Running Head: CA.5.

EARTH SCIENCES: 1
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System
Andrew Smith
E! "#1
Instructor Ewing
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System $
Se%tem&er $'( $)1'CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System
Introduction
The academic standard these lesson %lans were created *or is CA.5 Earth Sciences. This
standard is a&out the solar system. Students will need to +now that ,-t.he solar system consists
o* %lanets and other &odies that or&it the Sun in %redicta&le %aths(/ 0Cali*ornia e%artment o*
Education( $))1( 2. 13( 2ar. "4. A*ter com%leting these lessons( students should +now: 14 The
com%osition o* the sun( that it is a star( and is the largest &ody in our solar system. $4 5hat
ma+es u% our solar system( the %lanets( their moons( and the other( smaller o&6ects li+e asteroids.
"4 That the %ath o* each %lanet is due to the sun7s gra8itational %ull 0Cali*ornia e%artment o*
Education( $))14. The three instructional models used are the irect Instructional 9odel( the
5e&:uest 9odel o* In;uiry( and the <ra**iti Coo%erati8e =earning 9odel.
Lesson Plans
Direct Instructional Model
This lesson %lan uses the direct instructional model. It is &ased on a state standard *or
grade *i8e( CA.5.Earth Sciences. This standard co8ers the solar system( which consists o* the
sun( the %lanets( their moons( and other o&6ects li+e asteroids. This lesson is *or a *i*th grade
science class.
>&6ecti8es: Students will +now:
That the com%osition o* the sun is mostly hydrogen and helium( and it is the
largest o&6ect in our solar system.
That our solar system consists o* the %lanets( their moons( the sun( and s%ace
de&ris li+e asteroids.
Students will understand:
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System "
The relationshi% &etween the sun and the mo8ement o* the %lanets.
Students will &e a&le to:
=ist the names o* the %lanets( and their order *rom the sun.
raw the %aths o* the %lanets around the sun.
Assessments:
iagnostic: As+ students to la&el %lanet names on a dis%lay o* the solar system and
list characteristics they may +now a&out the %lanets.
?ormati8e: uring the lesson( the students will &e a&le to list s%eci*ic *acts a&out each
%lanet( the sun( other o&6ects in s%ace( and why they mo8e li+e they do.
Summati8e: A*ter the lesson( ha8e students com%lete a ;ui@ with multi%le choice
;uestions( *ill in the &lan+ ;uestions( and a section to the draw the sun( %lanets( and
their or&its around the sun.
2rocedures:
1. Re8iew %re8iously learned material: As+ students what they +now a&out the %lanets( the
sun( and other o&6ects in our solar system.
$. State o&6ecti8es o* the lesson: Tell the students a&out the gra8itational %ull o* the sun( and
that they will &e learning a&out its e**ects. Students will also &e learning a&out the
%lanets( their moons( and other o&6ects in s%ace 0manmade and natural4.
". 2resent new material: Show diagram o* the solar system( with the %lanets and their
moons la&eled( along with their or&its around the sun. EA%lain that the gra8itational %ull
o* the sun creates the %lanets or&its( and that the gra8itational %ull o* the %lanets creates
their moons or&its. 2resent in*ormation a&out the %lanets( such as their si@e( atmos%here(
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System '
their distance *rom the sun( and how many moons they ha8e. EA%lain why Earth is the
only %lanet in our solar system that can su%%ort li*e.
'. <uided %ractice: Show students a mo8ing model o* the solar system. As+ students to list
%lanets and s%eci*ic *acts a&out each %lanet. Show actual %hotos *rom telesco%es and
satellites o* the %lanets and other o&6ects in our solar system. Ha8e students conduct
eA%eriments with gra8ity to rein*orce learning a&out gra8itational %ull. As+ students i*
they ha8e any ;uestions.
5. 2resentation II: Show students a la&eled diagram o* the %lanets( along with their moons.
EA%lain that until recently( 2luto was considered a %lanet( &ut the de*inition has &een
changed( and 2luto is now considered a dwar* %lanet. 2resent a list o* other dwar* %lanets
and gi8e the de*inition o* &oth a %lanet( and a dwar* %lanet 05all( $)114.
3. <uided %ractice: Ha8e students *orm grou%s( one *or each %lanet and their moons( one *or
the dwar* %lanets( and one *or s%ace de&ris 0asteroids and comets4( and the last *or the
sun. Assign each grou% to ma+e a %oster o* their %lanet or other o&6ect0s4( with la&els and
in*ormation a&out their o&6ect0s4. A*ter all %osters ha8e &een created( %ost them in the
*ront o* the class( and ha8e each grou% do a %resentation.
B. Inde%endent %ractice: Students are as+ed characteristics o* the di**erent o&6ects 0%lanets(
dwar* %lanets( moons( asteroids( etc.4. Then the students are as+ed to grou% the di**erent
o&6ects in our solar system into the di**erent categories.
WebQuest Model of Inquiry
This lesson %lan uses the 5e&:uest model o* in;uiry. It is &ased on a state standard *or
grade *i8e( CA.5.Earth Sciences. This standard co8ers the solar system( which consists o* the
sun( the %lanets( their moons( and other o&6ects li+e asteroids. This lesson is *or a *i*th grade
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System 5
science class. The ;uestion the students will eA%lore is what ma+es u% our solar system. There
are many 5e&:uests that can &e *ound online to eA%lore this to%ic( or the teacher could create
their own.
>&6ecti8es: Students will +now:
The solar system is made u% o* the sun 0a star4( # %lanets( their moons(
numerous dwar* %lanets( and other smaller o&6ects li+e asteroids and comets.
The characteristics o* a star( a %lanet( a dwar* %lanet( a moon( and asteroids.
Students will understand:
5hy the category o* dwar* %lanet was added to the list o* categories
identi*ying o&6ects in s%ace( and why 2luto was declassi*ied as a %lanet.
Students will &e a&le to:
EA%lain the di**erence &etween a %lanet and a dwar* %lanet.
=ist the names o* the %lanets( their order away *rom the sun( and list some o*
the dwar* %lanets.
Assessments:
iagnostic: As+ students to list o&6ects in s%ace 0%lanets( moons( stars( asteroids(
satellites( etc.4. Ha8e students to demonstrate their a&ility to &rowse the internet and
use the com%uter %ro%erly.
?ormati8e: uring the lesson( students should &e a&le to list some %ro%erties o*
%lanets and dwar* %lanets.
Summati8e: A*ter the lesson( students should &e a&le to clearly identi*y the
similarities and di**erences &etween %lanets and dwar* %lanets( and should &e a&le to
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System 3
list a *ew dwar* %lanets. Ha8e students com%lete a ;ui@ with multi%le choice
;uestions and *ill in the &lan+ ;uestions.
2rocedures:
1. Selection and research: Select a unit o* study 0the solar system4( create an o%enCended or
%u@@ling %ro&lem 0what ma+es u% our solar system4( and search *or student a%%ro%riate
we&%ages that will contain use*ul in*ormation a&out the su&6ect.
$. 2resent the %ro&lem in the 5e&:uest tem%late: Create the 5e&:uest with the tem%late &y
*illing in the di**erent sections 0introduction( tas+( %rocess( e8aluation( conclusion( and
re*erences4( or use an already created 5e&:uest *or this to%ic *ound online.
". Students conduct research using the %ro8ided lin+s and resources: The students *orm
small grou%s( or wor+ alone( and &rowse the we&sites andDor use in*ormation *rom other
resources the teachers has %ro8ided to research the ;uestion o* the 5e&:uest.
'. Students de8elo% and 8eri*y their solutions: The students %resent their *inished %roducts
to each other. The %resentations will &e di**erent( de%ending on the resources the
students use and on what they choose to *ocus. Some student may *ocus on the %lanets(
while others *ocus more on the sun( the dwar* %lanets( or the other o&6ects in s%ace.
Graffiti Cooperative Learning Model
This lesson %lan uses the <ra**iti coo%erati8e learning model. It is &ased on a state
standard *or grade *i8e( CA.5.Earth Sciences. This standard co8ers the solar system( which
consists o* the sun( the %lanets( their moons( and other o&6ects li+e asteroids. This lesson is *or a
*i*th grade science class. The ;uestions the students will answer co8er the di**erent as%ects o*
what ma+es u% the solar system. ?or instance( what is the di**erence &etween asteroids and
cometsE Another could &e( why was 2luto declassi*ied as a %lanetE
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System B
>&6ecti8es: Students will +now:
The %rocedures o* using the gra**iti model o* in;uiry.
How to syntheti@e multi%le answers into one( allCencom%assing( inCde%th
answer.
The multi%le o&6ects( and their characteristics( that ma+e u% our solar system.
Students will understand:
That %eo%le thin+ di**erently( and ha8e di**erent 8iews or o%inions on the
same in*ormation( re%resented &y the di**erent answers each grou% will write
on the ;uestion.
Students will &e a&le to:
5or+ coo%erati8ely in a grou% to com%lete a %ro6ect or answer a ;uestion.
Answer ;uestions a&out the solar system( and the o&6ects that it is com%rised
o* 0%lanets( moons( dwar* %lanets( stars( asteroids( etc.4.
Assessment:
iagnostic: The ;uestions used *or the gra**iti model can all ser8e as diagnostic
assessments.
?ormati8e: The grou% answers on the gra**iti %osters can ser8e as *ormati8e
assessments.
Summati8e: The summari@ation and generali@ation o* all the indi8idual grou%
answers( as well as the grou% %resentation( can ser8e as a summati8e assessment.
Students can also com%lete a ;ui@ with ;uestions deri8ed *rom the grou% ;uestions.
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System #
2rocedures:
1. 2re%are the ;uestions and arrange the grou%s: 5rite down se8eral ;uestions( &ased on the
material the students ha8e co8ered. :uestions will co8er all as%ects o* %re8iously learned
material a&out our solar system. ecide on how many grou%s( the students who will &e
in each grou%( and s%lit the class into these grou%s. In a class o* ") students( I would use
grou%s o* ' or 5( and create siA or se8en ;uestions.
$. istri&ute materials: <i8e each o* the ;uestions to a se%arate grou%( along with a di**erent
colored %en to identi*y which answers are *rom which grou%s. I* teAt&oo+s or other
resources are to &e used( %ass them out with the ;uestions. These resources will stay with
the ;uestion they are su%%orting.
". <rou%s answer ;uestions: Each grou% is gi8en a s%eci*ied amount o* time 0"C5 min4 to
discuss and write down their answers on the ;uestion card.
'. EAchange ;uestions: 5hen the grou%s ha8e *inished their res%onses( ha8e the grou%s
mo8e to the neAt ;uestion. Continue this %rocess until all grou%s ha8e answered all the
;uestions.
5. Return to the original ;uestion( summari@e( and ma+e generali@ations: Ha8e each grou%
return to their *irst ;uestion( read the answers *rom the other grou%s( and ha8e the grou%s
summari@e the answers into a single( inCde%th answer that can &e shared with the rest o*
the class.
3. Share in*ormation: Ha8e each grou% ta+e turns %resenting their summari@ed answers( and
other %ieces o* in*ormation they *ind interesting or in*ormati8e.
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System 1
B. E8aluate the %rocess: The teacher discusses each o* the ;uestions and re8iews the grou%
answers with the class. I* *urther in*ormation or details are missing( the teacher can add
to the answers.
Rationale
Direct Instructional Model
This model was selected &ecause it is a great tool to introduce new in*ormation to
students 6ust starting a new unit. It &uilds o** o* %re8ious +nowledge( and clearly states the
o&6ecti8es 0what the students need to learn4 o* the lesson. ,How the material is %resented is not a
critical attri&ute o* the direct instruction model. 5hat is critical in this model and what is
essential in all good teaching are the lin+s to &ac+ground +nowledge( the small chun+s o*
in*ormation( and guided and inde%endent %ractice( all with correcti8e *eed&ac+(/ 0Estes( 9int@(
F <unter( $)11( 2. B#( 2ar. $4. 5ith continuous *eed&ac+( teachers will &e a&le to see i* students
are on the right trac+( or i* they need eAtra assistance. This method has %ro8en success*ul in
hel%ing students( not only to learn( &ut to eAcel( as well. In a study( results showed that direct
instruction had the strongest im%act on student learning. ,Students recei8ing irect Instruction
did &etter than those in all other %rograms when tested in reading( arithmetic( s%elling( and
language(/ 0irect instruction: The most success*ul teaching model( n.d.( 2ar. #4.
The direct instructional model can meet the needs o* di8erse learners a num&er o* ways.
The teAt&oo+ %ro8ides two methods( which is *leAi&le grou%ing and 8arying ;uestions. ?leAi&le
grou%ing allows students to wor+ with di8erse grou%s. Students can &e grou%ed with others that
share the same interests( or &ac+ground +nowledge o* a su&6ect( or the grou%s could &e miAedC
achie8ement grou%s so that students with more +nowledge o* the su&6ect could hel% those in their
grou%( allowing the teacher more time *or instruction. Garying ;uestions is im%ortant in this
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System 1)
model. Not all students will ha8e the same interests( eA%eriences( learning styles( and may &e
&ehind or ahead o* the rest o* the class. :uestions can &e *ocused to meet these di**erent needs.
To &e success*ul in meeting the needs o* a grou% o* di8erse learners( the teachers must &e aware
o* their students7 a&ilities( readiness to learn( and their %re*erred learning styles. ,The %ur%ose o*
8arying ;uestions is to hel% indi8idual learners ma+e connections with the content and de8elo%
the understandings( +nowledge( and s+ills o* the lesson(/ 0Estes( 9int@( F <unter( $)11( 2. B#4.
WebQuest Model of Inquiry
This model was selected &ecause it can &e tailored to *it almost any lesson or unit( and it
is highly e**ecti8e( at least i* it is designed %ro%erly. The e**ecti8eness o* this model is &ased on
the we&sites( and other resources( that are %ro8ided to the students. Teachers can either create
their own 5e&:uest( or use one o* the many *ound online. A 5e&:uest that was designed to
meet the standards o* CA.5 Earth Sciences is 9s. 5oodwardHs Solar System 5e&:uest 09s.
5oodwardHs solar system 5e&:uest( n.d.4. I* the resources are too challenging *or your students
to understand( than the student learning will not &e as e**ecti8e. The we&sites are to &e tailored
to your lesson( your students7 grade( and their %re8ious +nowledge. 5hen these criteria are met(
the learning is 8ery e**ecti8e. This model is studentCled learning instead or teacher directed(
which also increases willingness to %artici%ate and conduct their wor+. 5hen a student is a&le to
learn on their own( a&out things that interest them( they are more li+ely to try harder and s%end
more time on the acti8ity( which creates e**ecti8e learning.
The 5e&:uest model is 8ery ada%ta&le in meeting the needs o* a class o* di8erse
learners. The we&sites and other resources can &e tailored to meet those students7 needs.
Teachers can design the 5e&:uest with sites targeting the di**erent learning styles( or e8en
di**erent languages i* a student is an ES= student and is more com*orta&le or has an easier time
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System 11
using resources that are written in their %re*erred language. This doesn7t mean their *inal %roduct
would &e in a di**erent language( 6ust that the resources used were. Their %roduct can &e
summari@ed into English a*ter the students gain an understanding o* the material. Another way
this model can &e used to meet the needs o* di8erse learners would &e to %air students with
di**erent a&ilities and &ac+ground +nowledge. These students can hel% each other &etter
understand the material.
Graffiti Cooperative Learning Model
The <ra**iti coo%erati8e learning model was chosen &ecause it is a 8ery e**ecti8e
means o* chec+ing *or student understanding. ,<ra**iti is a coo%erati8e &rainstorming %rocess
that can &e used at any %oint in a unit o* instruction to chec+ *or understanding( to e8aluate
%rogress toward o&6ecti8es( and to do an in*ormal needs assessment(/ 0Estes( 9int@( F <unter(
$)11( 2. $3"( 2ar. B4. This model allows all o* the grou%s to wor+ together to create a multiC
dimensional 8iew o* the material. All grou%s write their answers on the same %age( using
di**erent colored in+ to di**erentiate the grou%s7 wor+( and then one grou% summari@es all the
answers into generali@ations a&out the material. The <ra**iti model wor+s well &ecause grou%s
may ha8e di**erent %ers%ecti8es on the same ;uestions( and when these answers are eAamined(
they create a richer and *uller understanding o* the material. The e**ecti8eness o* this model is
determined &y the ;uestions as+ed( so the teacher must come u% with ;uestions that are clear and
co8er a range o* the material co8ered.
This model can meet the needs o* di8erse learners in a num&er o* ways. <rou%s should
&e %ic+ed &y the teacher( so that students with di**erent strengths and a&ilities can wor+ together.
Some students may ha8e di**erent areas o* +nowledgeI there*ore each mem&er o* the grou% will
ha8e di**erent 8iews a&out the answer. These grou%s will wor+ together to synthesi@e one *ull(
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System 1$
and com%lete answer to the ;uestion. ,Group tasks can also be determined by
student learning proflesdiferent groups can be formed around intelligence
preferences (practical, analytic, or creative tasks), student interests, or
academic, social, or emotional skill needs, 0Estes( 9int@( F <unter( $)11( 2. $B5(
2ar. $4. In order *or the teacher to grou% these students( they must +now a good deal a&out their
students( li+e their interests( their s+ills( their &ac+ground +nowledge( and their learning
%re*erences. That way when the grou%s are *ormed( they will &e a&le to wor+ coo%erati8ely to
come u% with the answer to the ;uestion.
Assessent and Accountability
There are multi%le methods o* assessment that can &e used with the direct instructional
model( the 5e&:uest model o* in;uiry( and the gra**iti coo%erati8e learning model. iagnostic(
*ormati8e( and summati8e assessments will all %ro8ide 8alua&le insight into your students7
readiness to learn and understanding o* the material. iagnostic assessments will demonstrate
the students7 &ac+ground +nowledge( which hel%s the teacher in +nowing where to start with the
lesson( so that they can &uild on that %re8ious +nowledge. ?ormati8e assessments are used
during the lesson to ma+e sure that the students are on the right trac+. These can &e tests or
;uestions as+ed &y the teacher in an in*ormal manner. The %ur%ose o* these is to ma+e sure that
the students do not &ecome con*used or get lost in all the material &eing co8eredI it is easier to
go &ac+ one ste% than to go &ac+ multi%le ste%s. Summati8e assessments are used at the end o*
the lesson to gauge student learning. This also shows the teacher i* their instruction was
e**ecti8e. I* a lot o* students were not a&le to do well on an assessment( it may &e the instruction
was not as e**ecti8e as it could ha8e &een( and should &e altered so that more students will gain
an understanding o* the material.
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System 1"
!valuation Plan
The e**ecti8eness o* the unit or lesson can &e e8aluated &y using the *ormati8e and
summati8e assessments( as well as through other means. The *ormati8e assessments will show
the teacher i* the students are on the right trac+( and i* they are not( it could &e a %ro&lem in the
lesson. I* a lesson is too con*using *or a student( they may get lost or sto% trying. =essons
should &e tailored so that the in*ormation is clear and easy to understand. Students will not all &e
on the same le8el( so some material should &e ad6usted to hel% the students who need eAtra hel%(
and a &it more challenging *or those who are ready *or the challenge. Summati8e assessments
will show how much o* the in*ormation the students were a&le to a&sor&. I* a large num&er o*
students do not do well on a certain %art o* the assessment( the teacher may choose to *ind an
alternati8e method o* instruction to co8er this %art( so that the students will &e a&le to understand
the material. Another method to e8aluate the e**ecti8eness o* the lesson( de%ending on the
lesson( is i* the students are a&le to use this +nowledge in their e8eryday li8es.
Conclusion
In conclusion( it is im%ortant to use a wide range o* teaching models so that we can hel%
%ro8ide our students with a multiC*aceted 8iew o* the material. Each model will introduce
material in a di**erent way( and students will gain a dee%er understanding o* the material i* we
di**erentiate our instruction. Some models *ocus on di**erent learning styles( which is im%ortant
&ecause our students will ha8e a 8ariety o* %re*erred learning styles. ?ocusing on 6ust one could
alienate some students and they may not try as hard. These models also ha8e di**erent methods
o* assessment. 5hen we only use one method o* e8aluation or assessment( we may not &e
gaining the *ull %icture o* our students7 learning. Howe8er( when we use multi%le methods o*
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System 1'
assessment( we can gain a &etter %icture( and see i* and where our instruction is lac+ing or our
students need eAtra hel%.
CA.5.Earth Sciences: The Solar System 15
Re*erences
Cali*ornia e%artment o* Education. 0$))1( June 114. Science content standards.
Retrie8ed July 1"( $)1"( *rom htt%:DDwww.cde.ca.go8D&eDstDssDdocumentsDsciencestnd.%d*
irect instruction: The most success*ul teaching model. 0n.d.4. Retrie8ed July 15( $)1"( *rom
htt%:DDwww.6e**lindsay.comDEducata.shtml
Estes( T.H.( 9int@( S.=.( F <unter( 9.A. 0$)114. Instruction: A models approach.
Koston: 2earson. ISKN 1B#)1"1"#1"5"
9s. 5oodwardHs solar system 5e&:uest. 0n.d.4. Retrie8ed July 1'( $)1"( *rom
htt%:DDteacherwe&.comDCADSangerJac+sonDSolarSystem5e&:uestDindeA.html
5all( 9. 0$)11( August $$4. 9eet the solar systemHs dwar* %lanets. Retrie8ed *rom
htt%:DDwww.s%ace.comD1$31$Cdwar*C%lanetsCsolarCsystemCtour.html