Designing Curriculum and Instruction in Elementary School
Astronomy
The job is to prepare one or more lessons on astronomy—grades 3-5.
3rd Grade Physical Science Matter, Property and Change
3.P.2 Understand the structure and properties of matter before and after change
3.E.1.1 Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the solar system that includes the sun (a star), planets, and many moons and the earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system.
Follow steps, below, that are exactly the steps to use when YOU are teaching.
Work on this assignment by yourself or in small groups if you want to.I recommend planning with others, but writing it by yourself.
Here is a format you can use to do/write out the assignment.
Send it to me any time you want. I will give you suggestions. You can then improve it.
It is due (email) by the 12th of December at 5:00 PM.
Here are the steps.
1. Read the materials below.
a. Notice and underline or bold face fact statements. “The sun is…”
b. Notice and underline or bold face lists of facts IN the text, or scattered facts that YOU bring together and can turn into a list that makes a description. “The solar system contains the following things….”
c. Notice and underline or bold face vocabulary words/concepts to teach. Solar system, sun, planet, orbit, distance, etc.
Think of how you might teach these. Some require a verbal definition (“A solar system is…..”) plus examples. Others might be taught with a synonym (“Distance means how far one thing is from another thing.”) plus examples of distances.
d. Notice and underline or bold face rule relationships. “The farther the distance a planet is from the sun, the larger is its orbit around the sun.” “The closer a planet is to the sun, the closer it is to the heat of the sun, and so the higher its temperature.” Then give examples.
e. Notice and underline or bold face routines, such as explanations. That is, knowledge that is USED or STATED as STEPS. “Here are the four stages by which solar systems are formed. First stage…. Second stage…”
2. Now divide the material into chunks. Each chunk might be a TASK in a lesson, or might be a short lesson in a SEQUENCE OF LESSONS (a UNIT). Note that the knowledge in chunks might be scattered through the text; for example, a chunk called “Basic facts about OUR solar system.” Some facts may in one paragraph of the materials, and other facts in different paragraphs. So, when you make chunks, list WHERE the information is in the text. “Some facts are in paragraph 6; also see paragraph 12.”
3. Look over everything you might want students to learn (steps 1 and 2), and think of a FINAL PERFORMANCE and FINAL OBJECTIVES (how students will do the final performance). The final performance should include: (1) a review (e.g., students define concepts, state rules, explain the stages by which solar systems develop), and (2) a project that INTEGRATES what they learned.
4. Using the final performance (step 3) as a guide, arrange the chunks in a logical sequence leading to the final performance. Ask yourself, “What do they need to know before I teach this?” For example, before you teach a rule---“The size of an object’s orbit around the sun increases as the distance of the object increases from the sun”--- students have to know what orbit, distance, and sun mean. So, you’d teach these concepts in an earlier task in the lesson. Note: The way the materials are organized may NOT be a logical sequence. So, don’t arrange chunks the same way information is presented in the text.
5. Now write a description of the chunks, in order. For each chunk:
a. Label the chunk. For instance, “Parts of solar systems.”
b. State the performance (what students will do), and the objectives (how they will do it). For example:
(1) “Students define each part of solar systems, giving complete definitions,”
(2) “Given pictures of solar systems, students correctly identify the parts.”
c. List all of the knowledge that you identified to teach. What facts to make a description? What concepts/vocabulary? What rule relationships (distance/heat)? What routines (a sequence of statements that make up an explanation)?
6. Now write a script for teaching the knowledge in each chunk. Follow the guide, below.
How to Teach Each Kind of Knowledge
Please read and download
Use synonyms and examples when a verbal definition would contain words that are too advanced. Later, teach THOSE words and use verbal definitions. / Teaching Rules / Teaching Routines
Gain attention. “Boys and girls. Eyes on me. Show me ready.”…
“Yes, I love the way…” “Now you’re ready to learn!”
Frame the instruction.
1. Tell what you’ll be working on.
“Now we’ll…”
2. Tell what they’ll do when you are done (objective).
“When we’re done, you will…”
Model. Say the fact.
Lead. [If you think they need it.]
Test. Students say the fact. / Gain attention. “Boys and girls. Eyes on me. Show me ready.”…
“Yes, I love the way…”
“Now you’re ready to learn!”
Frame the instruction.
1. Tell what you’ll be working on. “Now we’ll…”
2. Tell what they’ll do when you are done (objective). “When we’re done, you will…”
Model. “Here are five (show fingers) facts about…. Get ready.
“First fact (one finger)….. What is our first fact…. Yes….
Second fact (two fingers)…. What is our second fact…”
Etc.
Test, “Let’s do ALL our facts about.. First fact (finger). [Hint? Partial answer?] [Repeat with all.]
Later, review again, until students need no hints or punctuation (no “First” and no holding up fingers).
Please read and download
/fullyscaffolded.doc / Gain attention. “Boys and girls. Eyes on me. Show me ready.”…
“Yes, I love the way…”
“Now you’re ready to learn!”
Frame the instruction.
1. Tell what you’ll be working on. “Now we’ll…”
2. Tell what they’ll do when you are done (objective). “When we’re done, you will…”
Model. Three ways:
a. Verbal definition.
(1) “New word/concept---comet. What’s our new word/concept?.... Spell comet. … What’s our new word/concept?”...
(2) Tell the definition.
“Acometis an icysmall solar system body(genus) that sometimes has a thin, fuzzy, temporaryatmosphere and sometimes also atail, and orbits the solar system from a few years to hundreds of thousands of years (difference from other solar system bodies).”
(3) Nowsay/show examples, and point out the features from the definition.
“This is a comet. Notice the….”
(4) Show nonexamples and point out absence of features. Then do a few more examples for contrast.
“This is NOT a comet. Notice it does NOT have…”
(5) Test all examples and nonexamples (delayed acquisition test). “Is this a comet… How do you know?” [Student use definition.]
Later, work on generalization items.
b. Synonym.
(1) “New word. Orbit. What’s our new word?... Spell orbit… What’s our new word?”…
(2) Tell the new word and its synonym. “Listen, an orbit is a path shaped like a circle that one thing makes around another thing. Again, an orbit is…..”
(3) Test.
“What’s another way to say a path shaped like a circle that one thing makes around another thing.”… orbit…Yes, orbit IS a path shaped like a circle that one thing makes around another thing.”
(4) Examples of new word and synonym.
“Listen, the car is making a path shaped like a circle around the house. I’ll say that sentence with our new word. The car is making an orbit around the house. ”
More examples.
(5) Test. “Your turn to use our new word. Listen, the moon was making a path shaped like a circle around the sun. Say that with our new word.” The moon was making an orbit around the sun. Verification.
(6)Give examples of USING the new word. “Here’s an orbit. [point.] The earth (one thing) is making a path (this circular line) around another thing—the sun…Here’s the earth’s moon (one thing) making a path (circular line) around another thing---the earth.” Etc.
(7)Give nonexamples. “This is an asteroid (one thing). It is going straight down to another thing—the earth. It is NOT making a circular path around the earth. So, it does not have an orbit.”
(8) Test all. Use the examples and nonexamples. “Is this object making an orbit?....How do you know?” Students use the idea of circular path.
Later, work on generalization items.
c. Examples and nonexamples only.
(1) “New word/concept---eliptical. What’s our new word/concept?.... Spell eliptical. … What’s our new word/concept?”...
(2) Examples.
“This is elliptical.”
“This is elliptical.”
“This is elliptical.”
“This is NOT elliptical.”
“This is not elliptical.”
“This IS elliptical.”
(3) Test. Show all examples and nonexamples, and ask, “Is this elliptical?” Correct errors or verify.
Later, work on generalization. / Gain attention. “Boys and girls. Eyes on me. Show me ready.”…
“Yes, I love the way…” “Now you’re ready to learn!”
Frame the instruction.
1. Tell what you’ll be working on. “Now we’ll…”
2. Tell what they’ll do when you are done (objective). “When we’re done, you will…”
Model. Two ways: Deductive (rule examples) and Inductive (examples rule)
a. Deductive.
You tell the rule about how things are connected, and then give examples of it. (deductive)
(1) Model. “Here’s a rule. The farther a solar system object is from the sun, the larger is its orbit.” [repeat?]
(2)Test. “What’s our rule?” correct errors and verify.
(3) Examples. “Look here (point). Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It’s orbit is the smallest.” [with older kids use numbers, in miles.] Earth is farther from the sun than Mercury (point and/or tell distance) and Earth’s orbit is larger than the orbit of Mercury.”
[More examples.]
(4) Test. “Jupiter is farther from the sun than Earth. Which planet has a larger orbit?.... How do you know? [students use the rule.] Correct errors and verify.
Later, work on generalization; e.g., the orbits of moons around planets.
b. Inductive.
(1) Give examples.
“Boys and girls. Here are facts.
Distance Orbit
from sun
Merc 37 m miles 58 m miles
Ven 65 m miles 108 m miles
Earth 93 m miles 150 m miles
Mars 140 m miles 228 m miles
Jupi 484 miles 778 m miles
Satur 884m m 1427 m miles
Uran 1786 m miles 2870 m miles
Nept2790 m miles 4497 m miles
Pluto 3627 m miles 4914 m miles
Show solar system and give facts for each planet. Tell the rule each time.
“Earth is farther from the sun than Venus, and the orbit of the Earth is greater than the orbit of Venus.”
Have students summarize the facts by saying the rule.
(2) Test. Now give new examples—for instance,
“Moon A is 2 million miles from Jupiter, and its orbit is 5 million miles. Moon B is 4 million miles from Jupiter. Whose orbit is larger? Moon 1 and Moon 2… How do you know?” [students use the rule.]
More examples. / Gain attention. “Boys and girls. Eyes on me. Show me ready.”…
“Yes, I love the way…” “Now you’re ready to learn!”
Frame the instruction.
1. Tell what you’ll be working on. “Now we’ll explain how solar systems form. ”
2. Tell what they’ll do when you are done (objective). “When we’re done, you will explain how solar systems form by saying all the stages in order.”
Model.
“Boys and girls. Here are the stages by which solar systems form. [Students might read from text.]
“Stage one….” [ name it and say a few things that happen.]
Test. “What is the first stage…. Tell what happens.” Correct errors and verify.
Model. “Stage two…. “[ name it and say a few things that happen.]
Test. “What is stage two…. Tell what happens.” Correct errors and verify.
Model. “Stage three….”
[ name it and say a few things that happen.]
Test. “What is stage three…. Tell what happens.” Correct errors and verify.
Model. “Stage four…”
[ name it and say a few things that happen.]
Test. “What is stage four…. Tell what happens.” Correct errors and verify.
Integrate.
“Now let’s do all the stages that explain how solar systems form… “ [Prompt students to read from their notes or from text.”
“Stage one…” Correct errors and verify.
Do all the stages.
Now all together.
“Now YOU say the stages all together.” Correct errors and verify.
Here are more resources for writing procedures, but I don’t think you’ll need them.
**** However, you MUST look at this document Seven point lesson plan
We have generally been following the seven point lesson plan.
Brief procedures for teaching the six kinds of knowledge
Teaching Facts
Teaching List. Phases of Mitosis
Sample format for teaching vocabulary with synonyms
Sample format for teaching vocabulary with examples
Teaching Sensory Concept. On
Sample format for teaching vocabulary with verbal definition
Teaching Rule-relationship. Temperature/pressure
Teaching Routine. Sounding Out Words
7. Finally, make a set of guided notes for each chunk of the lesson or lessons
Guided Notes on AstronomyTopic/chunk ______
You will learn and do….
Outline: What we will work on. List important concepts and rules.
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
What Is The Solar System?
The Solar System is made up of all the planets that orbit our Sun. In addition to planets, the Solar System also consists of moons, comets, asteroids, minor planets, and dust and gas.
Everything in the Solar System orbits or revolves around the Sun. The Sun contains around 98% of all the material in the Solar System. The larger an object is, the more gravity it has. Because the Sun is so large, its powerful gravity attracts all the other objects in the Solar System towards it. At the same time, these objects, which are moving very rapidly, try to fly away from the Sun, outward into the emptiness of outer space. The result of the planets trying to fly away, at the same time that the Sun is trying to pull them inward is that they become trapped half-way in between. Balanced between flying towards the Sun, and escaping into space, they spend eternity orbiting around their parent star.
How Did The Solar System form?
This is an important question, and one that is difficult for scientists to understand. After all, the creation of our Solar System took place billions of years before there were any people around to witness it. Our own evolution is tied closely to the evolution of the Solar System. Thus, without understanding from where the Solar System came from, it is difficult to comprehend how mankind came to be.
Scientists believe that the Solar System evolved from a giant cloud of dust and gas. They believe that this dust and gas began to collapse under the weight of its own gravity. As it did so, the matter contained within this could begin moving in a giant circle, much like the water in a drain moves around the center of the drain in a circle.
At the center of this spinning cloud, a small star began to form. This star grew larger and larger as it collected more and more of the dust and gas that collapsed into it.
Further away from the center of this mass where the star was forming, there were smaller clumps of dust and gas that were also collapsing. The star in the center eventually ignited forming our Sun, while the smaller clumps became the planets, minor planets, moons, comets, and asteroids.
A Great Storm
Once ignited, the Sun's powerful solar winds began to blow. These winds, which are made up of atomic particles being blown outward from the Sun, slowly pushed the remaining gas and dust out of the Solar System.
With no more gas or dust, the planets, minor planets, moons, comets, and asteroids stopped growing. You may have noticed that the four inner planets are much smaller than the four outer planets. Why is that?
Because the inner planets are much closer to the Sun, they are located where the solar winds are stronger. As a result, the dust and gas from the inner Solar System was blown away much more quickly than it was from the outer Solar System. This gave the planets of the inner Solar System less time to grow.
Another important difference is that the outer planets are largely made of gas and water, while the inner planets are made up almost entirely of rock and dust. This is also a result of the solar winds. As the outer planets grew larger, their gravity had time to accumulate massive amounts of gas, water, as well as dust.
The Solar System Has Over 100 objects
It is true that there are only eight planets. However, the Solar System is made up of over 100 worlds that are every bit as fascinating. Some of these minor planets, and moons are actually larger than the planet Mercury!
Others, such as Io, have active volcanoes. Europa has a liquid water ocean, while Titan has lakes, rivers, and oceans of liquid Methane. You can read more about these amazing worlds by clicking here.
The Asteroid Belt, The Kuiper Belt, And The Oort Cloud
You have probably heard about the Asteroid Belt. This band of asteroids sits between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It is made up of thousands of objects too small to be considered planets. Some of them no larger than a grain of dust, while others, like Eros can be more than 100 miles across. A few, like Ida, even have their own moons.
Further out, beyond the orbit of the minor planet Pluto, sits another belt known as the Kuiper Belt. Like the Asteroid Belt, the Kuiper Belt is also made up of thousands, possibly even millions of objects too small to be considered planets. A few of these objects, like Pluto, are large enough that their gravity has pulled them into a sphere shape.
These objects are made out of mostly frozen gas with small amounts of dust. They are often called dirty snowballs. However, you probably know them by their other name... comets.