Student Page for Solar System Project

Introduction

The United States research department has chosen your team to travel to a planet you are studying. You will be required to design your shelter or means of transportation that will allow you to survive the conditions on your planet for the length of your visit. In order to do this you will need to familiarize yourself with the planets of our solar system and their characteristics, especially the planet your team will be visiting. You will be responsible for researching your planet in a team of 2 or 3 people and then educating your peers by using a variety of presentation tools. After your research is complete, then you will use your knowledge to design your model.

The Task

You will be put into a group of 2 or 3 and each group will be assigned a different planet. After collecting your information on your planet you will be responsible for some type of oral and visual presentation to your classmates to teach them some of the most interesting and important facts you learned. Each team will be responsible for developing 2 - 3 higher order questions that your fellow classmates will need to answer. The audience will be responsible for taking notes so that they can answer your questions. Students will be allowed to use their notes to answer these questions.
After you have completed your research you will use this information to construct either a model of a home or a form of transportation that could be used on your planet, keeping in mind the surface and atmospheric conditions on your planet. This model will be constructed at home using any household or store bought materials you wish to use. Along with your model, you need to write a persuasive writing piece that will persuade your peers that your model is suitable for the planet's conditions.

Resources
Use our Reading Book - see "Space Probes - The Nine Planets"
Science Book
Encarta
Encyclopedias
Mercury
Mercury
Venus
Venus
Saturn
Saturn
Mars
Uranus
Uranus
Neptune
Neptune
Pluto
Pluto
The Solar System

The Process
This project has 4 main parts that need to be accomplished:

1. Research your planet.

2. Develop an oral and visual product that you will use to share the information you learn about your planet.

3. Construct a model of either a form of shelter or transportation that your team could use considering what the atmosphere and surface is like. ( For example, you probably would not want to build a wooden house on Mercury or a tent on Pluto.)

4. Write a persuasive paper convincing your peers that your model would be able to exist on your planet. State facts that you learn about your planet to convince them.

Evaluation
There will be a group grade given for cooperative work done during research and brainstorming.
An individual grade will be given for research based on if all the areas have been addressed adequately.
A group grade will be given for your oral and visual presentation. Remember neatness counts. You should be sure to include as much of your research as possible. Don't forget to rehearse your presentation before giving it to your peers. Everyone needs to share in the work and in the presentation.
An individual grade will be given for the model based on originality and the work should be done by you with very little assistance from an adult.
Your persuasive paper will be graded using the persuasive writing checklist. Your paragraphs need to have topic sentences and stay on topic in each paragraph. Remember to check your spelling and punctuation.
You will be given an open note test on all the planets after everyone has made their classroom presentations.

Conclusion
The students will have developed cooperative skills working in a group on research and developing an effective presentation for the class on their planet. Students will complete a persuasive paper which will meet one of our writing goals for the year. The making of a model and presenting it to the class will develop listening and speaking skills. Students will develop higher level thinking skills by developing several questions for their planet and answering those questions in a final test. Hopefully, each student will begin to see the possiblilities for future space travel and the essentials that are needed to successfully complete such a trip.

Link to Teacher's Page

Last updated June 8, 2000

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