http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2010activities/46748.html#discussion http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2010activities/46748.html#post12761
I really like the framework here of "we're are often told that we should take care of our Earth b/c it is unique. Is it?" I love the second message this gives of being bold enought to think for oneself and to be even bolder to actually go about and check facts for yourself!

I think it would be spectacular to share with the kids, once this project is done, the various maps of planets as you did as an activity in our class. I know that there is a whole depth of work to be done in helping kids process map reading, but without even getting into any of that, I think the kids would have a blast. It could be really fun and mind-opening for them.

This is a fine project and I like the idea of know/think know/questions idea with large sheets hung about the room very much. Would it be a problem if one student is certain of a fact and the others think it is a question?

Thanks!

- J

]]> James Tanton 1277650320 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2010activities/46748.html#post12761 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2010activities/46748.html#post12768 Great activity.
Recording the student ideas on large chart paper also allows a days hard work by the students and teacher to be saved and revisited. I learned the hard way long ago that if you wish to come back to collected ideas, record them in a more re-usable way. I'm considering using my laptop and projector in class this year. It lends itself well to having a student do the recording for you (most are faster typists than me). You can edit fairly easily and print out paper copies for the students to use in future activities.
Wendy]]> Wendy Hanlon 1277672460 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2010activities/46748.html#post12768 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2010activities/46748.html#post12784
I like your goals for this project, and I appreciate the emphasis on teaching students they must learn what has already been discovered, when they are seeking to understand a topic.

I am of two minds about the motivation "we must protect our Earth because it is unique." On the one hand it's a good, clear motivator! and we hear it a lot. On the other hand, if the Earth is not unique, can we stop trying to protect it? Is it, indeed, within our capabilities to protect it? I'm fond of saying that the Earth will be fine no matter what we do as a species, but we'll have changed conditions so that we ourselves can't live here any more! We're really protecting ourselves. So this is some rambling probably not relevant to your activity but perhaps worth mulling over.

Peer review is such an interesting thing. Certainly this is way beyond the scope of what you are doing, but it makes me think about how useful peer review is when it is motivated by anger or jealousy instead of by a wish to make the work better, or when a decision is made on a piece of work when the peer reviewer was not really an expert in that field...that might come up in class! Everything humans do is a human endeavor, isn't it, and even this system is tempered by our characters and behaviors.

In addition to reflective writings on the findings, some of the information about planets lends itself to graphing and number manipulations, also useful to practice.

Thanks for your work and participation, and I look forward to hearing how this goes! If you do it over several years, it would be interesting to compare the summary sheets.

all the best -

Lindy]]> Lindy Elkins-Tanton 1277733720 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2010activities/46748.html#post12784 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2010activities/46748.html#post12866
I appreciate the opportunities for students to discuss ideas and share information that you have built into this activity.

It should be interesting for students to consider how other planets (and moons) are like/unlike Earth. The initial aspects they will compare will emerge from that first discussion about ways Earth is unique – am I right? You can also simply ask for ways they would describe Earth, if you don’t want to assume uniqueness. Either way, if there are aspects you want to make sure kids consider and compare, introduce those.

I think it would be great to include some map work, along the lines of what we did last week, as a way of understanding and comparing surface features. The maps both provide information and provoke questions, and do so differently than, say, the planetary fact sheets you mention. The variety could be productive.

Regarding your Learning Goals, I think this activity is likely to help kids appreciate the role of their peers in carrying out this project, less likely to help them understand the collaboration and peer review of professional scientists. This isn't a criticism (the project doesn't need to accomplish everything). Consider shifting to a goal focused on student collaboration. You might also describe your science content goal in more specific terms. (This will be helpful to other teachers when they consider your activity, and it might serve you as you think further about which sources to focus on and how to structure the way students work with them.)

I look forward to hearing what your students find out and decide!
Ellen
]]> Ellen Doris 1277851260 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2010activities/46748.html#post12866