SUBJECT: Earth Science
GRADE: Ninth
TECHNOLOGY: Internet

Planets...not as far out as most think

Target Grade/Subject
This lesson is for an earth science class at Grafton H.S. in York County, VA. The students in this class are mostly ninth graders; however, there are a handful of tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders. Most of the children will not sit still and listen to a lecture for a long period of time; therefore, there must be activity during the lesson or some type of physical interaction. Another characteristic of the children is that they are very talkative; therefore, it is best to channel their conversations to a specific subject that will be accomplished through group work. A third characteristic is that they like to be the center of attention, and by having groups present their projects in front of the class, students are able to be in this position. Lastly, these children do not like to dwell on one topic for any great length of time. Using various research methods enables the children to be constantly in motion and learn in an active environment.
The lesson that follows focuses upon the planets, which is part of the curriculum that the students are supposed to learn during this class. The lesson integrates various subjects with technology encouraging the children to learn that in order to have a great education, a person must apply what is learned in one class to another. If a child learns this at the beginning of his/her high school career; it provides the individual with a greater chance for success.

Objective
The students will be able to research their assigned planet by using various media sources including the Internet, encyclopedia on-line, and books to present the information in oral and written format.
The students will be able to present their assigned planet to the group in a creative manner with at least one visual aid.
The students will be able to use the research to write an individual comprehensive paper to turn in for a grade which includes specifics about the planet in terms of: distance from the Sun, density, unique characteristics, atmospheric composition, and various space missions.

Materials
The materials that are necessary for this lesson are: access to a computer with Internet connections and encyclopedia-on-line, and posterboard, markers, construction paper, and scissors, which will be useful to the students while they create visual aids for their presentations. The last material that is needed besides the basic pencil and paper is access to a library for books that the children can use research as aids.

Lesson Description
The teacher will divide the children into groups of four with different student ability levels in each group. After the groups have been selected and the children have moved around so they are near each other, the rules of the project will be handed out. The rules include that they have to gather information on:
1. How the planet got its name
2. Distance from the sun and size
3. Revolution time
4. Rotation time
5. Daytime/nighttime temperatures
6. Gases found in the atmosphere
7. Special characteristics
8. Number of natural satellites
9. Space exploration
a. name of vessel
b. year explored
c. what discoveries were made
The information can be obtained by using the Internet, encyclopedia-on-line, books, fact sheets, textbook, and material provided by the instructor in the form of worksheets.
The students have two days to research and to devise a creative plan for their presentation. During the presentation , all students in the group must speak and perform in front of their other classmates. Each group must have at least one visual aid, which could either be a photo from the computer, a hand-out, or a poster. The teacher will walk walk around the classroom to make sure that students are remaining focused upon their task as well as collecting the correct information and answering the questions. The grades will be determined based on accuracy of information, whether or not all of the information required was presented, creativity, and overall presentation quality (volume, rate at which they speak, and clarity). While the groups are presenting the information, the students in the class will be required to fill out a worksheet with all of the information, which are required to know for the test that will be at the end of the unit.
At the conclusion of the students’ presentation, the group members are required to turn in an individual paper with all of the information that they presented to the class. The paper will be graded on fact accuracy, on correct use of the English language, and on whether it is a comprehensible/readable paper. The paper will have a bibliography in typical MLA format.

Evaluation Procedure
The students will be assessed by their group presentation, as well as the individual written paper that they are to write and turn in at the conclusion of their presentation. The student’s research will be evaluated by the information that they have obtained and presented to their fellow students. The sources that the students use will be listed in the bibliography that they are required to turn in for the written portion of the lesson. The sources will be evaluated to learn how well they diversified the information and to confirm what the students learned on the Internet in comparison with what they learned from the books and encyclopedias. Each group will also evaluate their peers on how well the group interacted and on how well each individual contributed to the assignment at hand.