Banksia Science: Astronomy
The Planets
Learning Module
- Creator(s):
Science Understanding: Earth and space sciences: Year 5
The Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star (the sun) (ACSSU078)
Science as a Human Endeavour: Years 5 and 6
Nature and development of science
Use and influence of science
Science Inquiry Skills: Years 5 and 6
Questioning and predicting
Planning and conducting
Processing and analysing data and information
Evaluating
Communicating
Year 5 Achievement Standard (Science)
By the end of Year 5, students classify substances according to their observable properties and behaviours. They explain everyday phenomena associated with the transfer of light. They describe the key features of our solar system. They analyse how the form of living things enables them to function in their environments. Students discuss how scientific developments have affected people’s lives and how science knowledge develops from many people’s contributions.
Students follow instructions to pose questions for investigation, predict what might happen when variables are changed, and plan investigation methods. They use equipment in ways that are safe and improve the accuracy of their observations. Students construct tables and graphs to organise data and identify patterns. They use patterns in their data to suggest explanations and refer to data when they report findings. They describe ways to improve the fairness of their methods and communicate their ideas, methods and findings using a range of text types.
Year 6 Achievement Standard (Science)
By the end of Year 6, students compare and classify different types of observable changes to materials. They analyse requirements for the transfer of electricity and describe how energy can be transformed from one form to another to generate electricity. They explain how natural events cause rapid change to the Earth’s surface. They describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things. Students explain how scientific knowledge is used in decision making and identify contributions to the development of science by people from a range of cultures.
Students follow procedures to develop investigate questions and design investigations into simple cause-and-effect relationships. They identify variables to be changed and measured and describe potential safety risks when planning methods. They collect, organise and interpret their data, identifying where improvements to their methods or research could improve the data. They describe and analyse relationships in data using graphic representations and construct multi-modal texts to communicate ideas, methods and findings.
Learning Intention: I am learning to identify prior knowledge and ask questions to extend my learning.
Success Criteria:
In this learning module, we will explore these questions:
Working with a partner complete of 'I see, I think, I wonder' for 4 pictures from the slide show in your unit book based on the pro-forma below.
Google Classroom Link to worksheet and slideshow:
Slideshow:
Create questions for the Affinity Diagram and sort into groups.
Comment: What is the question you are most interested in exploring about our solar system? Read other students' questions and comment on at least one that you think would be interesting, explaining why.
Purpose: This update focuses on engaging students in the topic through sharing their prior knowledge and asking questions. The activity where students order the planets is also a baseline assessment.
Lesson:
1. Students listen to Star Wars theme music and think about what they know about space. After they have thought they participate in the ' I see, I think, I wonder' exercise.
2. Students complete solar system jigsaw activity: Students order the planets according to what they know about where the planets are situated in the solar system. This can be pasted into their book as a pre assessment (or you/students could take a photo of it). This will be repeated later in the unit (after update 3 and at the end) so students can demonstrate and see their developing knowledge and understanding.
3. Show students the slide show and after seeing each picture invite them to have a brief discussion with their learning buddy about what they were thinking about.
4. Students work with their learning buddy to complete 'I see, I think, I wonder' for four pictures. This can be done on the pro-forma of in their Unit book.
5. Think-Pair-Share: Students return to their original partners and discuss what they would like to find out more about space and the planets. Students write it as a question on a post-it note and add the question to the Affinity Diagram, looking at other students' questions and placing the post-it next to ones that are similar. These questions could be used to for the basis of their survival project.
As students add their questions to the whiteboard, model moving them around to be near similar questions. After a while, create headings to help students sort their questions. Examples of headings might be: planets, stars, moon, sun, space travel, telescopes, Big Bang, Black Hole - it really depends on the questions that students add.
Teaching Tips:
Model turning a fact into a question. For example:
Mars is called the red planet - Why is Mars called the red planet?
Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system - Mercury is closer to the sun than Venus, why isn't it the hottest planet?
Use Post it notes for students to record questions for the Affinity Diagram activity.
Files/Worksheets:
Files are uploaded on the student side for students to access in Scholar. Alternatively, they can access them through the link to Google docs.
Word Wall:
Set up a word wall so students can add words that interest them. Explore sound and letter patterns and morphology of words that are added. If you have access to a whiteboard for the word wall, give students agency by allowing them to write the words and add annotations to the word re tips for spelling and morphology.
Comments:
A comment is included at the end of each update to promote reflection and metacognition of students' developing science understandings. They also provide an opportunity for regular writing for a real audience. Further, more able students can model extended comments for their peers. Alternatively, copy the comment prompt into Google Classroom or students record responses in the Unit books.
Learning Intention: I am learning to apply facts about the planets.
Success Criteria:
Watch the videos below as a class, use Think-Pair-Shares to discuss and record facts from each video.
In cooperative learning groups, search, and share clips found on your chosen planet and 3 interesting facts about each planet.
Comment: Post a link to a videoclip you found about your chosen planet. What are 3 facts you learned about this planet? Look at 1-2 videoclips posted by other students. Record something interesting you learned from watching these videoclips.
Purpose: This update expands students knowledge about the solar system and engages them further in the topic.
Teaching Tips:
Use cooperative learning groups for students to search, and share clips found on chosen planet.
The focus planet may be the focus of their Survival Projects.
Learning Intention: I am learning to identify the needs for human survival.
Success Criteria:
Share and discuss the basic human needs for survival.
Record your answers to the following questions in your Unit Book.
Complete 4 of the following reflection questions:
Comment: Share 1-3 ideas from your reflections. Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2 that you found interesting, explaining why.
Purpose: In this update, students learn about basic needs to prepare them for identifying what will be needed to survive on a planet other than earth.
Teaching Tips:
Survival Needs
Air: Consisting of oxygen within a particular range of pressure, concentration, and purity is vital to survival.
Water: Access to a safe, clean and adequate water supply is necessary for human survival.
Food: Our food must be adequate in calorie and nutritional standards in order to sustain life.
Shelter: Since exposure to cold and heat can lead to hypothermia or hyperthermia, shelter which offers protection from extremes of heat, cold, intense sun, and prolonged precipitation is a human survival need.
Sanitation: Proper means for the removal of human waste helps protect from deadly toxins and pathogens and is critical in promoting human survival.
Sleep: Seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep each night is optimal for human survival .
Space: As humans, we require personal space. In addition to the requirement for shelter, or suitable indoor living space, humans need outdoor space, to avoid overcrowding and chaos.
Touch: As humans have evolved to interact in community settings, both hunting and gathering in groups, touch—as in a caress—is often considered a basic human survival need. In fact, empirical evidence has shown that touch is essential for the early growth and development of healthy humans.
Solar System Jigsaw Activity:
Students repeat the activity from Update 1 where they reorder the planets according to what they know about where the planets are situated in the solar system. They can record any facts around the planets to complement the diagram. Again this can be pasted into their book (or you/students could take a photo of it). They can compare it to their initial drawings in Update 1 and reflect on their developing knowledge and understanding.
Learning Intention: I am learning to understand the conditions on the planets of the solar system.
Success Criteria:
Concept 1: ORBIT
Watch the video of the earth orbiting around the sun.
With a partner, in a Think-Pair Share:
After your discussion, check your answers online. Record the answers (e.g. in unit books).
Solar System Table
Now complete the table for the time it takes all the planets in the solar system to orbit the sun.
Predict: What is the time for each planet to orbit the sun? Predicting is an important part of the science inquiry process.
Collect and record data: Check the answer in books/online.
| Mercury | Venus | Earth | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune | |
| Prediction of orbit | ||||||||
| Orbit (actual time) | ||||||||
| Speed of orbit |
Draw conclusions: Once you have completed the table, discuss:
Add comments from your discussion to the next row of your "Solar System" Table.
As you complete the rest of the table follow the science inquiry process of:
Concept 2: Temperature
Predict: Using your knowledge of the distance of planets from the sun, predict the temperature of each planet.
Collect and record: Complete the next part of the table by looking up books/internet to record the average temperature - on earth it is 14 degrees Celsius.
Draw Conclusions: Discuss the data with your partner:
Record some ideas of your discussion in the next row of the table. In this row, you make observations, ask questions and record explanations. This is important in the science inquiry process.
Concept 3: Air
Watch the following video about the earth's atmoshere.
Predict: Using your knowledge of the planets, predict the temperature of each planet.This is hard! So try to work it out based on the composition of the earth's air.
Collect and record: Complete the next part of the table by looking up books/internet to record the air.
Draw Conclusions: Discuss the data with your partner:
Record some ideas of your discussion in the next row of the table. In this row, you make observations, ask questions and record explanations. This is important in the science inquiry process.
Concept 4: Water
Predict: Using your knowledge of the planets, predict whether each planet has water, or ice or neither.
Read Looking for water.... everywhere.
Collect and record: Complete the next part of the table by looking up books/internet to record thow much water or ice can be found on each planet.
Draw Conclusions: Discuss the data with your partner:
Record some ideas of your discussion in the next row of the table. In this row, you make observations, ask questions and record explanations. This is important in the science inquiry process.
Comment: Do you think life on the planets, other than earth, will be possible in the future? Give reasons for your opinion. Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2 that you agree/disagree with, explaining why.
Purpose: In this update, students develop conceptual understanding of the aspects of planets that are essential to life as well as practising some of the components of the science inquiry process.
Teaching Tips:
Create an A3 size table and issue to each student.
Model how to complete the section on orbits and students complete the orbit section as a whole class.
Students can work through the remaining sections with their partners.
Monitor the progress, particularly the section on drawing conclusions. Provide mini lessons for students who require extra support.
After the students have completed this update, ask them to repeat the baseline jigsaw.
Learning intention: I am learning to critically judge situations and express an opinion.
Success Criteria:
In small groups, discuss and answer the following questions:
Record your answers in your Unit book.
Comment: Comment on what you thought of this video. What ideas interested you? Explain why. Were the ideas new, unexpected or unbelievable? Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2 that you found interesting, explaining why.
Purpose: This update develops students' critical thinking by evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of living in space. It is an important thinking activity that will support them when they plan their survival projects.
Teaching Tips:
Prompt students to think about the destruction of the environment on Earth. Could space be an alternative after our planet is destroyed?
Learning Intention: I am learning to creatively apply my knowledge of human survival needs and planets of our solar system.
Success Criteria:
1. Plan investigation.
2. Complete Inquiry Plan.
3. Complete investigation.
Guiding Questions:
Comment: Share 1 fact from your research. Read other students' facts and comment on 1-2 that you found interesting/surprising/unexpected, explaining why.
Purpose: Here students are able to apply their conceptual and analytical learning about human survival needs and planets of our solar system through an investigation.
Teaching Tips:
The choice in the research project should support students to be extended, regardless of their starting points. The range can be from the planets in the solar system to other galaxies.
Learning intention: I am learning to use research skills to acquire new information.
Success Criteria:
What do you know about space exploration? Do you know any facts about who has explored space? Do you know why?
Do you know who first used a telescope to look at the stars? Who discovered that the Earth was round? Where there any ancient astronomers?
Comment: Share at least one important fact from your research. Read other students' facts and comment on 1-2 that you found interesting/unexpected, explaining why.
Purpose: Students develop a historical understanding and context for space discovery from ancient to modern times on a timeline. In doing so, they develop their research skills as well as an understanding of the nature and development of science and how science impacts everyday life.
Lesson:
Teaching Tips:
Students may need prompting to research ancient astronomers. Alternatively, they may neglect more modern astronomers and very recent discoveries.
Create a timeline across the length of a wall/whiteboard. Take photographs to record the timeline.
Learning intention: I am learning to see different points of view.
Success Criteria:
In small groups you will need to discuss and answer the following questions:
Record your answers in your Unit book.
Add a comment below or write a reflection of what you have discovered in your Unit book.
Comment: Share what you have discovered . Read other students' discoveries and comment on 1-2 that you found interesting, explaining why.
Purpose: This update further develops students' critical thinking about the influence of space travel on our lives. It also contributes to their understanding of why humans strive to explore space.
Teaching Tips:
Prompt students to think about all the benefits of space travel like the push for greater technology (fibre optics, super computers, etc)
Also prompt them about the cost of space exploration. Could that money be better spent?
Learning Intention: I am learning to research and synthesise information.
Success Criteria:
1. Describe how scientists from a range of cultures have improved our understanding of the solar system.
2. Complete Information Report Plan - What are you going to research?
3. Research Notes - add dot points only under each heading.
4. Complete Information Report.
Discuss the following question and in Cooperative Reading groups investigate:
Who makes contributions to our understanding of space?
Useful Links: These links describe how scientists from a range of cultures have improved our understanding of the solar system:
Information Report
Choose a person who has made a significant contribution to the understanding of space, and write an information report about this person and their discoveries/findings.
Complete 4 of the following reflection questions:
Comment: Share 1-3 ideas from your reflections. Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2 that you found interesting, explaining why.
Purpose: Students research how scientists from a range of cultures have improved our understanding of the solar system and record what they have learnt in an information report. This activity also involves explicit teaching of how to write an information report. Through their research, they focus on the reading skills of summarising, paraphrasing and synthesising information.
Teaching Tips:
Set up Cooperative Reading groups to foucs on investigation of astronomers/space scientists.
The rubric can be used to guide students and to set clear/high expectations. Students who complete the report in Scholar will be able access the rubric. Print it or provide a link in Google for those students not working in Scholar.
####Attach word version of rubric
Optional Extra: Show an excerpt from "Hidden Figures".
Learning Intention: I am learning to identify and explain how space and space exploration has shaped the way we live today.
Success Criteria:
1. Research space technology.
2. Write News Article on space technology.
Steps:
Choose one technology that was created as a result of scientific space research and present a news article on that technology and how it affects our lives today.
Complete your research in you Unit book.
Complete the written task in the slide show below.
Comment: Share 1-3 facts from your research. Read other students' facts and comment on 1-2 that you found interesting/unexpected, explaining why.
Purpose: Students research how space and space exploration have shaped the way we live today and record what they have learnt in a newspaper report. This activity also involves explicit teaching of how to write a newspaper report.
Teaching Tips
Students choose one technology that was created as a result of scientific space research and present a news article on that technology and how it affect our lives today
Resource to use during explicit teaching.
Students complete written task in the following powerpoint.
The rubric can be used to guide students and to set clear/high expectations. Students who complete the report in Scholar will be able access the rubric. Print it or provide a link in Google for those students not working in Scholar.
####Attach word version of rubric
Learning Intention: I am learning to communicate my perception of the Solar System
Success Criteria:
1. Depict all planets of the Solar System in my artwork.
2. Use elements of visual art (colour, line, shape, composition and texture) in my work.
3. Demonstrate my understanding of the solar system in my artwork.
Complete the plan for your artwork and check in with the teacher.
Complete the artwork.
Complete 4 of the following reflection questions:
Comment: Think back to your initial questions at the beginning of this unit. Were your questions answered? What was answered? What do you still need to find out? What was your favourite part of this unit? Explain why. Read other students' comments and comment on at least one that you foun interesting, explaining why.
Purpose: Drawing on all they have learnt, students now communicate their perceptions of the Solar System through visual art.
Teaching Tips:
Students are given a variety of resources to create an artwork depicting the Solar System and the new knowledge they have gained through the unit of work.
Possible Resource:
Final Solar System Jigsaw Activity:
Students repeat the activity from Updates 1 and 3 where they reorder the planets according to what they know about where the planets are situated in the solar system. They can record any facts around the planets to complement the diagram. Again this can be pasted into their book (or you/students could take a photo of it). They can compare it to their 2 prior drawings and reflect on their learning.