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Learners will investigate, discuss, and determine why humans have always explored the world (and now space) around them. Students determine these reasons for exploration through a class discussion. In the first activity, students use the Internet to... (View More) examine the characteristics of past explorers and why they conducted their exploration. They then examine why current explorers - including the students themselves - want to explore other worlds in the Solar System. By the end of the lesson, the students can conclude that no matter what or when we explore - past, present, or future - the reasons for exploration are the same; the motivation for exploration is universal. Note: The MESSENGER mission to Mercury that is mentioned in this lesson ended operations April 30, 2015. For the latest information about MESSENGER and NASA's solar system missions see the links under Related & Supplemental Resources (right side of this page). (View Less)
This is a lesson about the evidence for life on other planets. Learners will play a game to examine processes in cellular metabolism and explore both direct and indirect evidence for fingerprints of life. Includes teacher notes, learning objectives,... (View More) and assessment of prior knowledge and preconceptions. This is Lesson 2 in Exploring Deep-Subsurface Life. Earth Analogues for Possible Life on Mars: Lessons and Activities. (View Less)
The purpose of this investigation is to understand how the amount of water vapor in the air at various temperatures affects the way the human body responds. This is an important basic concept for understanding why one might feel either comfortable... (View More) or uncomfortable at exactly the same temperature. This challenge draws on understanding the student has acquired by conducting experiments outlined in chapters 3-11 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The resource includes background information, teaching tips and questions to guide student discussion. This is chapter 14 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The guide includes a discussion of learning science, the use of inquiry in the classroom, instructions for making simple weather instruments, and more than 20 weather investigations ranging from teacher-centered to guided and open inquiry investigations. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
This chapter provides teachers with instructions to install a school weather station, and to build simple instruments to monitor weather conditions. Materials need to create a homemade weathervane include a two-liter soft drink bottle, a shallow... (View More) metal pie pan, a plastic drinking straw, and a compass. Building an anemometer requires plastic cups, soda straws, a pencil with an unused new eraser on the end, a paper punch, and a thumbtack. Thermometers and a rain gauge must be purchased. A data table is included for estimating windspeed using the anemometer. The chapter includes research ideas that allow students to validate their instruments and test the predictive capability of resources such as the Farmer's Almanac. This resource is chapter 15 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The resource includes background information, teaching tips and questions to guide student discussion. This is chapter 15 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The guide includes a discussion of learning science, the use of inquiry in the classroom, instructions for making simple weather instruments, and more than 20 weather investigations ranging from teacher-centered to guided and open inquiry investigations. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $5 - $10 per group of students
Learners will use a variety of resources to conduct research to try to find answers to the questions they generated in previous activities. They continue to work the way scientists do by communicating what they learned from their research about Mars... (View More) and present questions they still have and that others might want to think about researching in the future. This is activity 8 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School. (View Less)
In this open inquiry activity introducing concepts of remote sensing, students will discuss and research different invisible phenomena. They will then test and verify the existence of selected invisible phenomena by using measurement or detection... (View More) devices. Depending on the phenomena being investigated, some of the following supplies are suggested: thermometer, light meter, decibel meter, telescope, gas sensors, filters, anemometer, and/or radon testing kit. This activity is part of the Ground Truth Studies Teacher Handbook, which provides more than 20 activities to build student understanding of global change and remote sensing, and includes background chapters for teachers, glossary, and appendices. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students