A Journey Into our Solar System Without Leaving the Classroom

Introduction

Who needs a rocket when you journey through the solar system via the World Wide Web? This space exploration Webquest will have you exploring the solar system without ever leaving the classroom.

A solar system consists of the Sun and the celestial bodies which are bound to its field of gravity. These celestial bodies includes asteroids, meteors, moons, and planets. The planets in our solar system have their own distinct characteristics, some of which are directly related to their distance from the Sun.

Task

Your task is to research a specific planet with your group. You can use the websites provided or some of your own information to learn more about the planets. The goal is to answer the questions to learn about your planet and the technology we use to explore the planets. With the designated planet you have been researching create a travel brochure describing the planet that we should travel to. The brochure should be informative, accurate, and readable while also being creative.

Process

In order to do the best work you can, complete the following steps . . .

Read through all directions to fully understand what is being asked of you.

Go to the specific websites for your designated planets (on the credits page) from there explore and answer the following questions . . .

What is the order of the planets according to distance from the Sun and where does your planet lie?

What are the statistics for your planet? This can include:

    • Distance from the sun
    • Length of a year on the planet
    • Length of a day on the planet
    • Average temperature
    • How much would you weight if you were to visit your planet?

What are some interesting facts, apart from the information in question two, about your planet?

Develop a travel brochure convincing us to travel to your planet for a trip.

Present your brochure to class on the designated day and explain to the class all about your planet.

Evaluation

Once you have completed and collected the data for your planet, you will create a travel brochure using brochure developing software. The brochure will have five sides including a cover, three parts of information, and a conclusion on the back. On the cover you must include a picture of your designated planet and a catchy line that will draw our attention to your planet. The picture may be original artwork, that you created, or images you found on the web. On the inside of your brochure you must include the information about your planet, three picture of your planet, and interesting facts that you found about your planet. This information will be taken directly from your previous research, and the notes that you took from your researching phase. On the back of the brochure have a couple of lines that summarize and ultimately convince us to visit your planet. Do not simply list the facts, incorporate them into your brochure naturally – as if you were describing firsthand accounts from your planet.

Conclusion

By the end of this project you should be able to be an expert on your planet and the other members of the solar system. When the project is done you will have gathered information from multiple source and increased your abilities of researching and reporting on what you found. In order to share your information with the class, you will complete a short presentation to the class explaining your travel brochure and convincing the class to want to visit your planet. This project will begin to improve your researching skills and learn about certain sites that you could utilize for future projects.

Credits