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Thanks to all for helping me out with the gravity activities. I was looking online for grade appropriate (8th Grade) planet project for my students. Unfortunately, the only ones available are for elementary level. I have a rubric which includes discovery, physical character, mythology. What other category should be included? Thanks for your input.
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i have my students make a billboard/poster to sell their planet. They have to come up with a catchy slogan that describes their planet in some way then their report has all of those features you mentioned, plus what sets it unique from the other objects in our solar system.
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I also did a planet project with my fifth graders and as end of unit project students made a Planetary Adventure Travel Poster. The students were to try and attract visitors to their planet; it allows the students to be creative and use their imagination. In pairs they had to present their posters and students in he audience had to write if they would visit that planet why or why not.
I also included some of the worksheets I used with my students and a Solar System certificate that I made and passed out to the students.
Hope this helps, Helen
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Hi Harvey,
Here is a link to gravity related activities, lesson plans, and educators guides at the NASA Education Website . I noticed that you said that your rubric includes mythology. I'm curious how you've incorporated mythology into your lessons on gravity. Do you work with a LA teacher to teach cross curricular lessons? What resources have you found that address both gravity and mythology?
Thanks!
Maureen
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Hi Harvey,
Have you seen the article in Science Scope, "Planetary Real Estate?" We went over the top with this one. We bought 5' inflatable aliens and gave each alien a bio based on their needs and wants in a new planet. This was an excellent way to differentiate because you can make each bio more or less difficult based on the needs of your students. From there, student groups had to examine the needs/wants of their assigned aliens in order to help them find their new home. The project ended when students introduced their aliens to the class and explained which planet they chose and why. This is a little different than what's in the original article, but we had loads of fun and our students learned more about the solar system than ever before.
Let us know how it turns out!
Kendra
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I realized almost as soon as I posted my previous comment that I had a nice collection of all things related to middle school planetary science. I'm attaching it here in case you're interested!
Happy reading!
Kendra
Solar System - Middle Collection
(6 items)
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my students complete the Great Planet Debate. They choose a solar system destination and must create a presentation for NASA. Very structured debate and very competitive :-)
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Thank you all for the wonderful input. @Maureen I've added the mythology for the Planet Project since most of the planets/ moons have names based on Greek/ Roman myths. It is to link multiple curriculum (LA, World Hist) and previous knowledge. Also, it is a nice way to incorporate world culture and history of science perspective.
I am moving toward the idea of paired presentation, although the idea of the debate is very tempting. However, my students are the quiet type and might not want to argue out their point.
@Kendra, The idea about the alien was awesome. I will try to do that with my smaller classes to try it out. What I like about the idea, they are "forced" to explore the whole solar system to match their requirement. If everything goes well, I will add that to the rotation.
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I have done the planetary real estate in the past and students were excited to do the project. This year I have changed to my student groups are the teachers and become the experts on their planet. They will be presenting their information to other students this coming week. I am anxious to see what they find important to teach as I have deferred all questions on the topic to them as "they are the experts and I know nothing."
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Ok, planet reports were well done and students made some interesting discoveries. I was pleased to have most all groups report and of course there was a range from exemplary to just barely but the focus was on basics for them.
The next four weeks' projects are to paint a solar system/galaxy mural, do some star mapping and a visit to our wonderful astronomy center.
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I wish I had checked out this forum prior to implementing a lesson on gravity in my classroom! There are so many great ideas that have been shared. In my class, prior to doing the lesson, I used a bell work assignment as a preassessment to gauge where my students were. To my dismay, the only thing that most of knew about gravity was that what goes up must come down. I teach a 9th grade math class. Because of the results of the preassessment, I gave my students a general overview of gravity and then taught them about conversions and how to calculate their weight on different planets and the moon. I think the lesson went pretty well and I, too, learned a lot.
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For a unit project I did for 4th grade students, I had them research the different planets and create a brochure on a planet. To make the unit more fun, I created Martian worksheets in which the students had to create their own planet, martian and utilize their math skills in figuring out how many legs, arms and eyes all the martian's had combined on that one planet. It was a great way to see students be creative while learning about the planets. Obviously, for 8th grade students you would have to modify this but it could be a great way to engage your students in learning about planets.
-Callie
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