question sheet

   Internet Access is probably the best.  

Interdependence:

Appreciates that responsible actions on Earth will impact on the rate of space exploration
Lesson
Student Activities
Content Knowledge
Assessment Activities
Resources

SACSA Links
Key Competencies
Essential Learnings
16-18




18

Students choose ESSAY :

a. Inventions and discoveries of significance due to the space program

b.  Living on the International Space Station

DEBATE if time permits

The value of space stations and future space exploration to our society

  Individual 350 word essay

Internet access

Students could negotiate a topic of choice

  

Futures

2. Understand world views

3: Building scenarios of preferred futures