Subject: Space Science and Math

3rd

Grade/Level:

Topic or Unit of Study: Our Solar System

Objectives: Students will learn about the units used in space to measure
distance and size. After a hands on activity, students will have to complete a
work sheet individually. Students will then be placed in groups to discuss the
answers and reflect on the activity. Each group will then report out.
Summary: Teacher will teach a lesson on measurement units in space.
Teacher will give each student a planet in which they will be during the
spacewalk activity. Students and teacher will then go outside to do the
activity. After the activity students will be given a worksheet to work on
individually and then get into groups and share their results and reflect on
the activity.

Implementation
Learning Context: Students will know the planets that make up our solar
system. The will know that the Sun is the middle of our solar system, and the
planets orbit the Sun.
Procedures and Time Allotment:
1. Teacher will discuss and define the measurements used in space: Lightyears and Astronomical Unit.
2. Hands on activity: Lets Take a Planet Walk.
1. Go outside.
2. Hand the Sun and the planets to selected students, making sure
that each student knows the name of the object he or she is
carrying, so as to be able to keep up with their object making up
the solar system replica.
3. You will have found in advance a spot from where you can walk a
thousand yards in something like a straight line. This may not be
easy. Straightness of the course is not critical, and you probably
wont be able to see one end of it from the other.
4. Put the Sun ball down, and march away as follows. (After the first
few planets, you will want to appoint someone else to do the
actual pacing-call this person the "Spacecraft" or "Pacecraft"-so
that you are free to talk.)
5. After 10 paces, call out "Mercury, where are you?" and have the
Mercury-bearer put down their card and pinhead, weighting them
with a pebble if necessary.
6. After another 9 paces, Venus puts down her peppercorn.

7. After another 7 paces, Earth is positioned.

8. Already the thing seems beyond belief. Mercury is supposed to be
so close to the Sun that it is merely a scorched rock, and we never
see it except in the Sun's glare at dawn or dusk-yet here it is,
utterly lost in space! As for the Earth, who can believe that the
Sun could warm us if we are that far from it?
9. After another 14 paces, Mars becomes part of the scene.
10. Students will begin to grasps the vastness of space, after they
take another 95 paces to Jupiters home.
11. Here is the "giant planet"-but it is a chestnut, more than a city
block from its nearest neighbor in space!
12. The space walk continues:
13. Another 112 paces: Saturn
14. Another 249 paces: Uranus
15. Another 281 paces: Neptune
16. Another 242 paces: Pluto
17. You have marched more than half a mile! (The distance in the
model adds up to 1,019 paces. A mile is 1,760 yards.)
18. Look back toward the Sun ball, it is no longer visible even with
binoculars, and to look down at the pinhead Pluto, is to feel the
terrifying wonder of space.
19. Having come to the end of the walk, you may turn your class
around and retrace your steps. Re-counting the numbers gives a
second chance to learn them, and looking for the little objects reemphasizes how lost they are in space.
*Note: It works well, in this sense: everyone pays
attention to the last few counts-"240...241...242"wondering whether Neptune will come into view. But it
does not work well if the peanut cannot be found, which is
all too likely; so you should, if you plan to do this, place
the objects on cards, or set markers beside them (large
stones, or flags).
3. Students will be given a work sheet.
4. They will work on it individually.
5. After everyone is finished they will be put into groups. They will discuss
the Spacewalk activity, the answers to the worksheet, and how they
got them.
6. Class will come back together and share ideas.
Classroom Management Considerations:
I will use low profile classroom management to respond to unwanted
student behavior. I do not believe in pointing out a single child. Instead, use
proximity control, monitoring, and silent cues to keep the students focused
and engaged. If a larger issue does arrive I will use different means of
dealing with the situation. In this particular lesson monitoring is key,

especially for the outside activity. We will be doing a lot of walking and
explaining. Let them know up front that if there is any misbehaving, then we
can go back to class and do something that is less fun. During individual
work and school work walk around the room and use monitoring and
proximity control to help manage the students. Lastly the group work should
create a more engaging atmosphere.
Differentiated Instruction:
Exertion of energy will help students, like Fred, Claire, and Larry, keep their
attention on the subject matter. Jeremy and Megan both love math this
lesson has some math in it. So I would place them in separate groups so that
they might be able to help kids who are not as good. The individualized work
will help, Kristen, Ted, Mary, and Poppy because they do really well in
individualized settings. The group work will also help them form connections
and learn strategies to help them manage working in groups.
Collaboration:
Whole class, group, and individual work are all used in this lesson.
Sample Questions:
How long is a light-year?
How a faraway is Earth from the sun in AU?
How large is Earth? Venus? Jupiter?
How many Earths do you think can fit in the Sun?

Materials and Resources

Instructional Materials:

Sun-any ball, diameter 8.00 inches

Mercury-a pin, diameter 0.03 inch
Venus-a peppercorn, diameter 0.08 inch
Earth-a second peppercorn
Mars-a second pinhead
Jupiter-a chestnut, diameter 0.90 inch
Saturn-an acorn, diameter 0.70 inch
Uranus- coffee bean, diameter 0.30 inch
Neptune- or coffee bean
Pluto- a third pinhead
Index Cards
Computers
Paper
Science book