Discovering New Worlds
Summary
This resource is a set of student and teacher materials for a new NGSS-driven Earth & Space Science (ESS) unit (4-6 weeks of instruction). The anchor phenomenon students are exploring through modeling and data analysis relates to what makes Earth habitable, and whether we can find a similar exoplanet that could potentially sustain life. The unit has four 5E instructional sequences and culminates in a Performance Task. Resources also include a guide for how to adapt the unit for remote/online learning.
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Context
Audience
This unit is for a high school level course in Earth & Space Science. It is aligned with high school NGSS, and also supports meeting some of the NYS Earth Science Regents standards as well.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
Students in K-8 science education should have previous experience with developing and using models, as well as disciplinary knowledge that the Sun provides energy, the Earth and the other planets in our solar system orbit our sun, and that planets can be solid or gaseous (knowledge of phases of matter is relevant). This unit also builds on middle school level physical science concepts related to density, gravity, and energy transfer.
How the activity is situated in the course
This is Unit 1 of a full Earth and Space Science course. It is intended to be used to launch the course/school year.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity
Students will learn about the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun's core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation. They will learn about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements. They will understand how math can be used to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
This unit foregrounds the NGSS practice of developing and using models. This includes mathematical models. Using evidence to support a claim is also a foregrounded learning goal. The final performance task includes both a model and a written component.
Skills goals for this activity
Students will become comfortable using a variety of online simulations throughout the instructional sequences in this unit.
Description and Teaching Materials
URL for all unit materials: https://curriculum.newvisions.org/science/course/earth-space-science/discovering-new-worlds/
This URL includes a teacher guide to be read before teaching the unit; teacher materials that provide the teacher moves to support enactment of the lessons; student materials (handouts, card sets, etc.); and a guide for how to adapt this unit for learning in a remote and/or blended learning setting.
Teaching Notes and Tips
While we have the resources available in PDF form, we suggest teachers make a copy of everything in Google Docs so that lessons can be adapted and customized for classroom use and to meet the specific needs of the learners in their school. It is also worth noting that while the unit was designed to take place over 4-6 weeks, the first time this unit is done may take longer (as teachers are unfamiliar with the resource, it may be difficult to know where to go faster, what to skip, etc.).
Assessment
The unit includes detailed assessment tables to identify which artifacts from lessons can be used to address lesson learning goals. Each instructional sequence includes an Explain phase summary task to formally and formatively assess the NGSS learning goals, as well as an Evaluate phase in which parts of the Performance Task are attended to. At the end of the unit, the culminating Performance Task can be used as a final assessment.
References and Resources
URL for all unit materials: https://curriculum.newvisions.org/science/course/earth-space-science/discovering-new-worlds/