Unit: The Solar System

Lesson 2: The Sun and Planets

Webquest

Grade 3

MST State Standards:

• Standard 3: Mathematics

2. Students use number sense and numeration to develop an understanding of the multiple uses of numbers in the real world, the use of numbers to communicate mathematically, and the use of numbers in the development of mathematical ideas.

4. Students use mathematical modeling/multiple representation to provide a means of presenting, interpreting, communicating, and connecting mathematical information and relationships.

• Standard 4: Science

Physical Setting

1. The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective.

o 1.1a. Natural cycles and patterns include:

ü Earth spinning around once every 24 hours (rotation), resulting in day and night

ü Earth moving in a path around the Sun (revolution), resulting in one Earth year

ü The length of daylight and darkness varying with the seasons

ü Weather changing from day to day and through the seasons

ü The appearance of the Moon changing as it moves in a path around Earth to complete a single cycle

o 1.1b. Humans organize time into units based on natural motions of Earth:

ü Second, minute, hour

ü Week, month

o 1.1c. The Sun and other stars appear to move in a recognizable pattern both daily and seasonally.

5. Energy and matter interact through forces that result in changes in motion.

o 5.1a. The position of an object can be described by locating it relative to another object or the background (e.g., on top of, next to, over, under, etc.).

o 5.1c. The force of gravity pulls objects toward the center of Earth.

· Standard 5: Technology

3. Computers, as tools for design, modeling, information processing, communication, and system control, have greatly increased human productivity and knowledge.

Integrated Standards:

• ELA Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding.

1A. Students gather and interpret information from children's reference books, magazines, textbooks, electronic bulletin boards, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, and from such forms as charts, graphs, maps and diagrams.

1B. Students select information appropriate to the purpose of their investigation and relate ideas from one text to another.

• ELA Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

3C. Students recognize that the criteria that one uses to analyze and evaluate anything depends on one's point of view and purpose for the analysis.

• ELA Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction.

4A. Students listen attentively and recognize when it is appropriate for them to speak.

4B. Students take turns speaking and respond to others' ideas in conversations on familiar topics.

4C. Students recognize the kind of interaction appropriate for different circumstances, such as story hour, group discussions, and one-on-one conversations.

Unifying Idea(s) or Dimension(s):

• Systems
• History and Nature of Science

Objectives: SWBA to….

• Report on knowledge of planets.
• List the planets in order beginning with the closest to the sun.
• Distinguish the difference between the planets.
• Discover distances and measurements of time on each planet.

Aim:

• On this space mission, you will work in teams of four to "land" on each planet (well, to gather information from the internet!)
• You will then be researching planets on the internet and recording information on the planet chart that your teacher will provide. You will record each planet's distance from the sun, size, temperature, rotation, revolution, and even your age and weight on each of the planets! (some info will be about the sun, but you'll have to record your data from afar, as it wouldn't be a good idea to actually "land" on the sun!)
• You will also need to find out three interesting facts about each planet (make sure to include facts on the Earth and Sun, too) and present your information in one of two ways: an oral report with drawings of the planets, or by performing a play about the planets and sun.
• You also will be researching the names of the planets and where they came from. You must provide information on all of the planet names, and then each group member will choose one to draw a picture of the god/goddess that the planet was named after, or read a story to the class about that god/goddess.
• At the end of this WebQuest, there will be an evaluation for each group member to fill out about themselves and their group. The teacher will also be filling out an evaluation on the projects presented by the group and how well your group worked together.
• Finally, there will be a few "fun" websites to play with that deal with the solar system. Enjoy the rest of your mission. Hold on tight, we are now exiting the earth's atmosphere... proceed to the next part of your trip...the "Process" part of your mission!

Materials:

• Computers
• Webquest: http://users.zoominternet.net/~eanderson/webquest/index.html
• Index cards of jobs
• Planet chart for each student*
• Group rubric for each student*
• Teacher’s evaluation rubric*
• Acronym worksheet for planets

* Can be found in the webquest

Safety Procedures:

• No safety procedures necessary

Assessment:

• Students will be assessed on their presentations to the class.
• An assessment will also be made based on the teacher completing a rubric, as well as the rubrics that each student has completed.

Procedure:

1. Prior to going to the computer lab, the teacher will arrange students in groups of 4, and assign each group member a job. The jobs are specific, therefore, students will be given an index card explaining their job.

2. Each student will also be provided with a Planet Chart and evaluating rubric. The teacher will have printed these out ahead of time for students in order to save time in the computer lab.
3. Students will go to the following web address to begin their webquest.
4. http://users.zoominternet.net/~eanderson/webquest/index.html
5. Within their groups, each student will complete a Planet Chart. The student with the Data Recorder job will hand in their chart as the group’s evaluation, and will receive it back from the teacher the next day.
6. Before beginning, students should take a look at the rubric that the teacher will be grading them on, that way students will be aware of what is expected of them.
7. Students should go through steps 1-4 in the “Process” section of the webquest. Once completing those steps, students should then read the “Conclusion” section.
8. Once students have finished collecting all necessary data, each member of the groups should complete the Group Evaluation rubric.
9. For those groups that finish early, they can go back to the “Fun Stuff” section of the webquest and visit some of those activities.

Key Questions:

• Why do we weigh differently on each planet?
• How large is the sun?
• What are the planets in order?
• How long is Earth’s revolution around the sun?
• How long does it take Earth to rotate?

Adaptations for Special Need & enrichment differentiation:

• Students will be able to view the rubric for which the teacher will be using to evaluate them on.
• Students are given many options to choose from in terms of selecting a method for presenting their information and findings.
• There is an additional activity for those that finish early- “Fun Stuff” section of webquest.

Follow-up Assignments:

• Students will complete a planet acronym worksheet for helping them to remember the order of the planets. This will also help them review and prepare for the following lesson: Building a Scale Model.
• Students should still be continuing their Phases of the Moon calendar each night at home.

Reflection and Revision:

• One thing I might change is the length of the lesson, and break it into two days. The fact that this particular lesson is very long because of the reporting assignments from the webquest, it could be too much to get done within one school day considering all the other subject areas that need to be covered.