NGSSLessonPlanningTemplate

th
Grade/GradeBand
:35
grade

Topic:
SurfaceofMarsconnection

Lesson#

__2__
inaseriesof
_7___
lessons

BriefLessonDescription
:ThenextstepinthemissionistoinvestigatethesurfacecharacteristicsofMars,evaluatingpotentialscience
researchsitesandassociatedlandingregions.ResearchonMarswilltellushowthatplanetevolvedovertimeandwhatphysicalprocesses
areatworkbothonMarsandEarth.Paramounttoourresearchislocatingcurrentandpastsourcesofwater.Whywater?Thefundamental
requirementsforlifeasweknowitareliquidwater,organiccompoundsandanenergysourceforsynthesizingcomplexorganicmolecules
(
https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/why.html
).SolearningaboutwateronMarsmaygiveuscluesaboutpastorpresentMartianlife.And
somewherealongthelineMars,whichresearchtellsuswasmuchlikeEarthatitsformation,lostall(ormost)ofitsliquidwater.This
lessonengagesstudentsinexaminingthesurfacefeaturesofrockyplanets(EarthandMars).Featureswillhelpstudentsunderstandwhya
missiontoMarsisaviableendeavor(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wiUU2RNvK0
).
PerformanceExpectation(s):
4ESS21Makeobservationsand/ormeasurementstoprovideevidenceoftheeffectsofweatheringortherateoferosionbywater,ice,
windorvegetation.
4ESS22AnalyzeandinterpretdatafrommapstodescribepatternsofEarthsfeatures.
SpecificLearningOutcomes:StudentswillbeabletorecognizecommonfeaturesofthesurfaceofMars.Volcanoes,hydrogenrichpolar
depositsthatindicatelargequantitiesofwatericeclosetothesurface,andsignaturesofancientwateronthesurface.Studentswill
constructamodelofavolcano,producelavaflows,andobserve,draw,record,andinterpretthehistoryofthevolcano.Studentswill
needtomaketheconnectionbetweenthelifecycleofavolcanoandwhytheyseethesefeaturesonMars.
LessonLevelNarrative
Whereisthesafestplaceforthemissionpersonneltoland?Whatweatherfeaturesandhazardswouldtheteamfacewhentheyfinally
arrived?Thesearethetypesofquestionsthattheteamwillneedtoanswerinpreparationforthelanding.Yourtaskistomapthepossible
landingareasforthemission.Yourteamwilldescribethetopographyofvolcanoes.Then,givencertainsurfacefeatures,willdrawouta
mapfromtheinformationgatheredfromMarsGlobalSurveyorandthePathfindermissions.
Science&EngineeringPractices:
Studentswillanalyzeandinterpretdata
aboutvolcanoesonMarsandmakeamap
oftheirfindings.

DisciplinaryCoreIdeas:
ESSD2.A:EarthMaterialsandSystems
Watersystemshelptoshapethe
landandaffectthetypesofliving
thingsfoundinaregion.Water,
ice,wind,andgravitybreakrocks,
soils,andsedimentsintosmaller
particles.
ESS2.B:PlateTectonicsandLargeScale
SystemsInteractions
Thelocationsofmountainranges,
deepoceantrenches,oceanfloor
structures,earthquakesand
volcanoesoccurinpatterns.Most
earthquakesandvolcanoesoccur
inbandsthatareoftenalongthe
boundariesbetweencontinents
andoceans.Majormountain
chainsforminsidecontinentsor
neartheiredges.Mapscanhelp
locatethedifferentlandand
waterfeaturesareasofEarth.

CrosscuttingConcepts:
Patternsofchangecanbeusedto
makepredictions.
Causeandeffectrelationshipsare
routinelyidentified,tested,and
usedtoexplainchange.

PossiblePreconceptions/Misconceptions:
StudentsofallagesmayholdtheviewthatEarthandMarsarenotdynamic,thattheyhavealwaysbeenliketheyareinthecurrentera.Or,
thatchangesthathaveoccurredmusthavebeensuddenandcomprehensive(
Freyberg,P.(1985).Implicationsacrossthecurriculum.In
Osborne,R.(Ed.),Learninginscience(pp.125135
).Studentscanhavedifferentviewsofthedynamicsoftheearthwithdirectinstruction
andinvestigationofthetopic.Moreover,youngerstudentswhoengageinmodelingandmapreadingaboutEarthandVolcanotopography
mayleadstudentstoconstructcoherentexplanationsaboutthecausesofvolcanoes(
Duschl,R.,Smith,M.,Kesidou,S.,Gitomer,D.,
Schauble,L.(1992).Assessingstudentexplanationsforcriteriatoformatconceptualchangelearningenvironments
.

LESSONPLAN5EModel

ENGAGE:OpeningActivityAccessPriorLearning/StimulateInterest/GenerateQuestions:
Openingquestions:
WhatcanweexpecttoexperiencewhenwegettoMars?Whatistheweatherlike?Whatisthebestplacetolandandwhatcan
wetellabouttheconditionsofMarsfromtheobservationsthathavebeenmadefromtheunmannedmissions?
WhatdoyouthinkweneedtoknowaboutMarsbeforeweland?
Firstaskthemafewquestionsaboutvolcanoestogettheminterestedinthelesson.Alsodescribeafewmoredetailsaboutvolcanoesto
havethemunderstandhowtheworkandwhattheydo.Showexamplesthatcatchtheirattentionandgetthemexcitedaboutthelesson.

EXPLORE:LessonDescriptionWhatshouldtheteachersaskanddo?Whatwillthestudentsdo?
Dividegroupsupinto4students
Explainanysafetyprocedurestomakesurestudentsdon'thurtthemselves
Helpthestudentsstepbysteponbuildingyourproject
Makestudentskeeptradeofdataforanalysislateron

EXPLAIN:ConceptsExplainedandVocabularyDefined:
UnderstandingVolcanoesareequallyimportantforEarthastheyareforMarsbecausevolcanoeshaveoccuredonMars.Thevolcanoon
MarsiscalledOlympus.Studentsaretomakesenseoftheexperiementorlabthattheyhaveconstructedbyeitheraworksheetorpairing
withtheregroupstodiscussoranswersomequestionstoengageconversationandensureunderstandingonthetopic.

Vocabulary:
Volcanoes&Volcanism
Crater&Caldera
Gas,Lava,PyroclasticMaterial(Dependingontheageoriftheyseeminterested)
TypesofVolcanoes:
Shield
CinderCones
CompositeVolcanoes
LavaDomes
ELABORATE:ApplicationsandExtensions:
Howwouldyoudifferthisexperimentifdoneagain,wouldyouaddmorebakingpowderandvinegar?Howdoesthisrelatetoeveryday
life?Becausewearemakingmodelofavolcanowecouldcomparetoactivevolacnosandotherthingsthaterupt,likeasodebottleanda
mentos.Anewproblemcouldbetheterrainaroundthecardboardweuse,suchasrocksorholesinit.Anewtaskthatcouldbedonewith
thisistoaddrocksand/orcreateholesinthecardboard.
EVALUATE:

FormativeMonitoring(Questioning/Discussion):
Askstudentsprobingquestions

writeresponsestoquestions(linkedwithmapmakingportionofactivity)
SummativeAssessment(Quiz/Project/Report):
DIscussmisconceptionsconcerningthelesson
ElaborateFurther/Reflect:Enrichment: