Pick Your Planet!

Imagine you are a big green alien (or a small pink alien, or an orange blob alien...) and your UFO just landed on planet Earth...You are surprised at how different it is than the planet you come from. You notice that there is clean water to drink, food to eat,  an atmosphere that allows its people to breathe AIR! and gives them different weather and seasons. The planet has the proper chemical ingredients, such as water and carbon, so life can flourish! As you will see, many other planets you research will not have these nice features.  You also notice that this funky planet is perfectly placed in the solar system so it is not too close or too far from the sun (which means you won't burn up like you would if you were on a planet that is too CLOSE to the sun, but you won't freeze like you would if you were on a planet too FAR from the sun!). The land is easy to walk on in most parts, but has different  features such as mountains, peninsulas, plains, valleys, and plateaus. The aliens also noticed there are many systems in place to provide nutrients to its inhabitants (people, animals, plants) to grow and flourish, for example, we have a water cycle and volcanic activity. We all need nutrients to grow and to survive!

Why were these aliens surprised by what planet Earth is like? They were because it is unlike their home planet! Each planet in our solar system is very different from the others. We will be looking at all the planets in our solar system and researching their differences and similarities.

Close your eyes and imagine that you are putting on an astronaut suit (don't forget the oxygen tank!), loading your luggage of prepackaged and vacuum-sealed foods (because there are no refrigerators, ovens, or microwaves!), plants, and various activities you like to do, and you strap into the space shuttle. Sitting there, you hold on tight and close your eyes while the rumbling starts beneath you. Soon enough, you feel the pressure and your shuttle BLASTS off into space! A short eight and a hald minutes later, you are in space. Sitting in your space shuttle (which just floats in the blackness of space, beause remember, no gravity!), you look around you. You're on the lookout for the perfect planet--one you'd like to live on!

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As a group, you are going to search for the perfect planet. You have 8 options because there are 8 planets!!! The words in the first row completes a saying that will help you to remember the names of all the planets in their correct order, and then the words in the second row are all the names of the planets in their correct order!

    My     Very     Educated   Mother   Just      Served       Us       Nachos

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Mercury  Venus     Earth       Mars     Jupiter  Saturn    Uranus    Neptune

Watch this video to learn a little about the solar system:

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ-qLUIj_A0 align:center]

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When researching your planets, you will each have a specific job. Before choosing your planet, assign roles in your group. They are:

Weather Man: Researches the planet's atmosphere and climate. What is the atmosphere like? Would organisms be able to breathe on this planet? What is the planet's distance from the sun, and does this make the planet hot, cold, or "just right?" What would it be like to live on this planet? How would we all have to dress?

Use this link for your research: http://www.spacekids.co.uk/solarsystem/ 

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/neptune.html 

Nutritionist: Researches the planet's water supply. Is there water available? If not, how will you try to make this work so you can live here? And what will your team do about food (be creative here!)?

Use this link for your research: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/space_days/activities/iceAndWater/aboutIceWater.pdf

Real-Estate Agent: Researches if there has been proof of life there in the past. Has any kind of life been found here? Could a human survive? Do you think maybe an organism could live here in the future?

Use this link for your research: http://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/Exploration.html

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/videos/space/keplermission.html

Travel Agent: Researches traveling to this planet. Has anyone every traveled here before? Could someone travel here? How might you get you, your family, and your friends here safely?

Use this link for your research: http://www.kidsastronomy.com/future_space_craft.htm

REMEMBER: You will find a lot of your information on these two websites, but a lot of the questions require you to be CREATIVE. Have fun with this, boys and girls!  

Explore some of the different planets that may interest you using these two links:

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Venus 

http://www.planetsforkids.org/planet-earth.html 

Look at pictures, read facts, and compare to planet Earth. Notice things such as atmosphere, size, distance from the sun, how long or short their days are, the landscape of it (for example, is it rocky? Does it have craters?), if life has ever been found here, and if it has ever been traveled to.

Now as a group, choose your planet! Continue researching and exploring until you think you have a good understanding of your planet. Make sure you know it and like it because, after all, you are going to be living here! Follow your specific role and find facts that go along with your specific job. Write your own research on a piece of notebook paper. For example, if you are your group's nutritionist, you need to research the planet's food supply! Using these two websites, find out all you need to know and record what you find.

Once you have all the information you need to support your decision to live on your planet, you are going to start writing. As a group, write a creative story of why you want to live on your planet and how you plan to make it work. Again, be creative! We all know we as humans can't live anywhere but on planet Earth, but that doesn't mean you can't convince us--maybe you've found a way to survive on Mercury even though it's so close to the sun, or maybe you've found a way to take on characteristics of another organism...

Once you have written your story (and given it a catchy name), you are going to draw a picture on large chart paper of you and your group doing something on that planet. You could be doing anything! Make it colorful, creative, and fun. Also, make it look like your planet. If your planet has green gas, draw green gas. If your planet has large orange craters, draw large orange craters.

After everyone is finished, we will begin presenting. Each person will need their sheets they filled out to explain to the class their role. Then, the group will read their story (please allow everyone a chance to read a part of the story; I don't want just one person reading the whole thing!) and then explain your drawing to the class.

Group WebQuest Rubric

Pick Your Planet!

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So, how was that? Did you learn a lot about our solar system? The information we covered in this activity is just a fraction of what you can learn about our solar system and all the cool stuff in it! If you would like to know more, check out your classroom, school, or town library, or, with permission from an adult, browse the web. The opportunities to learn are endless! Good luck in your future travels through space, astronauts!

Websites and References Used:

http://brainknowsbetter.com/news/2013/10/4/3-things-astronauts-need-to-survive-in-space

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/future_space_craft.htmhttp://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/neptune.html

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/videos/space/keplermission.html

http://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/Exploration.html

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/space_days/activities/iceAndWater/aboutIceWater.pdf

:http://www.planetary.org/explore/

 http://www.spacekids.co.uk/solarsystem/

http://sci.esa.int/plato/53707-esa-selects-planet-hunting-plato-mission/

http://www.nextgenscience.org/3-5ets-engineering-design

http://sites.psu.edu/outofthisworld/2014/03/04/do-you-believe-in-aliens/

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Venus 

http://www.planetsforkids.org/planet-earth.html 

Supporting Standard:

Next Generation Science Standard:

3.5 Engineering Design:

Common Core:

Literacy Standard:

W.3.3: Writing: Text Types and Purposes:

3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

     a. Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.