http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2011activities/57539.html#discussion http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2011activities/57539.html#post18320
I like the idea of starting off by observing photos of actual craters. Simply asking what kids notice at this point may elicit lots of interesting things, including observations that lead to the questions you want them to explore. Kids may not think that the craters are random in location.

It would be helpful to me, and perhaps to other teachers, if you share your thoughts about the materials you have chosen. Why use two colors of sand in a pizza box? (I assumed that the two colors of sand were to make the rays easier to observe, but perhaps there are other reasons.) I see that you plan to discuss with students the ways in which this situation is different from what happens on the moon, and I think that is a good idea.

Some thoughts about your impact crater lab form: I think more room for student observations (including drawings) would be helpful. Also, I'd be inclined to remove the "Scientific Method" heading, the word "Hypothesis" and the phrase, "make a prediction." Leave your explanation of what an impact crater is, and the "What do you think causes..." question.
Then, note that kids will use a modelling/simulation to develop their ideas further. (They make predictions about the sand/pizza box situation and actually test these out.)

I can imagine kids generating a similar activity if asked to come up with ways to explore some of their ideas about the craters in the photographs. (You might then need to suggest some specific materials, like the sand, that you know work well.)

I'll be interested to hear how this goes!

Ellen]]> Ellen Doris 1313180160 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2011activities/57539.html#post18320 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2011activities/57539.html#post18339
This is a very nice unit. As you might guess, I would really stress the question, what makes this model different from what happens on the Moon? In a sense it;s just coincidence that dropping an object from a meter into sand resembles an impact crater at all, since the physics are so different. You can absolutely talk about that!

let us know how it goes -

Lindy]]> Lindy Elkins-Tanton 1313599740 http://serc.carleton.edu/spaceboston/2011activities/57539.html#post18339