Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students get to play with space words.  Using the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration – NASA’s Picture Dictionary, students will gather words and their meanings to write and illustrate an acrostic composition.  This lesson gives the children a chance to be creative and express themselves while still working within the Unit of Inquiry.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

3-4 

Objective:

To create an acrostic composition using NASA’s Picture Dictionary of space-themed words.  (AASL 4.1.8, “Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.”)

Suggested Time:

35-40 minutes

Success Criteria:

Each student will complete an illustrated acrostic composition.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Remind students that thus far they have completed a factfinding mission using nonfiction sources (first lesson), explored the science fiction genre (second lesson), and worked with a current events text about space exploration (third lesson).   Tell the students that today they will be working with NASA’s Picture Dictionary to learn new words about space and make a creative space-themed acrostic.

Teach the kids that an acrostic composition is one in which taking the first letter in each line spells a word.  Give an example of a simple acrostic poem.  Here is a link to Ken Nesbitt’s Poetry4Kids page on acrostics:  Poetry4Kids Acrostics.  Choose one of Mr. Nesbitt’s examples to share, but you may also need to use some of his guidance about teaching kids to write an acrostic.

Main:

Ask the children to choose a word that describes a characteristic of space.  Perhaps “Inspiring,“ “Immense,” “Exciting,” “Challenging,” “Difficult,” “Distant,” etc.  If you feel it suits the class better, have them work with their first names, or a verb linked to the Space Unit of Inquiry such as “Explore,” “Experiment,” “Discover,” “Train,” “Travel,” or “Blast Off.”

Show the children NASA’s Picture Dictionary, found here: NASA’s Picture Dictionary.  Be sure to click on “More Stories” to see the remaining letters of the alphabet.

Instruct the children to write the letters in their chosen word vertically down the left-hand side of their page.  Using those letters as first letters, the children should complete the acrostic with space words.  Here is an example I wrote using a space-themed verb:

B oosters

L ift

A stronauts towards the

S olar system.

T ogether, new

O rbits are flown. Our

F future in the stars will soon be

F ound.

Note that nothing needs to rhyme.  Lines are not limited to one word.  The composition does not need to be a poem.  Just let the kids write their thoughts using the first letters as a guide.

If some students finish early, they can illustrate their work.  If you still have early finishers and if a device or two is available, you can let the kids explore NASA’s Kids Club here:  NASA Kids’ Club.

3. Conclusion:

Ask the students to show their work to a friend.  Perhaps ask a few to share with the entire class.  Put the acrostics on display if you can.  If not, make sure that the acrostics find their way back to the homeroom teacher for inclusion in the literacy folder or writer’s workshop folder.

Resources: 

1. Ken Nesbitt’s Poetry4Kids Acrostic Page, with examples: Poetry4Kids Acrostics
2. Paper, pencils, and erasers
3. Colored pencils
4. Rulers
5. Copies of the Block Letter Guide (attached), one or two for each table.
6. Access to NASA’s Picture Dictionary, found here: NASA’s Picture Dictionary
7. Acrostic poem templates, free, found here: Acrostic Poem Templates, Free (optional)

Notes:

Although I have written this lesson plan for use with NASA’s Picture Dictionary, you can also have the kids simply use Unit of Inquiry books to find words with the letters they need.  With NASA’s site the kids are picking words off a list, but if you ask the children to use your Unit of Inquiry Materials, they will be forced to do a bit more searching and thinking.  Perhaps you could have a few iPad set up at a station for word look-up in case they get stuck, but have them do most of the word searching on their own.

Also, I’ve given a link to an acrostic template, but you really don’t need this.  Kids can write their own block letters or bubble letters on any size page you wish.  If you avoid using the template, then they may be free to illustrate the piece when they are finished with the words.  Choose the paper and format that works best for your students.  The most important element of the lesson, of course, is their thinking and the content of the acrostic, not the template.

Sometimes acrostics are overused, but I find them to be a great way to build in creativity and writing to some of my lessons.  Since some of the space words are quite challenging, it’s nice to give the kids a chance to work with the words in a playful, creative task.

Recommended books for this lesson:

None

Key Terms:

Space, Acrostic, NASA, Dictionaries

Block Letter Guide

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students will respond to a news article about the possibility of humans living on Mars.  They will structure their thinking using a “Pro/Con” T-Chart and then decide whether or not they would be willing to move to Mars.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

4-5 

Objective:

To read and respond to a current events article with a “Pro/Con” T-Chart and to make a decision based on their work.  Each student should be able to list five “Pros” and five “Cons.”  (AASL 2.1.3, “Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.”)

Suggested Time:

35-40 minutes

Success Criteria:

Each student will complete a “Pro/Con” T-Chart based on his understanding of the article.  Using his work, each student will also decide whether he would be willing to move to Mars.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Remind students that thus far they have completed a factfinding mission using nonfiction sources (first lesson) and explored the science fiction genre (second lesson).  Today, they will be working with current events in a news article.  The plan is to:

• Read the short article together (attached)
• Complete the suggested activity (Pro/Con chart)
• Put together a class “Pro/Con” chart.
• As a class, vote to see who would be willing to move to Mars.

2. Main:

Use the article “What Life on Mars Might Really be Like.”  Read through the article together as a class.  If your students are unfamiliar with reading the news, point out the headline, the “hook,” the photograph, and especially how the article tries to represent both sides of the issue.

Make sure that the students know what a T-Chart is and how to use one.  (Please see the attached photograph for a sample of the completed T-Chart at the end of the lesson.)    Make sure that students understand the terms “Pro” and “Con.”  Usually I just teach this by asking who likes to swim in the ocean and who does not like to swim in the ocean.  Ask one students who does not like to swim in the ocean to come to the front of the group and hold up the red “X.”  Ask the students who does like to swim in the ocean to hold up the green check mark.  Teach the terms “Pro” and “Con” and “For” and “Against.”  The big idea here is that there is not a right or wrong answer.  Rather, there are different viewpoints or ways to interpret the data.

Give students five to seven minutes to work on their own T-Charts and come up with their own “Pros” and “Cons.”  Follow the instructions for the activity at the end of the article.

After a few minutes, go quickly around the class and ask every student to give you either a “Pro” or a “Con” about moving to Mars.  Scribe these on the flipchart paper, thus making a class T-Chart.  (See attached sample photo.)  After every student has contributed one idea, ask the class to vote:  How many students would move to Mars and how many would not want to move?  In one of my classes, two students voted to move and 21 voted to stay on earth.

3. Conclusion:

Wrap up by challenging the students to be Thinkers and always try to discover both sides, or the “Pros” and “Cons” of an issue.  Ask the students to insert their assignment into their UoI notebooks or folders.

Resources: 

1. Copies of “What Life on Mars Might Really be Like,” from http://thedayexplorer.co.uk (attached)
2. One piece of flipchart paper the class can see.  (You can also scribe digitally if you prefer.)
3. Small green check mark. Small red “X.”  (I usually handwrite these on quarter sheets of paper.)
4. Flipchart markers.

Notes:

Normally I ask students to make their T-Chart in the half page of blank space at the end of the article.

The Mars article was taken from an online source called The Day Explorer.  The Day Explorer is part of The Day, a UK-based organization that specializes in rewriting news for student and teacher use in schools.  Our school has a subscription to The Day and The Day Explorer but you might be able to find something similar in National Geographic Kids, Wonderopolis (website) or Brain Pop.

I particularly like The Day because it presents both sides of an issue and because it provides discussion points and activities based on the article content.  You can ask for a trial subscription and I strongly recommend that you try it out.  The Day Explorer puts news and current events within reach to students in elementary school.

Recommended books for this lesson:

None

Key Terms:

Mars, Space Travel, Space Colonization, Pros and Cons

What Life on Mars Might Really Be Like

Mission to Mars T-Chart

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students are introduced to the concept of “genre.”  They also discover a bit more about Science Fiction by listening to a story by one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, Ray Bradbury.  Last week’s emphasis was on factfinding and non-fiction.  This lesson makes a connection between the Unit of Inquiry and literature.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

4-5 

Objective:

To be able to explain the concept of genre as well as a few characteristics of the Science Fiction genre.

Suggested Time:

40-45 minutes

Success Criteria:

Each student will make complete notes that will include the definition of “genre,” examples of at least six types of literary genres, and characteristics of the Science Fiction genre.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Remind the students that last week they worked on a factfinding mission.  In this lesson, they will discover what a genre is.  Understanding the concept of genre is a big step up for Grade 4 students.  For Grades 3 and below, we talk about chapter books, fiction vs nonfiction, and the Five Finger Rule.  While very helpful, there is more we can learn about fictional (made-up) stories.  Today’s lesson begins that effort.

Distribute the student handout (attached).  Ask students to put their names, class, and the date on their papers, then read through the first page of the assignment.

Ask the students whether they have ever heard the term “genre” or have any idea what it means.  In my years of teaching this lesson, I’ve had kids able to give examples of genres, but no one has ever been able to define it well.  I like to define “genre” as simply “a category of literature or art.”  Ask the students to record this simple definition under question #1.

2. Main:

Continue the introduction to genres by showing some of the genre categories.  I usually print the Genre Studies PowerPoint (attached) and simply show the students the names of various genres found in the school library.  Please be sure to adjust the presentation to reflect your collection and your school’s genres.

Once students have written down at least six examples of different kinds of genres, ask them to come to the carpet or storytelling area.  Advise them that you are going to read a short story, and they will have to try to work out which genre it best fits.

Read Ray Bradbury’s All Summer in a Day.  The story will be a challenge for fourth or fifth graders.  There is no happy ending and the cruelty described in the story takes students by surprise.  But, this is classic science fiction and is easily identifiable as science fiction.  All Summer in a Day is:

• Set on Venus
• Imagines a future in which there is space travel
• Imagines colonization on other planets in our Solar System
• Portrays characters whose lives are shaped by the confines of life on another planet (examples: Underground homes, constant rain)

A lot of students are shocked because there is no resolution with Margot.  A few of them even forget about Margot and get caught up in the glory of the few hours in the sun.  All Summer in a Day makes an impact on your learners, which is exactly what we hope for!  We want the students to have a reaction to this story, to be awed by it, frustrated by it, or confused by it, and then be able to sort out their reactions.  Although we are not working through All Summer in a Day as a piece of literature, the students will almost certainly sense that this is different from other stories they have read.

Before sending the kids back to finish the written work, show them several examples of titles from the science fiction section that are in the library collection.  This is a bit of a “show and tell”, but it usually gets them excited about trying something from the genre for themselves.  Bring eight to ten books, the covers of which you can show and the stories of which you can highlight.

3. Conclusion:

Have the students return to their seats.  Project the characteristics of science fiction (see the attached PowerPoint slides) and have them add at least four of these to their notes.  Finally, ask them to wrap up the written assignment by providing an example of a story or book from the science fiction genre.  They can use All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury or any of the additional titles you showed them.

Resources: 

1. Student Handout (attached)
2. Genre PowerPoint presentation (attached)
3. Copy of any book that contains “All Summer In A Day” by Ray Bradbury. One example is Science Fiction Stories chosen by Edward Blishen and published by Kingfisher.
4. Additional Lesson Materials for “All Summer In A Day,” found here: http://www.storyboardthat.com/teacher-guide/all-summer-in-a-day-by-ray-bradbury  Be aware that these are recommended for Grades 6-8 and go more into depth on the piece as a work of literature.  In this lesson, I have only used it as an example of the science fiction genre.
5. A collection of eight to ten Science Fiction books from the library collection.

Notes:

Even my most unruly classes are spellbound by Bradbury’s story.  I love reading this to the students because it asks so much more of them!  The vocabulary is challenging, the genre is probably new, the author is almost certainly unfamiliar, and the story ends unexpectedly.  It succeeds as a lesson because the children can identify it as science fiction, but it leaves them with so many more questions about literature.

After this lesson, kids usually flock to the Science Fiction section of our library!

Recommended books for this lesson:

Science Fiction Stories chosen by Edward Blishen (Kingfisher).  You will find All Summer in a Day reprinted in this short story collection.

Key Terms:

Ray Bradbury, Science Fiction, Genres, Genre, SciFi, Short Stories

Student Handout, Genre Studies

Genre Studies PowerPoint

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students use both print and digital resources to gather facts about space and Earth’s solar system.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

3-5 

Objective:

Each student will use a reference source to gather ten facts about space or Earth’s solar system.  Each student will also make a simple drawing to illustrate one of the facts.

Suggested Time:

45-60 minutes

Success Criteria:

Students will use either a print or digital source to gather ten facts about space or Earth’s solar system.  Students should phrase the facts in their own words.  They should choose facts about a variety of topics since this is a “tuning-in” lesson.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Explain to the children that because they have started a new Unit of Inquiry, today they will be “tuning in” to the unit with a factfinding mission.   Each student will need to choose either a digital or print resource and gather ten facts about space or Earth’s solar system.

Introduce Almanacs:  Almanacs are collections of useful facts, arranged for easy access, and quite often published with eye-catching colors, tables, charts, and graphs.  Explain how the table of contents is organized and how you can, in a matter of seconds, put your finger on a lot of information.  Have about 10 to12 almanacs on hand should students choose to use them.

Introduce the DK Find Out website: Explain that DK Find Out is like an online almanac.  It is a website made by a respected publisher, and it also provides easy access to lots of facts.  Demonstrate how to use DK Find Out, select “Space”, and then make choices based on the visual icons or photos.

2. Main:

Students take about 20 to 25 minutes to explore the almanac or website and gather ten facts.  Check their spellings and make sure that English Language Learners have support, as a lot of the vocabulary may be new and specialized.

Once students have gathered their facts, check their work to make sure that there are no spelling errors or other glaring mistakes.

Once the facts are reviewed by a teacher or teaching assistant, students may choose a half-sheet of paper and illustrate one of their facts.  If you teach this lesson close to the beginning of the year, the illustration can easily be put on a browser card.  Students can write the fact they are illustrating somewhere at the bottom of the illustration.

3. Conclusion:

Wrap up by having the students tuck their ten facts into their Unit of Inquiry notebooks.  Remind the students of some of the basic differences between print and digital resources – let them comment about their experiences using the resources in the lesson today.  Make a small display of their artwork to showcase their efforts.

Resources: 

1. Computer or digital device with access to DK Find Out, https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/
2. Scholastic Kids’ Almanac or National Geographic Kids’ Almanac
3. Lined paper on which to write facts
4. Pencils
5. Half sheets of yellow, white, or dark purple paper
6. Markers, colored pencils, and crayons or oil pastels

Notes:

Students reading below grade level or who are English Language Learners will need extra support when gathering facts.  For some of them, the reading is quite difficult.  Those students may only gather five facts, but every student should be able to come up with at least five facts.

I have found that the artistic extension is a lot of fun for the kids.  I’ve seen students fill their pages with our own solar system, putting planets in perfect order and adding moons or rings to the correct planet.  I’ve also seen kids make a solar system “mash-up” and include a comet, black hole, rocket ship (complete with alien), stars, sun, planets – everything they can think of.

The artistic extension balances the reading, fact finding, and note-taking.  (See attached student work sample.)

Recommended books for this lesson:

1. Scholastic Kids’ Almanac, or
2. National Geographic Kids’ Almanac

Key Terms:

Space, Solar System, Planets, Earth, Galaxy, Astronauts, Space Shuttle, Space Station, Print Resources, Digital Resources

 

Student Work Sample, Factfinding Mission