Sarah Kasama

Rationale for Topic Generativity

Topic: Space Race

A. How is your topic central to one or more disciplines?

As part of the sixth and seventh grade science standards, covering the topic of astronomy is required. However, due to the unconventional nature of Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership Schools Middle School setup in which students have the same Science teacher for all three years, astronomy is covered only during the sixth grade year. Therefore, I considered sixth and seventh grade science standards for astronomy and space. The Pennsylvania Department of Educations standards for astronomy are to: Identify equipment and instruments that explore space. Identify the accomplishments and contributions provided by select past and present scientists in the field of astronomy. Identify and articulate space program efforts to investigate possibilities of living in space and on other planets (3.4.7. D).

These standards coincided quite well with what I had in mind for the sixth graders. I am satisfying these standards by having the students research contributions of the space program past and presently. I am also having them research the significant events and people that contributed to the Space Race and the impact they had on society. Finally, they will read several articles on recently discovered potentially habitable planets, such as Kepler 22B. We will discuss the possibility of living in space, as well as the benefits, disadvantages, and necessary steps of living on another planet.

B. Why would your topic be interesting?

The sixth grade students have been learning about astronomy since January, my unit will be the final topic. So far the students have shown immense interest in astronomy and outer space. They enjoy learning about and theorizing about the potential and seemingly limitless boundaries of space. Over the past two months they have learned about early astronomers, telescopes, stars and constellations, the formation of the solar system and sun, and the planets. I think they will enjoy learning about the Space Race because it is more tangible. They will get to view original footage from the first lunar landing, as well as President Kennedys speeches about the space program. The people involved in the Space Race did not live centuries ago, but are more recent. Furthermore, I think they will be particularly interested to learn about the future of space exploration. Several of them have expressed interest in becoming astronauts. While many of the things they have learned about thus far happened in the past, the discovery of habitable planets is happening now in their life time. Putting the topics relevance aside, I think they will also enjoy the activities I have planned in order to teach the material. My goal was to make this unit as multidimensional as possible; therefore, we will be watching videos, working in groups to create a timeline of events and people, conducting a class debate about the pros and cons of space exploration, analyzing news articles, and finally, creating planets. I tried to make this unit as hands on as possible, in which the students can construct their own knowledge through a series of guided activities. The students will be responsible for taking notes during the videos and lectures, as well as using the computer and books to research events and people. They will also be required to research at least one contribution of the space program, interview someone about

their memory of the lunar landing, and create a three point argument for or against space exploration. They will also have the chance to be creative and use what they have learned since January to create their own planet. In this way they are actively constructing their own knowledge and it is their responsibility to figure out the answers and ask questions. At first I was not super excited to teach this topic; I couldnt even remember learning about the Space Race when I was in school. However, once I began researching the topic and finding resources I became enthused and excited to plan all these activities. I have never been very interested in astronomy; I enjoy chemistry and biology. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see how people have played a role in space exploration and the next frontier of space. I also believe the activities will make the topic engaging and I am excited to be able to assign some literacy projects. Although, this topic was assigned to me I am finding the planning and hopefully soon the execution enjoyable.

C. How is this topic accessible to students? In order to teach this topic I chose activities which I firmly believe my sixth grade students can handle independently and with teacher guidance. The first two days I like to describe as dipping their toes into the water; they will be introduced to the Space Race through footage and guided notes. The hook is watching and analyzing President Kennedys speeches to Congress and at Rice University. I decided to open the topic with these video clips because I want them to see the significance and national impact the Space Race had on our country at the time. I felt as though I could not fully convey this sentiment through only notes and the use of their text book. However, by being able to watch the Presidents reaction and see the peoples reaction an important message is being conveyed to the audience. The message will

be deciphered by the students using a questionnaire and graphic organizer as they watch these films. Following the videos, there will be guided notes that pertain to all important events and people of the Space Race. We will also watch clips from Race to Space: Americas Greatest Journey, so that they can view the first lunar landing. Their homework assignment for the week is to interview someone about their memories of the first lunar landing. My goal for this assignment is that the children will learn the importance of oral history, the impact the landing had on even children at the time, and the importance of investigating an issue to further ones own understanding. In order to help them be successful interviewers, we will review what types of questions to ask and how to take notes while conducting an interview. To conclude the first week, the students will work in groups to create a detailed timeline of Space Race events and people. They will divide themselves into roles: the scribe, the researcher for events, the researcher for people, and the artist. They will have to find information on each event, such as when did the event occur? Who was involved? What happened? Why was it significant? I chose to do this project in groups instead of partners or individually because of the time constraint. They will have two days to complete the timeline, with an option to come after school or finish it over the weekend if necessary. I also believe that by completing this project in a group they will have extra resources to lean on, they can ask each other questions and help clarify events, and it will also give them time to ask me questions if the group is still unsure. On the following Monday, the timelines will be due and they will have a short 10-15 minute quiz on the Space Race. A routine in my classroom is weekly quizzes on Monday testing the information the students learned the previous week. I decided to stick with this

routine because I do not want the students to think they can slack off while I am teaching, I want to keep them on their toes. It will also be a great assessment for me, I will get the opportunity to see how much information the students retained and if I was successful at teaching the material. And as always, I will get to see which of the students got it and which students need to review or need a little extra help. The rest of this class period will be spent preparing for the class debate on the pros and cons of space exploration. At first I was unsure if the students would have sufficient time to prepare and organize themselves for a class debate, however, they have previously conducted a town meeting in which they had to argue an assigned position, answer questions, and deliberate to chose a winner. I felt this structure was similar enough that the students would be able to handle a scaffolded, informal debate. In order to scaffold the debate, I am assigning pro/con roles to each lab group. They will work as a team to research three pro or con points to argue. They will then need to order the points from most important to least. On the day of the debate, the class will be split in half (pros on one side, cons on the other). One Pro group will give their #1 point, and then one Con group will give their #1 point. This will go back and forth for three points. Then the floor will be open for questions (the Pro side can question/rebut one of the Cons points and vice versa). The students will then give a closing statement and a winner will be deliberated. The last couple days we will be reading several news articles together as a class and having open discussions about the possibility of living on other planets. This is in preparation for their last project, which is to create their own planet. For the past couple weeks they have been studying the planets and researching their features such as, location, size, surface material, environment, gravity, moons, space missions and inhabitants. They will have to use

these same features to describe their own planet. They have the option of drawing a colored illustration of their planet to accompany their narrative or a making a 3-D model. Since the students cannot physically experience space, I have tried to make this unit as visual as possible with the use of video, lap top computers, articles and books. Overall, we will watch video clips from four sources. They will get to use the classroom lap tops to research for their timeline and for the debate. There is also a classroom library of books they can access to research both projects as well. I also wanted to bring in a speaker; however I felt I was unable to do so with the time constraints and Middle School schedule. Yet, I believe the lunar landing interview will give them a similar opportunity to speak with someone about their experiences with space. D. How does this topic provide opportunities for multiple connections? I built this unit around the idea of a multidimensional lesson, in which all types of learners could participate in at least one activity that creates understanding for them. Throughout my unit, I tried to create a series of activities that appealed to different intelligences; by this I mean, I have literacy activities for those who like to read and write to learn, I employed the use of video for those who are visual learners, I assigned a creative, artistic planet project for those who learn through art, and I planned two oral activities, the debate and interview, for those who learn through talk. I wanted to provide an opportunity for each student to make a solid connection to at least one activity throughout the unit that makes the content stick with them. The main activity that I hope makes connections for them is the lunar landing interview. Their assignment is to interview a family member, close family friend, or neighbor about their memories of the first lunar landing. I believe oral history is one of

the best ways to gain perspective on a historical event, plus talking to someone about their experiences makes the occurrence more tangible and real. I once had a student tell me he didnt like social studies because he thinks that perhaps history isnt real because it happened so long ago; this is my way of breaking that disconnect to history. They will talk with someone they know, learn from them about the impact of the lunar landing, and be able to bring that perspective back to the classroom and talk about it. Likewise, I am assigning the planet project in hopes that they will use what they have learned throughout the entire astronomy unit to create their own planet. My wish is that they make connections to all the information they learned about outer space and the planets we currently have information about. They must use what they already know about planetary features in order to create a successful imaginary planet, that could indeed possible be real (somewhere out in space). I created this activity for two reasons, first it connects back to all they have previously learned before we close the astronomy unit and second, it is a fun, creative way to think about planetary possibilities. Finally, I decided to plan a class debate because I knew they could handle it based on their previous experience conducting a town hall meeting. This activity connects back to a prior experience rather than prior knowledge. They will have to conduct themselves in a similar manner, arguing points of view, questioning others statements, and making a final statement. I believe they will connect back to how the town hall meeting worked and use that knowledge to prepare themselves for the debate. Although, this unit does not necessarily have direct connections to their own neighborhood I feel that the students will make a handful of connections to prior knowledge and classroom experiences. They will be exposed to video, notes, articles,

books, computer research, individual, partner, and group work, art, oral speaking, and writing. The multidimensional activities will allow for a greater chance of deep understanding and provide opportunities for all types of learners.