NGSSLessonPlanningTemplate

th
Grade/GradeBand
:35
grade

Topic:
SurfaceofMarsconnection

Lesson#

__2__
inaseriesof
_7___
lessons

BriefLessonDescription
:Thenextstepinthemissionistomapoutwhetherornottheplanethaswater.Whywater?Thefundamental
requirementsforlifeasweknowitareliquidwater,organiccompoundsandanenergysourceforsynthesizingcomplexorganicmolecules
(
https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/why.html
).Thislessonengagesstudentsinexaminingthesurfacefeaturesofrockyplanets(Earthand
Mars).FeatureswillhelpstudentsunderstandwhyamissiontoMarsisaviableendeavor
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wiUU2RNvK0
).
PerformanceExpectation(s):
4ESS21Makeobservationsand/ormeasurementstoprovideevidenceoftheeffectsofweatheringortherateoferosionbywater,ice,
windorvegetation.
4ESS22AnalyzeandinterpretdatafrommapstodescribepatternsofEarthsfeatures.
SpecificLearningOutcomes:StudentswillbeabletorecognizecommonfeaturesofthesurfaceofMars.Volcanoes,hydrogenrichpolar
depositsthatindicatelargequantitiesofwatericeclosetothesurface,andsignaturesofancientwateronthesurface.Studentswill
constructamodelofavolcano,producelavaflows,andobserve,draw,record,andinterpretthehistoryofthevolcano.Studentswill
needtomaketheconnectionbetweenthelifecycleofavolcanoandwhytheyseethesefeaturesonMars.
LessonLevelNarrative
Whereisthesafestplaceforthemissionpersonneltoland?Whatweatherfeaturesandhazardswouldtheteamfacewhentheyfinally
arrived?Thesearethetypesofquestionsthattheteamwillneedtoanswerinpreparationforthelanding.Yourtaskistomapthepossible
landingareasforthemission.Yourteamwilldescribethetopographyofvolcanoes.Then,givencertainsurfacefeatures,willdrawouta
mapfromtheinformationgatheredfromMarsGlobalSurveyorandthePathfindermissions.
Science&EngineeringPractices:
Studentswillanalyzeandinterpretdata
aboutvolcanoesonMarsandmakeamap
oftheirfindings.

DisciplinaryCoreIdeas:
ESSD2.A:EarthMaterialsandSystems
Watersystemshelptoshapethe
landandaffectthetypesofliving
thingsfoundinaregion.Water,
ice,wind,andgravitybreakrocks,
soils,andsedimentsintosmaller
particles.
ESS2.B:PlateTecnoicsandLargeScale
SystemsInteractions
Thelocationsofmountainranges,
deepoceantrenches,oceanfloor
structures,earthquakesand
volcanoesoccurinpatterns.Most
earthquakesandvolcanoesoccur
inbandsthatareoftenalongthe
boundariesbetweencontinents
andoceans.Majormountain
chainsforminsidecontinentsor
neartheiredges.Mapscanhelp
locatethedifferentlandand
waterfeaturesareasofEarth.

CrosscuttingConcepts:
Patternsofchangecanbeusedto
makepredictions.
Causeandeffectrelationshipsare
routinelyidentified,tested,and
usedtoexplainchange.

PossiblePreconceptions/Misconceptions:
StudentsofallagesmayholdtheviewthatEarthandMarsarenotdynamic,thattheyhavealwaysbeenliketheyareinthecurrentera.Or,
thatchangesthathaveoccurredmusthavebeensuddenandcomprehensive(
Freyberg,P.(1985).Implicationsacrossthecurriculum.In
Osborne,R.(Ed.),Learninginscience(pp.125135
).Studentscanhavedifferentviewsofthedynamicsoftheearthwithdirectinstruction
andinvestigationofthetopic.Moreover,youngerstudentswhoengageinmodelingandmapreadingaboutEarthandVolcanotopography
mayleadstudentstoconstructcoherentexplanationsaboutthecausesofvolcanoes(
Duschl,R.,Smith,M.,Kesidou,S.,Gitomer,D.,
Schauble,L.(1992).Assessingstudentexplanationsforcriteriatoformatconceptualchangelearningenvironments
.

LESSONPLAN5EModel
ENGAGE:OpeningActivityAccessPriorLearning/StimulateInterest/GenerateQuestions:

Openingquestions:

Whatdoweknowaboutvolcanos?Wherearetheylocated?Whatarethedifferenttypesofvolcanos?etc.

Discussgeneralinformationthatstudentswouldneedtobefamiliarwithinordertounderstandactivity

Holdontostudentsinterest:interestingphotos,usevideos(listenaheadoftimetobeawareoflanguageused)
*videosshouldnotbelong

EXPLORE:LessonDescriptionWhatshouldtheteachersaskanddo?Whatwillthestudentsdo?
Modelanddemonstratehowtocreatevolcano(video).Havestudentscompletecheckpoints/completingthetaskthatwasaskedbefore
proceedingtothenextstepswithmorematerial.

Walkaround/observegroups

Takenotes,askquestions,givepositivefeedback
EXPLAIN:ConceptsExplainedandVocabularyDefined:
Trytohavethekidsexplainwhattheynoticedaboutthevocanowhiledoingtheexperiment.

bakingsodaandvinegarproportions,wherethelavaflowed.
Havethemexplaintheprocessofwhattheydidandalsowheretheybelieveisthesafestplacetolandandwhy.
Askthemwhytheythinkknowingthedifferentlayersareimportant,andalsoknowingthedirectionstheselayersareforming:

N,S,E,W?

Vocabulary:Shieldvolcano,layers,gravity,craters,vents,eruption

ELABORATE:ApplicationsandExtensions:

testingcoresamples

switchingvlocanoswithothergroups

landingareasthataresafe

showpicturesofwhattheydoonearthforcoresamples.Maybeaskthemhowtheythinkthegelogistsdoitinthefirstplace,and
whytheydoit.
EVALUATE:

FormativeMonitoring(Questioning/Discussion):
Discussionofthelavaflowpatternsandlayersthatwereseeninthemodelthathadsamplestakenfromit.Together,wewilltalkabout
whatwasseenduringtheactivityandwhattheythinkhappenedduringtheeruptionofthevolcanothathadsamplestakenfromit.
SummativeAssessment(Quiz/Project/Report):
Thevolcanoflows/mapmakingactivity.Adiscussionofmisconceptionsaddressedinthelesson.
ElaborateFurther/Reflect:Enrichment: