Overview of Unit
Each lesson is 90 minutes
Lesson 1:
Students are introduced to essential question number one and are pre-assessed on the sun & Earth system. The students then make a KWL chart for the sun & Earth System. After a discussion of what models are and how they benefit us the students create a preliminary model for the sun & Earth system.
PDF format of keynote presentation
Lesson 2:
Students are introduced to essential question number two and are pre-assessed on the moon & Earth system. The students then make a KWL chart for the moon & Earth System. And finally, just like they did for the sun & Earth system they create a preliminary model for the moon & Earth system.
PDF format of keynote presentation
Lesson 3:
During this lesson the students are given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the different planets in preparation for working on their culminating project. They familiarize themselves by using different websites to find two interesting facts about each planet. Students then have a lottery where the they sign up for planets which they will research for their projects. The rest of the time is given to the students for independent work and research.
PDF format of keynote presentation
Lesson 4:
The students begin looking deeper at the moon & Earth system through hands on activities, written exercises, and computer simulations. In this lesson it is also possible to have the students work more on their projects.
Lesson 5:
The students review the previous day and practice using the phases of the moon terminology, by revisiting the moon phases activity, and drawing the phases in their lab books. Next the students look closer at Solar and Lunar eclipses through the moon phases activity, computer simulations, and a web-quest
