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Unit Plan: Space Science - Week 2
Anna Conard

Class/Grade - Space Science, 6th grade

Content Focus - Field Trip to Space - Solar System Continued, Gravity, and Stars

Content Standard/Benchmarks
MS-ESS1-1 Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of
lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons
MS-ESS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and
the solar system.

Purpose/Relevancy
- Students will want to learn this because it involves many online exploratory opportunities along with
virtual tours to expose them to what is outside of their everyday life.
- Students will need to learn this because it is important to have a solid understanding of space science as
it applies to our daily lives.
- Students will want to learn this because they will connect to the lessons personally and it will involve
fun games such as Kahoot and Jeopardy

Special Needs Approaches (Differentiating and Adapting)

- Students can be given the worksheets in paper format that could also be in larger font for easier
completion by the student.
- Students can be given access to the videos shown in class to complete the WebQuest at home or during a
study hall.

Performance Objectives (Affective, Cognitive, and Psychomotor)

- Affective: Students will be able to relate to space science by relating back to their personal lives and
exploring what life would be like on another planet.
- Cognitive: Students will be challenged to evaluate their previous thinking and knowledge through
exposure to many activities that will challenge their previous knowledge.
- Psychomotor: Students will use an understanding of their bodies to learn about and understand
gravitational pull.

Evaluation
- Reteaching Plan: The teacher will use one day at a time to explain the planets to make sure the students
are gaining a complete understanding.
- Independent Practice: Students will be given access to resources such as Space Place to explore space on
their own time.
- Extension Activity: Students will formulate an argument on why or why not life can be supported on
other planets and present this argument in debate format as well as having a written product.
Day 6: Gravity (Monday, December 11th, 2017) ________________________________________________

Resources
- iPads, MacBooks
- Weight Scale
- Pens/Pencils
- Post-It Notes

Opening/Entry (5 minutes)
- Teacher states, Raise your hand if you know how much you weigh. Students respond. Now raise
your hand if you know how much you weigh on the moon. Students respond.
- Teacher asks, Do you know why our weight differs on different planets and the moon? Students
answer.
- Today we will be discovering different gravitational pulls on different planets.

Instructional Method (25 minutes)

- Teacher states, First, lets find out our weight on Earth. I have a scale at the front of the classroom. I
will call up students one at a time who are seated quietly, with their MacBook or iPad ready and our
Weebly page open Students go grab their choice of technology and return to their seats quietly.
- Teacher says, When you come up to get weighed, take off your shoes first and then once you know
your weight, write this number down on a post-it note. Students are called on and follow instructions.
- Teacher asks, So what is gravity? Students and teacher explore the term of gravity and what it does.

Guided Practice (Learning Activity/Application) (20 minutes)

- Teacher says, So now that we know how much we weigh on Earth, lets discover our weight on other
planets. Your job today is to create a document that states your weight on different plants using the
website on our online classroom page. Also, at the bottom of the page, define gravity and find out the
Earths gravitational number.
- https://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/

Lesson Closure (Summary, Debriefing, Integration) (5 minutes)

- Teacher asks, So what planet did you weigh the most on? Students respond and discuss
- Teacher asks, So where did you weigh the lightest? Students respond and discuss
- Teacher says, Tonights homework is to find out how many stars are in the Milky Way Galaxy and
bring your answers to class tomorrow.
Day 7: Birth of a Star (Tuesday, December 12th, 2017) ___________________________________________

Resources
- Poster Board
- Markers, Crayons, Colored Pencils
- Pen/Pencils
- Science Journals
- iPads/MacBooks

Opening/Entry (5 minutes)
- Teacher asks, So tell me how many stars there are the Milky Way Galaxy. Students respond.
- Today we will be making a timeline on how a star is born.

Instructional Method (10 minutes)

- Teacher says, Our sun is actually a star just like the ones we see shining at night but our Sun is a
star that is very close to us.
- Teacher says, We will be watching a video in class. Take notes on this video because you will be
making a timeline demonstrating your understanding of how a star is born.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EnBBIx6XkM

Guided Practice (Learning Activity/Application) (35 minutes)

- Teacher says, At this time, you will be placed into groups of 4 and will be given one poster board and
some coloring utensils. You will have the rest of the class period to draw out the life cycle of a star
with clear labels and descriptions. If you need to watch the video again, the link is on our classroom
website.
- Teacher walks around answering any questions that the students may have.

Lesson Closure (Summary, Debriefing, Integration) (5 minutes)

- Teacher states, At this time, finish up your posters, put away your coloring materials, and return to
your desk quietly.
- Teacher states, Your homework for tonight is to research the different types of stars and come to
class tomorrow having learned about 3 different types of stars.
- http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/startypes.shtml
Day 8: Types of Stars (Wednesday, December 13th, 2017) ________________________________________

Resources
- iPads/MacBooks
- Posters from the previous day - birth of a star
- Worksheet (Exit Slip)
- Pen/Pencil
- Colored Pencils

Opening/Entry (5 minutes)
- Teacher states, Today we will be using online exploratory activities to review what we have learned
before about stars but to also learn about the star types. What type of star is our Sun? Students
respond. Can stars change from one type to another type? Students respond.

Instructional Method (10 minutes)

- Teacher states, Today you can work with a partner to fill out todays worksheet which will also be
todays exit slip.
- Teacher states, Between the you and your partner, you need 1 iPad or MacBook, 1 pack of colored
pencils, and two worksheets, one for each person. At this time, gather your necessary materials and sign
into your device.
- Students log on to the technology device and gather the necessary materials. Once the students are
ready, the teacher says the following instructions, Go to your Weebly classroom website, find todays
date and click on the first hyperlink labeled: Star Classification Website, this should look familiar
because our homework was using this site last night. Use this site to fill out your star vocabulary
worksheet.
- http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/startypes.shtml

Guided Practice (Learning Activity/Application) ()

- Students work on their vocabulary sheet with their learning partners. Teacher says, At this time you
should be near complete with the vocabulary and if you are not, continue working on it. Once you
and your partner are done with the vocabulary, return back to our classroom website and click on the
second link labeled: Astronomy Games and play the two games listed on our class site.
- http://planeta42.com/astronomy/startypes/
- http://planeta42.com/astronomy/solarPuzzle/

Lesson Closure (Summary, Debriefing, Integration) (5 minutes)

- Teacher states, At this time, please return your technology devices to their correct locations and clean
up your area.
- Your homework tonight is to type up one paragraph (5-6 sentences) with the prompt: Pretend you
are an alien traveling through space. Describe what you would see or where you would want to travel.
Use a lot of details and facts that we have learned about over the past week and a half.
Day 9: Review (Thursday, December 14th, 2017) ________________________________________________

Resources
- iPads, MacBooks

Opening/Entry (5 minutes)
- Teacher states, Today we will be reviewing for our big unit test tomorrow. Are there any questions
about the material that we have been covering? Students respond with questions or topics that they
need clarification on.

Instructional Method (10 minutes)

- Teacher states, At this time, please pull up the paragraphs that you wrote for your homework. Take
2-3 minutes to reread them. Then take 5 minutes to share your paragraph with your partner. Make
any changes or suggestions to make these paragraphs well-written. Once you have completed this,
please submit this into the Weebly classroom InBox for a grade. Teacher gives students time and
walks around answering any questions.

Guided Practice (Learning Activity/Application) (35 minutes)

- Teachers states, Once you have turned in your assignment, return your iPad or MacBook and return
to your seat to review your notes for our review game.
- I have teams of 5, get in these groups and separate yourselves in the room so you cannot hear
another group. Once we are organized, we will start our jeopardy game.
- https://www.superteachertools.us/jeopardyx/jeopardy-review-
game.php?gamefile=289164#.WiCn87T83q0

Lesson Closure (Summary, Debriefing, Integration) (5 minutes)

- Teacher asks, Are there any questions about tomorrows test?? Students respond and teacher answers
any questions.
- Teacher says, Your homework for tomorrow is to study for the test tomorrow and if you can, bring
your cell phone to class because we will be playing a short Kahoot! game before our exam!
Day 10: Test Day (Friday, December 15th, 2017) ________________________________________________

Resources
- Personal cell phones
- iPads/MacBooks

Opening/Entry (5 minutes)
- Teacher states, Today we have our big final exam on the Solar System and Space Science Unit. If
you have any questions, ask them now so I can hopefully clear up any confusion. Students respond.

Instructional Method (15-20 minutes)

- Teacher says, At this time, take out your cell phone or if you dont have your cell phone, go grab an
iPad and go to kahoot.it
- Once everyone is waiting for the game pin, display the game pin up on the screen and wait for all the
students to join.
- Play the Kahoot game.
- Once the game is completed, teacher says, At this time all personal electronic devices are to be put
away and cell phones in the basket at the front of the room, make sure they are silenced please!

Guided Practice (Learning Activity/Application) (25 minutes)

- Teacher says, Go to our classroom website, find todays exam and click on the button that will take
you to the Google Forms Quiz. You have the rest of the class period to take this exam. When you are
done with the exam, click on the link that will take you to an article about Meteorites.
- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd33IpSToxV9wrVQaBjUM3psKIu8uCoaArGPmL
4_BrHCP17ZA/viewform?usp=sf_link
- https://space-facts.com/meteorites/
- Teacher walks around to answer any questions that the students may have.

Lesson Closure (Summary, Debriefing, Integration) (5 minutes)

- Teacher says, Please return all electronic devices and retrieve your cell phones from the front of the
room.
- Teacher says, Tell me what we learned about meteorites. Students respond.