A Space Exploration

A WebQuest for 3rd Grade Science

Designed by
Jenn Brown
Solar System

Introduction                                    

5…4…3...2…1...

BLAST OFF!

    Your crew has just taken off on the X.P.L.O.R. space shuttle.  You are on you way to another planet within our solar system. Who knows what you will encounter.  Upon reaching your destination, your crew will explore and record data based on your findings.  Good luck and enjoy your space adventure!


The Task                                                      

   As an astronaut you are faced with many challenges.  You need to have several details established before your departure so that you are prepared for your galactic adventure.  As you travel you will need to keep in contact with mother earth.  Your crew will be responsible for recording data based on your findings.  It is very important that this data is sent to earth on a daily basis.  This can be done by ee-mail (electronic earth mail).  You are also required to find out fascinating facts about your planet.  The chief commander will post your destination prior to take off.  As a crew exploring the unknown it is your responsibility to gather as much information as possible.  This will help you during your news conference at the end of your mission.


The Process                                                         

Pre-Flight Assignments:

  1.  Find out your destination from the Chief Commander (Mrs. Brown)
  2. Meet with your crew members
  3. Create a picture of what you think your planet will look like
  4. Use the website below to define the following terms and ee-mail them to the Commander   upon completion.  Print out a copy of the vocabulary list for all the crew members.

Vocabulary List
Rovolve
Asteroid
Atmosphere
NASA
Comet
Galaxy
Meteor
Astronaut
Crator
Orbit
Rotate
Elliptical

http://www.wordcentral.com/ (Use the student dictionary)

Send all ee-mails to: Mrs. Brown (click on my name)

Once the Pre-Flight assignments are complete, you are ready to begin your exploration!

To accomplish your mission you will need to...
  1. Use these sites to answer the questions below. 

Arty the Part-Time Astronaut

NASA Kids

Welcome to the Planets

Extreme Science

  1. Send ee-mail to the Commander explaining the days finds and any problems or questions your crew may have.  Remember to write in complete sentences and check your spelling.
  1. Print out a copy of the ee-mails, and information that you find on your planet for each member of your crew and for the Commander.
  1. During your exploration you must answer the following questions...
    1. Who is the planet named after?
    1. How far is the planet from the sun?
    1. How far is the planet from Earth?
    1. What is the distance across the planet (diameter)?
    1. How long is one year on your planet in earth years (period of revolution)?
    1. How long is one day on your planet (rotation period)?
    1. How many moons does your planet have and what are their names?
    1. What gases are found on your planet?
    1. How hot or how cold is it?
    1. What is your planet made of (composition)?
    1. Other interesting facts, special features, does it have craters, rings, etc.


Evaluation                                                                                                                  

This project is worth a total of 40 points.

Your performance as a group will be evaluated as follows…
shooting star
 OUTSTANDING


10 Points		 SATISFACTORY


7 Points		 NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

3 Points		 SELF EVALUATION TEACHER EVALUATION
Content of
the Daily ee-mails

The emails contain great details explaining the day’s findings, and any questions that the crew has.

The performance characteristics reflect the highest level of performance.

The emails contain details explaining the day’s findings, and any questions that the crew has.

The performance characteristics reflect development and movement toward the highest level of performance.

The emails contain some details explaining the day’s findings, and any questions that the crew has.

The performance characteristics reflect an unsatisfactory level of performance.

Presentation
Poster & News Conference
 The presentation is very detailed.  The poster is creative and shows info from all 11 questions asked.  The overall presentation is well planned out, clear and detailed. The presentation is detailed.  The poster shows information from most of the 11 questions asked. The overall presentation is mostly clear and detailed. The presentation and the poster are missing details.  The overall presentation does not include a lot of details, and is not clear.

Expertise of the astronauts. The entire group became experts of the planet they explored The group gained a lot of information about the planet that they explored. The group does not know a lot of details about the planet they explored.

Success of the mission

 The mission was a complete success The mission was ¾ complete The mission was less than ½ complete




Conclusion                                                                                                                    

Welcome back to earth!  I hope you enjoyed your exploration in our solar system.  You are scheduled to share the data collected at a news conference within 3 days.

  1. You will need to have a completed journal of data and notes kept during your journey (ee-mail logs and handwritten notes).  It must be neatly organized!
  1. You need to create a poster to share your information at the news conference.  The poster must include:

    I hope that you have learned many fascinating facts about the planet that you have explored. Space exploration in the 21st century holds many amazing unknown adventures. Are you ready?

    If you would like to explore space even further click on the above sites to explore other planets in our Solar System.


Credits & References                                                                         

     Images were found at google.com Solar System Graphics

Sources
Berks County Intermediate Unit Resources http://www.berksiu.k12.pa.us/
NASA Kids  NASA KidsExtreme Science  Extreme Science
Arty Astro   Arty the Part-TimeAstronaut
Welcome to the Planets

Teacher Page                                                        

    What a great way to learn about the planets in our Solar System.  This WebQuest fits into the National Science Education Standards… K – 4th grade Content Standard D Earth and Space Science.

Useful Tips for the planning

  1. Break class up into groups of 8.  (One group for each of the planets other than Earth that are in our Solar System.
  2. Decide how you will place students into the groups before hand.  This will eliminate some stress.
  3. Also, it may be helpful to designate group roles for the students.  This will avoid one student from doing all of the work.
  4. Have different colors of  poster board (black, blue, white, etc.) and other supplies ready for the student projects... such as construction paper, markers, glue, access to science graphics, etc.