D5
It is expected that students will:
Analyse the implications of
space travel
- Students who have fully met the prescribed learning outcome are able to:
identify various possibilities and limitations associated with space travel (e.g., with reference to factors such as time, essential human needs, robots, budget choices, militarization of space)( Global organization against) - debate a range of ethical issues related to space travel (e.g., appropriateness of terraforming another planet, exposing
humans to risks) (space debris) - research current ideas or initiatives for further space
exploration (e.g., space elevator, colonization of other planets,
search for extraterrestrial life)( life-supporting eco-system)
photo:dantada@morguefile
RESOURCES
Lesson Plan : Astronomy Newspaper Project
Living and Working in Space ( Knowledge Network)
"Besides the usual Science Mystery themes (literacy, inquiry-based learning, problem-solving logic, inductive and deductive reasoning), "Angry Red Planet" puts your students hands-on with facts about respiration, ecosystems and ecological cycles, chemical and biochemical reactions, carbon dioxide poisoning, and the effects of stress on human physiology and psychology. They must learn how to read graphs and evaluate data to solve the mystery."
Looking for Life activity/experiment
Borrowed from NASA's Destination: Mars.
Students use research to develop their criteria
for life. They combine their ideas in a
teacher-guided discussion. Then they
use their definition of life to determine
whether there is anything alive in three different
soil samples.
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Planning for Assessment / Assessment Strategies
Have students perform various experiments
that illustrate some aspect of rocketry,
including:
- building a Hero engine (antique models)
by using nails of
different sizes to poke slanted holes in the
bottom of used clean pop cans, filling the
cans with water, tying their tabs to a
fishing line and observing the amount of
spin produced as the water pours out of
the holes
- wrapping and taping bond paper around
a pencil, removing the pencil, designing
various nose cones and fins to attach to
the tubes, and launching them
horizontally by placing straws in the tube
and blowing on them to see how far they
travel
- constructing similar rockets as above, but
with the body tube wide enough to fit a
film canister filled with water and
inserted with different amounts of antacid
tablets to act as the launch fuel
Each experiment could be performed as a
formal lab, a contest, or a combination of
both.
Formal lab write-ups should include:
- explanations of apparatus construction
- diagrams of the models, including labels
- analysis of results, including reasons for the
relative success or failure of a particular
design
In the rocket-building exercises, prizes could also
be awarded for creative design, most efficient use
of materials, distance travelled, etc
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Have students perform research and either
write a report, build a static or working
model, create a poster or do a powerpoint
presentation on one of the following topics:
- the development of modern rocketry (more)
- the early development of the Russian
space program, including Sputnik and
Luna spacecrafts
- the NASA Mercury program
- the NASA Apollo program
- the NASA space shuttle program
- various space station programs, including
Soyuz, Skylab, Mir and the ISS
(International Space Station)
- Canada’s contribution to various space
programs (e.g. Marc Garneau, Canadarm)
- setbacks in space travel (e.g. space shuttle
disasters)
- unmanned space missions (e.g. Voyager,
Hubble, Mars Explorers)
- the future of space missions (e.g. manned
and unmanned travel, space stations)
Each project should be presented to the class
and discussed as a group.
Assess students on the following:
- amount of research performed (e.g. how
many and types of sources)
- clarity of presentation
- interest level of audience in presentation
photo: razvandm@morguefile
