Out of this World

Introduction

You have been chosen to help NASA collect information on three primary parts of the Solar System. As a NASA employee you will research patterns of the sun, moon, and stars. NASA is providing you with Space Journals where you can record your findings, make sketches, and develop questions.

Good Luck! NASA is counting on you!

Task

Your Job as a NASA employee

NASA has developed a job just for you and two other members of your group. You will be working together to collect information that NASA can use in their peer edited research article that is published twice a year.

Pre-Trip requirements:

Make predictions about patterns you may find
Research your destinations and their facts

During Trip requirements:

Keep a journal including pictures, drawings, and facts
Make comparison about your assigned destination verses the different seasons.
Collect information that will help you educate others about your destination.

Post-trip requirements:

Send in your NASA journal completed and ready to be published

Attend the NASA Conference of 2015 to give a presentation on your destination

Process

1. Decide who is NASA Researcher 1, 2, or 3.

2. Each researcher prints the NASA recorder worksheets.

NASA Researchers	Description	Fun Facts	Compare and Contrast	Patterns
NASA Researcher #1 SUN
NASA Researcher #2 MOON
NASA Researcher #3 STARS

Researcher #1 you are responsible for researching the different patterns of the sun and how variations of seasons can affect the Sun. Check out this link to help you start your research:

http://www.planetsforkids.org

Researcher #2 you are responsible for researching the different patterns of the moon and how variations of seasons can affect the moon as well as the different types of moons throughout its stages.

Check out think link to help you start your research: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Display=Kids

Researcher #3 you are responsible for researching the different patterns of the stars and how variations of seasons can affect the star, also compare the different patterns that stars make and how they are developed.

Check out think link to help you start your research:

http://www.space.com/56-our-solar-system-facts-formation-and-discovery.html

3. Make Predictions as a group about the destinations

4. Make a timeline or checkpoints for when you want certain information collected by.

5. Break into your groups or individual destinations

6. Find a website that will help you collect all your information - Keep in mind it should be a credible website.

7. Add sketches, notes, questions, and facts into your NASA Journal that will be published

8. Meet with the other NASA partners to review information and questions. Here you will reevaluate the timeline and develop new ideas and answer questions.

9. Hopefully, your NASA journal is filling up with awesome information and pictures. You will be held to high expectations from the journalist from NASA who will be publishing your journal. Make sure you have no spelling mistakes or missing information’s

**DOUBLE CHECKING: Meet with your team and do a peer review of your information in the NASA journals.

10. Plan to edit any feedback you received or collect more information that you were lacking, your NASA Journal is due 5 days after your initial group meeting.

Evaluation

Category

4

3

2

1

Presentation

Well-rehearsed with smooth delivery that holds audience attention.

Rehearsed with fairly smooth delivery that holds audience attention most of the time.

Delivery not smooth, but able to maintain interest of the audience most of the time.

Delivery not smooth and audience attention often lost.

Requirements

All requirements are met and exceeded.

All requirements are met.

One requirement was not completely met.

More than one requirement was not completely met.

Mechanics

No misspellings or grammatical errors.

Three or fewer misspellings and/or mechanical errors.

Four misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

More than 4 errors in spelling or grammar.

Content

Covers topic in-depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent.

Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good.

Includes essential information about the topic but there are 1- 2 factual errors.

Content is minimal OR there are several factual errors.

Organization

Content is well organized using headings or bulleted lists to group related material.

Uses headings or bulleted lists to organize, but the overall organization of topics appears flawed.

Content is logically organized for the most part.

There was no clear or logical organizational structure, just lots of facts.

Originality

Product shows a large amount of original thought. Ideas are creative and inventive.

Product shows some original thought. Work shows new ideas and insights.

Uses other people's ideas (giving them credit), but there is little evidence of original thinking.

Uses other people's ideas, but does not give them credit.

Conclusion

Congratulations!

You have officially finished your first NASA research journal. Now it's time to attend the annual NASA conference. This year you and your two other group members are the keynote speakers; you will all give an overview of your findings giving examples and visuals to help the audience grasp the content you are sharing with them.

Here are some questions you should address in your presentation:

1. How has your research helped NASA gain more knowledge about the three destinations we sent you to explore?

2. How did you effectively collect information to help write NASA's annual peer edited journal?

3. What was most interesting in your findings?

4. How was working as a group of researchers?

5. What was more difficult in researching?

Credits

Sites Used For Lesson:

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Display=Kids

http://space-facts.com/solar-system/

http://theplanets.org

http://www.space.com/56-our-solar-system-facts-formation-and-discovery.html

http://www.planetsforkids.org

Sites Used to Develop Web Quest:

https://www.createwebquest.com/webquest/out-world

http://www.nasa.gov

Google images

Sites for Standards:

http://www.corestandards.org

http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards

Teacher Page

Science Standard:

1-ESS1-1 Space System: use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.

English Language Arts Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.7

Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of "how-to" books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.5

Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Learning goals:

Students will be able to research patterns of the sun, moon, and stars.
Make connections to why these patterns are occurring, such as changing of the seasons, day vs. night, etc.
Students will create a journal where they will collect this information in preparation for a presentation.
Students will need to be able to work in a group, collaborate, and use their time wisely.

Key Vocabulary:

Rotation
Gravity
Seasons
Comparison
Mass

This site was created by:

Kayla Kinmond