EmmatheExplorer2 First Grade Lesson Plan

Lesson Title:  Patterns of the Sun and Moon                                      Grade Level: first

Big Idea

It is essential for students to know that there are features that can be found in the day sky and in the night sky.

State Standard/s

Indicator 1.3.1: Compare the features of the day and night sky.

Standard 1-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the features of the sky and the patterns of the Sun and the Moon. (Earth Science)

Connection to SC Curriculum Support Document

1.3.1: Compare the features of the day and night sky.

Focus Questions

       How Special Is Our Sun?

     What do we see in the sky from the Earth?

   What might I see in the day and nighttime skies?

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills A student must already know and be able to…

Previous/Future knowledge: This is the first time that students have been introduced to features of the day and night sky. This is a foundational concept that will be further developed in 4th grade (4-3.5) when students explain how day and night occur.

Overview of Lesson

·       Young children have many misconceptions about the objects in the sky and day and night due to the lack of concrete experiences available and the abstractness of the concepts. They believe such things as:

o   The moon only “comes out” at night.

o   The sun “goes away” when the moon is in the sky.

o   All stars are the same size.

This lesson furthers the students understanding of objects in the sky.

Assessment Procedures

●       How did you assess this unit?

●       Attach student work as Appendices (i.e., rubric for group work, quizzes, tests, concept maps, etc.).

Lesson Preparation

·       Materials

·       Chart paper for web

·       Markers

Procedures

1.    Display the web on chart paper and pose the focus question to the children. Allow the children to share their ideas.

2.    As the children name objects seen in the sky, place labels on the web.

3.    Once the web is complete, discuss each object as to whether it is a “daytime” object or a “nighttime” object.

4.    Using an orange or red marker for day and a blue or black marker for night, have a student come to the chart and circle the object with the correct color marker.

5.    Continue until all objects have been circled.

Resources

Star-Lab

SC support documents

Differentiated Instruction

Extend

1.    Ask the students if any of the objects can be seen in both the nighttime and daytime sky. Circle these with both colors.

2.    Have the children draw one of the objects from the web on a sheet of paper. Ask them to label their drawings.

3.    Remove the web from sight.

4.    Ask the children to help you sort the drawings by nighttime sky objects, daytime sky object or both. (This could be done in a Venn diagram.)

Star-Lab

Webquest 3 Task III and Task IV

Task III

1.  Will your mission be manned or robotic?
The mission will be manned by retired educators only.
2.  Are you landing on the surface?
Yes, the seeds will be grown at Rima Messier.  The coordinates are 0 degrees 55'59.72 S, and 45 degrees, 04'20.64 E.  Elevation -1602m
3.  Why did you choose this landing site?
It is at a lower elevation and it is on the light side of the moon.
4.  What goals do you hope to achieve?
To prove or disprove that you can grow hydroponics in a controlled environment on the moon.  Using artificial light and an aquarium. 
To set up a lab on the moon surface that will enable plant experiments to take place.  A place where educators can share their expertise. 
To also create a possible field trip site for schools around the world.
5.  What kinds of instruments will you be using?
Lamps, rulers, prefabricated greenhouse lab built by an international team of educators. 
6.  Will you need an orbiter to communicate with Earth or as a part of your science investigation?  If so how will this work?
An orbiter will be launched to orbit the moon and launch communications with the International Space Station and Earth to allow students to ask questions in a real time learning environment. 
7.  If you are conducting a manned mission, how will your astronauts survive on the surface?  will there be a  full base or just a temporary lander?  What kinds of tasks will they be charged with when they reach the surface?
A full base will be established with all members of the team responsible for it's construction.  It would be in the shape of a large bubble.  It will house a green house lab to promote plant life.  Individual members would be in charge of communications, facilities and taking care of the experiments.  A lead teacher would be responsible for writing lessons for educators to use in classrooms around the world while teachers are completing the mission.
8.  Will you mission involve a return from the Moon?  If so, will it be samples or just the astronauts returning home?  If samples, what will happen to them when they are brought to the Earth?
Plants grown in the lab will be donated to schools around the world.  The returning crews will conduct seminars about their moon data to different school districts around the world. 

Task 4
Name your mission

The mission would be called:  EEE- Educators, Exploring, Excellence

Webquest 3 Task I and II

A.  If you knew nothing else about the Moon, what would you think of what you are seeing?


     I would think I was seeing a ball of light. 

B)  List at least three questions which come to mind.

1.  Why does the moon appear to be different colors during the year?
2.  Why does the moon have a ring around it?
3.  Does the  moon travel on the same path as the Earth?

Task 2
Luna 21
I chose this mission because of the data it collected.  It used a rover to collect images.
Apollo 14
Tree seeds orbited the Moon and returned to be planted on Earth.
Different forestry agencies received the seeds and were planted around the USA.

Webquest II Task#4

Figure 3 :Rontgen Satellite(ROSAT) X-Ray Image
1. What do you see?
I see light hitting one side of the moon and the other side is dark. The light is creating different hue of colors.
2.Why is part of it bright and part dark?
The part that is dark doesn't have light nor heat reflected on it.  The bright side does.

Figure 4:Very Large Array radio wave photo of the Moon
1.Which part of the Moon is the Sun shining on?  Why?
The sun is shinning on the red portion of the moon because the strongest radio waves are in red and the sun's energy rays only hit one side of the moon.

Figure 5: UV, Visible, Infrared Wavelengths
1.Compare and contrast these images. How are they similar or different?
Each photos of the moon has different wavelengths and the light hitting them are from different bands on the spectrograph.
UV light is when there are clearly exposure of the coolest places on the moon with two colors.
Mid Infrared displays the lowest points on the moon as different shades of red.
Near Infrared  allows many different colors to show.
2. What patterns do you see?
The different wavelengths of light reflecting on the moon allows the different elevations show up clearly.
3.What features are more or less visible in each frame?
The geographical feature are visible in each frame. The depths are more defined.
4. Can you see any benefits of using one type of light versus another? How?
Near infrared light wavelengths show more depths on the moon.  Infrared light makes it easier to see where are the craters are located on the moon.

Figure 6:Stacked Spectra
5. How are these stacked spectral images different from the other photos?
The stacked image are the result of layering of all the different wavelengths.  They put the photos together to present all the data. It makes the image much more clear and easier to  interpret.
6. Are the colors used the "real" colors of the Moon?
No
7.Why are there different colors?
There are different wavelengths which show different colors and depths.

Webquest 2 Task #3

Spectrum
The light hits the side of the CD disk and the disk reflects the different colors of the wavelengths. I noticed this happening after it rains to create a rainbow!

Webquest II Task #1 and Task #2

Task I
1.What is light and where does it come from?
Light is electromagnectic radiation that travels indefinitely if nothing interrupts its path.
Visible light is only part of the electromagnectic spectrum.
There are three different types of light continuous, emission, and absorption.
Contiunous spectrum is uninterrupted.
Emmission spectrum comes from a hot gas with distinct atomic characteristics.
Absorption spectrum is when light travels through a cold gas.
Task II So What?
A.
1. Which elements or compounds were you able to identify?
Magnesium, Iron, and  Sodium
2. Based on what you learned in Task#1 about how spectra are created, what do these spectra tells us about the Sun's composition? It's structure?

The sun is made up of a lot of Hydrogen. It also has Magnesium, sodium and Iron.  The spectrum data shows a lot of hydrogen.  The sun is largely made up of gases.  The sun is made up of mostly hot gases and the hot gases causes many different colors.
B.
Website not found.

Webquest I Task #6

Video 1
1.What is their conclusion?
You don not need wind to keep a flag moving. Less pressure has more movement.  They put  the flag in a vacuum so that there is no pressure.  The flag still will move without atmospheric pressure!
2. Scientifically, why do we get this effect in a vacuum?
Less pressure more more movement

Video 2
1. What pseudoscientific assumptions led to the development of this hoax theory?
Photos are taken in a studio because shadows are not parallel.
2.What real science proved/disproved it?
If he was standing in a shadow of or moon module we would not see him clearly. 
During the testing set, the light source was the sun. They turned off the lights to test the shadows. They used similiar cameras as used on the moon. Shadows are parallel on the recreation. The moon has regalith that reflects light which affects the photos taken on the moon.

Video 3
1. What scientific technique forms the basis of this video?
They bounced a laser off the retroreflectors left by Apollo 15.  They shot a laser to the moon and it reflected back. They went to New Mexico to send the laser.   The light returned exactly at the distance they expected and at the same intensity.

Webquest I Task #5

1. What are some of the planned lunar mission listed?
Grail is planned by the USA on September 6, 2011.  They are researching the gravity field and Interior Structure of the Moon.

Ladee is planned by the USA in 2012.  It's mission is to study the moon's atmosphere and dust.

A private company is planning a moon express in 2013. It's mission is mining the moon and it's economic value.




Based on what you have researched, what can learn from the Moon about the Solar System? About the Earth?
I learned about gravity of the planet Earth and the moon's atmosphere are interrelated.  I learned about the composition of the lunar atmosphere and gravity.

2. What do you think is the best way to do this? A human mission, robotic mission, or both? Why?
I think you should use both robotic and human missions. During a robotic mission you can retrieve constant pictures and reach higher levels of elevations than with human explorations!

Webquest I Task #4

A1.What is the Lunar Embassy Corporation, and what do they claim?
The largest privately run organization of space enthusiasts world wide, and the official founders and leaders of the extraterrestrial real estate market. 
2. Does the LEC have any legal support?
Yes, Mr. Dennis Hope filed and registered the claim. According to the old Wild West American Law, he own it because he was the first to claim it.  He has his claim copyrighted.
3. What objections of legal obstacles does the LEC face?
They are only recognized by the United States.  The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 states that the Moon is the property of all Mankind.
4.Why would anyone want to buy from Dennis Hope's company?
They can pass their property to their children and by then there should be more transportation to the Moon.  Anyone would love to be a part of the first to own a piece of the Moon!
B.
1. How does this treaty apply to the Lunar Embassy Corportation?
The treaty states that the planetary surfaces belongs to all mankind and not one individual.
2.List at least three of the framework principles,listed in bullet points, that you find interesting.   Why are these interesting/relevant to you?
.Outer Space shall be free for Exploration
This is interesting to me because how can they sell something that is free for all!
.States shall be liable for damage caused by their space objects
How about independent companies trying to take trips to view their property?
.States shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestrial bodies.
If people who purchase property try to put their trailers on their land this is contamination!
3. What does this treaty mean for the future of Lunar exploration?
This treaty protects the moon for future missions by NASA and other explorers.
4. Who do astronaunts represent?
The astronaunts represent all man-kind.
5. So, Who owns the Moon anyway?
All Man Kind owns the moon!

Webquest I Task#3

1. What was the first spacecraft to reach the lunar surface? Who built it?
The project was Luna II.  The Russians launched the first spacecraft to reach the lunar surface.
2.Why was Luna III so important?
Luna III was so important because it orbited the moon 14 times. It orbited the moon for 15 days.  The USSR to photographs of the far side of the moon.  These photographs showed the mountain terrains from the far-side.  Luna III completed a flyby on Oct 6, 1959 at 6,400 km over Lunar South Pole.
Luna III captured the first pictures of the far- side of the moon.
3.  Why was the first manned-landing on the Moon such a big deal?
The Moon was unexplored territory.   Buzz Aldrin was the first man to walk on the moon during the Apollo II mission. They landed on the moon July 20, 1969 they collected 47.5 pounds of Lunar Rocks.
Buzz Aldrin took communion while on the moon!

Webquest I Task 2

A.1.  The long sinuous feature to the west of the landing site is called Hadley Rille(Rima Hadley). Is this an elevated or depressional feature?
Hadley Rille is a depressional feature.   It is 2025m deep.
2.  What may have formed this?
Collapsed lava tubes may have formed this depression.
3. How might the formation of this feature be different on the Moon, than on the Earth or, perhaps Mars?
If it was on the planet Earth it would be classified as a channel, or lava tubes.
B.
1. Where did Apollo 14 land and why? Apollo 14 landed in February 5, 1971.  It landed in Fra Mauro.
2.What did scientists hope to learn from this mission?
They made two luna EVA, or moonwalks.  They collected 93lbs of moon rocks. They conducted seismic studies.  They also took hundred of seeds and allowed them to orbit the Moon.  They brought the seeds back and planted them all around the USA.  The moon trees were given away in 1975-1976 to forestry organizations.
C.

The Far-side
The far-side has a large crater. It appears to have more collisions on the far-side of the moon.
Why meteors keep hitting that side of the moon?
The Near-side
Why are there more moon missions on the near-side of the moon?

Webquest 1

I. What were the three leading hypotheses on the formation of the Moon before the Apollo missions?
The three hypothesis are as follows:
1. The moon is a sister world that formed in orbit around the Earth as the Earth formed.
2.The moon was formed in the universe where there was little iron then the iron was captured into the orbit around the Earth.
3. The planet Earth spun so fast that it spun off the Moon.
II. Why were they rejected in the end?
These ideas failed because there were not explanations for these hypothesis.


"Formation of the moon"
1. What formation theory is presented in this video?
The meteor impact theory was presented.
2.What is anorthosite, and how/when did it form?
Anorthosite is chystaline rock. It is an ancient material that is made of sparkling crystals.
3.Why is anorthosite so important?
Anorthosite will provide history with its age and orgin.
It is important because it can be studied to tell the age, orgin of the moon. It is the sample of the moon's crust. It is 41/2 billion years old.
4. What evidence do the scientist in the video give to support their new theory?
Earth was struck by a moon sized asteroid 4.5 billion years ago.  Debris coalesced to form the moon. This new theory was developed by William Hartmann.
5. Which Apollo mission provided this evidence?
Apolllo 15
6.Why is it so important for us to understand the Moon's composition, structure and history?
The moon is very important to our planet.  The Moon moderates temperature, liquid water, tides, and life itself.