The
Galactic Traveler
For
Grades: 1, 2 and 3
 Your
students are invited to become galactic travel agents as they learn
about the earth, moon, solar system, and our galaxy by planning a
virtual trip!
The
Galactic Traveler
project is a simulation that invites your students become astronomers
and “tour guides” to the solar system.
They will learn about outer space “first-hand” and present
their findings when they return to Earth. Your students will
“experience” space travel through the use of the Internet and other
sources as they create products that demonstrate their understanding
and creativity.
The
Galactic Traveler project is designed to take advantage of
the inherently curious nature of young learners by asking them to use
technology and other media to learn about our solar system. This
project is guided by the New York City elementary school science
performance standards as well as the performance standards of other
disciplines. To complete this project, your class will use language,
literacy, and technology skills and techniques learned in the Future
Kids Classroom
Currents Language Arts.
The
Galactic Traveler encourages students to direct their own
learning using inquiry-based methodologies and experiments.
The project’s structure includes a comprehensive introduction
that assesses and augments students’ background knowledge, two
distinct but interrelated learning phases, and a culminating event in
which students demonstrate their learning to an audience of their peers
and other invited guests.
-
Introduction:
Our Home Planet – Students
will be develop and expand their research skills, technology skills,
and vocabulary as they explore the planet we call Earth. Students
will work cooperatively to create an informational booklet about our
home planet.
-
Phase
One: Exploring The Planets – Students
will work cooperatively to conduct in-depth research on a specific
planet. Each group will create a tour package about its planet,
including informational newsletters, brochures, and travel
itineraries.
-
Phase
Two: A Voyage Through the Solar System – Students
will discover the many wonders of the Solar system, including
asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and the Sun, the closest star to
Earth. They will create a web site that demonstrates what they have
learned throughout this project.
The
culminating event, The
Galactic Spectacular, will be an opportunity for students to
celebrate their achievements. They will present what they have learned
and display their related projects to invited guests.
To download a copy of this project, you will
need a userid and password. Please go to the Terms
of Use page for more information. If you have a userid and
password, click
here.
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