Space and Earth

Lesson 4

Unit 7.2 Space and Earth

School:

Date:

Teacher name:

Grade:

Number present:

absent:

Learning objectives(s) that this lesson is contributing to

7.C9 use imagination to express thoughts, ideas, experiences and feelings

7.C2 use speaking and listening skills to provide sensitive feedback to peers

7.R2 Understand specific information and details in texts on a range of familiar general and curricular topics.

Lesson objectieves

All learners will be able to:

• use imagination to express their thoughts and ideas

Most learners will be able to:

• use learnt vocabulary while discussion

Some learners will be able to:

• find specific information from the text

Language objective

To review vocabulary

Value links

Respect

Cross curricular links

Astronomy

Previous learning

Prior knowledge from the previous lesson about the solar system

Use of ICT

Projector or Smart board to show a presentation

Intercultural awareness

Students will be able to understand what other nations do to investigate Space

Kazakh culture

Students will be able to understand what our country do to search Solar System

Pastoral Care

Students will be able to understand the importance of investigating of Solar System nowadays

Health and Safety

Everyday classroom precautions will ensure that safety measures are provided to prevent the exposure of electrical power cords

Planned timings

Planned activities

Resources

Start 2 min

3 min

10 min

25 min

3 min

2 min

• 1. (W) Class organization

Introduce lesson objectives on the board for the lesson to the class.

• 2. (W, I) Pre-Reading

1. Write the questions below on the board. Elicit answers to the questions or best guesses from students. Write your students’ guesses on the board.

• How long does it take to get to Mars?

• How cold can it get at night on Mars?

• What should you see while you are there?

• When will we be going there?

2. Now, tell students that they have to race to find the real answers. Hand out the text Mission to Mars worksheet. Students should read the text to find the answers and shout out when they think they have found all four. Self-Assessment: Show students the right answers on the board.

Key: 1. between six and eight months 2. minus 143C 3. go to the top of Olympus Mons, and visit the moons Phobos and Deimos 4. Obama says humans will orbit the planet by the mid- 2030s and land on it soon after.

• 3. (I) Reading

Now, tell students to work individually. Students read the text carefully and answer to 10 question to understand the specific information and details from the text. Differentiation by support: Provide some vocabulary list with translation or definitions for less-able students. Monitor and help if it is necessary.

Ask students to fold the page to hide the text (this contains the answers!) before they begin!!!

• 4. (W) Post –Reading

Self-assessment: Check the answers with the class and announce the candidates for the Mars mission. Tell students they need to answer at least seven questions correctly in order to become a candidate for the Mars mission.

Key: 1. Mars was closer to Earth than it had been for 700 years 2. carbon dioxide 3. longer 4. weaker 5. rainy – it hasn’t rained for a long time 6. no, it won’t 7. two: Phobos and Deimos 8. 0% – there aren’t any oceans on Mars 9. 1964 10. (possible answers) Capricorn One, Total Recall, Mars Attacks!, John Carter, Mars Needs Moms, The War of the Worlds (a 2005 film)

• 5. (W) Homework task

Announce students their home task. Students choose one of the following two tasks to complete for homework.

• Design an advertisement: “Holidays on Mars are going to be big business in the future, so it’s best to be prepared now”. Your students have to design a magazine advertisement for a travel company that is organizing tourist breaks to the Red Planet.

• Design an information leaflet for visitors from Mars. The students have read a guide for humans going to Mars. Now, it’s their turn to write a guide for Martians coming to Earth.

• 6. (I) Plenary

Today the most important thing I have learnt is...

One thing I need to remember from today’s lesson is...

One thing I have found hard today is...

PPP

PPP

Handout Mission on Mars

PPP

Additionalinformation

Differentiation – how do you plan to give more support? How do you plan to challenge the more able learners?

Assessment – how are you planning to check learners’ learning?

Critical thinking

Differentiation by support

More support:

• Some questions are more difficult than others

• Allow thinking time.

More-able learners:

• Encourage students to use previously learned vocabulary.

• The teacher will observe and guide the students helping with their questions. Oral formative assessment

Students try to express opinions

Summary evaluation

What two things went really well (consider both teaching and learning)?

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2:

What two things would have improved the lesson (consider both teaching and learning)?

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2:

What have I learned from the lesson about this class or individuals that will inform my next lesson?

Name______________________________Grade_______________________Date__________________

Theme

Space and Earth

Learning objective

7.R2 Understand specific information and details in texts on a range of familiar general and curricular topics.

Level of thinking skills

Knowledge and comprehension

Assessment criteria

- identify specific information in the text

Task

Read the text carefully and answer to the questions under the text.

MISSION TO MARS

How long does it take to get there?

Sometimes Mars is very far from us and sometimes it is closer, but the average distance between the two planets is 225 million km. The journey takes between six and eight months, travelling at speeds of 59,300 miles an hour. The year 2003 was a good time to visit Mars because the planet was closer to Earth than it had been in 700 years.

Why is the planet called Mars?

The Greeks named the planet Ares for their god of battle. Mars, the name we use today, was the Roman god of war.

What’s the atmosphere like?

There is very little oxygen on Mars. The atmosphere is much thinner than Earth’s and is 95 per cent carbon dioxide. There is only 0.13 per cent oxygen, so take your own air supply when you go. The atmosphere also contains nitrogen, argon, neon, krypton, nexon, carbon monoxide, water vapour and ozone.

How long is a Martian day?

A Martian day is longer than an Earth day and lasts 24 hours, 37 minutes. Martian days are called sols and the planet takes 668.60 sols (or 687 Earth days) to travel around the Sun. This means that winter can last for six months. Gravity is weaker than on Earth.

What’s the weather like?

Mars is a planet of extremes. The north has a better climate, but watch out for Martian summers. These can be windy and full of dust storms, which last for several days. The daytime temperature can reach 17 degrees Celsius but can drop to minus 143 Celsius at night. You don’t need to take an umbrella, though, as it hasn’t rained for a long time.

Can I phone home?

Your mobile won’t work on Mars. Communications can be slow, with messages taking about 11 minutes to reach Earth when travelling at the speed of light.

What should I see while I’m there?

Make sure you go to the top of Olympus Mons for a spectacular view. It’s the highest mountain in the solar system, approximately three times the height of Everest. You should also visit the moons Phobos and Deimos (Fear and Panic). Since the 1950s, some people have claimed that Deimos is a giant spaceship inhabited by aliens. One US newspaper claimed that Elvis Presley was alive and well, and living on Deimos as a guest of the aliens.

How old is it?

Mars is about 5 billion years old. It’s much smaller than Earth, but, because it has no oceans, the total land area is about the same as Earth’s. Mariner 4 took the first close-up photographs of Mars on 14 July, 1964. The whole world was disappointed when they saw the pictures and realized that there was no water, no vegetation and no Martians with big heads. However, on 25 July, 1976, Viking 1 Orbiter sent back a photo showing a hill that was shaped like a face. It became known as ‘the first actual photo of a Martian’.

What films have been made about Mars?

Mars is a popular subject for films. The most famous are Capricorn One (1977), Total Recall (1990) and Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! (1996). More recent movies are John Carter (2012) and Mars Needs Moms (2011). On 30 October, 1938, Orson Welles broadcast his famous radio version of The War of the Worlds in which Martians landed at a place called Grover’s Mill. With fake live reports and news broadcasts, Welles managed to spread panic across the United States.

When will we be going to Mars?

In 2010, US President Barack Obama said, ‘By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And a landing on Mars will follow. And I expect to be around to see it.’

• Why was 2003 a good year to visit Mars? __________________________________________________

• Ninety-five per cent of Mars’s atmosphere is made up of one gas. Which one?

_______________________________________________________________________

• Are Martian days longer or shorter than Earth days? ________________________________________

• Is gravity stronger or weaker on Mars than it is on Earth? ____________________________________

• Which of the following does not describe the weather on Mars? – windy, cold at night, stormy, rainy _________________________________________________________________________

• Will your phone work on Mars? __________________________________________________________

• How many moons does Mars have? _______________________________________________________

• What percentage of Mars’s surface is covered by oceans? _____________________________________

• The first close-up photos of Mars were taken by Mariner 4 on 14 July of which year? – 1964, 1978, 1982 or 1998? _________________________________________________________________________

• Name two films about Mars or Martians _________________________________________________

Descriptor

- identify specific information in the text

A learner

• Writes full answer to the question

Assessment criteria

Task

Descriptor

Mark

A learner

Identify specific information in the text

1

1. Mars was closer to Earth than it had been for 700 years

1

2. carbon dioxide

1

3. longer

1

4. weaker

1

5. rainy – it hasn’t rained for a long time

1

6. no, it won’t

1

7. two: Phobos and Deimos

1

8. 0% – there aren’t any oceans on Mars

1

9. 1964

1

10. (possible answers) Capricorn One, Total Recall, Mars Attacks!, John Carter, Mars Needs Moms, The War of the Worlds (a 2005 film)

1

Total marks

10