Annotated Resource List:

What follows are the resources that I utilized in the classroom to help in
teaching this unit.
Resource
NASA official Website

Assigned Textbook
Holts Science and TechnologyAstronomy

Mediu
m
Website

Textboo
k

Rationale

Limitations/Comments

This is a wonderful
resource for both
teachers and
students interested
in learning more
about the USA
space program and
space in general. It
is easily to navigate
and has many
interesting and
interactive features
to hold student
interest. In this unit
it was used as a
resource for
students to gather
information for
their projects. Over
the past two
months I have
scaffolded many
assignments to
help students learn
how to find
information on this
website.
The website is also
a great resource for
images gathered
from NASAs
telescopes.
Although the
textbook is out of
date and much of
its information is no
longer correct, it is

Since it is a website,
internet access is
essential. If each student
does not have a terminal,
then projecting
equipment is required.
Also, the website is
massive and if the
student or teacher has
not had previous
experience with it, they
may get lost or be unable
to find the specific piece
of information they are
looking for in a timely
manner.

Due to the numerous

inaccuracies in the
textbook there is a risk in
legitimizing for the
students. One worried

Scishow online videos

http://youtu.be/pkqxfpc_Ido
https://www.youtube.com/user/scishowspace

Videos

still a good
resource for
students. It
provides images
that students can
look at to gain
better
understanding as
well as end of
chapter questions
that can be
adapted to
stimulate critical
thinking. Another
benefit is that the
inaccurate
information in the
textbook can be
used as evidence of
the advancement
of science over
time that students
can identify to.
Videos created by
youtube personality
Hank Green that
explain science
phenomenon in
simple terms
designed to be
viewed by young
adults and nonscientists.
The videos are on a
wide variety of
topics, these
happen to be about
space and related
matter. They tackle
everything from
space facts and
origin of the
universe to recent
NASA/ESA missions.

that students may hold

the information in the
textbook above what is
learned in class because
it is in an official
textbook.
Also, the majority of the
questions in the textbook
are information recall
questions that do not
require much more than
memorization from the
students.

Sometimes the concepts

in the videos are beyond
the understanding of
most 6th graders, since
the videos are intended
from high schoolers.

Apollo 11 Astronauts

website

http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/astrobios.ht
m

Moon landing Footage

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=RMINSD7MmT4

Scale Measurements of Planets and

distances

Activity
guide

Additionally, the
relative novelty of
watching a video in
class captures
students attention
and seems to work
better as a means
of transferring
information than a
lecture.
Information from
this website was
used to create
reading material for
the students. Some
portions were lifted
verbatim while
others needed to
be modified for
students reading
level.
Footage for
students to
visualize the actual
moon landing and
add to audio
recordings from the
NASA website.
An activity created
by Nancylee Bergey
that helps students
visualize the
relative sizes of the
planets and the
distances between
them. The activity
is a hands-on
individual and
group effort that
appeals to different
types of students at
the same time. (MI,
Gardner)

Some of the paragraphs

needed to be rewritten to
accommodate students
varying reading levels.

Video is old and grainy so

some students may
become disengaged.
Also, there is a risk that it
will not show up clearly
on SMAT board (to
dark/light)
One downside is the need
for students to leave the
classroom to find an area
where the distance can
be mapped out (at least
100m). It can be a
challenge to find such
place in a school.
Additionally, there is the
added complication of
being outside of the
classroom with 20+
students.