4.10
Asteroid!
Russell G. Wright. Event-Based Science series. Menlo Park, Calif.: Innovative Learning Publications, 1996.
Program Overview
The Event-Based Science series is a program for middle school students in grades 6-9. Each module tells the story of a real event--such as the 1995 outbreak of the Ebola virus in Zaire--through reprinted newspaper articles and personal interviews; sections of background information explain relevant scientific concepts. A central task related to the module's story line leads to a final product that allows students to apply the science they have learned. For each module, a student book, teacher's guide, and videotape and/or videodisc are available.
Student Edition
Recommended grade level:
7-8.
The threat of an asteroid hitting the earth is the event on which this study of various topics in astronomy is based. Students begin the module Asteroid! by watching television news coverage and reading newspaper articles about objects from space that have hit or just missed hitting the earth. They are told that their major task during the module will be to design, in 5-member teams, a multimedia information campaign to warn people about an asteroid that is on a collision course with the earth. The module's 7 activities provide students with the background information and skills they need for this task.
Among the activities, for example, students work with sand and small objects to investigate how an asteroid's speed and size affect the diameter of an impact crater. They create a time line to see if there is a relationship between mass extinctions and asteroid impacts. They also design and illustrate a scale drawing of the inner planets showing the path of an approaching asteroid, and they construct an "asteroid-smasher" model rocket capable of hitting a target 1 foot in diameter at a distance of at least 30 feet. Students also calculate the time it would take a free-falling object to reach the earth's surface.
The module provides short narratives about astronomical topics, such as the origin of the moon, the solar system, and comets. It includes copies of actual newspaper articles, explanatory graphics, and profiles of professionals--such as public relations managers, planetary scientists, paleontologists, and physicists--who might be involved in a public relations campaign about asteroids. Other information that students need to complete the task must be obtained from encyclopedias, textbooks, films, magazines, and other sources they can find. The unit culminates with the presentation of team multimedia projects.
Teacher's Edition
The teacher's guide provides brief overview information on the module's structure and activities. It includes suggestions for guiding specific student activities, and a scoring rubric for a performance assessment.
Key to Content Standards: 5-8 (see app. C)
UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement; evolution and equilibrium; form and function.
SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.
PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Motions and forces.
EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: Earth's history; earth in the solar system.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.
SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: Natural hazards; risks and benefits; science and technology in society.
HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE: Science as a human endeavor; nature of science; history of science.
Prices:
Student edition (ISBN 0-201-49443-4), $7.95. Teacher's edition (ISBN 0-201-49444-2), with video, $18.00. Classroom package, $115.00.
Publisher/supplier:
Addison-Wesley/Longman.
Materials:
Available locally.
Topic Index listings linked to this entry
Use these listings to find related entries.
Astronomy, Earth Sciences: Concepts and Challenges in Earth Science, ~ Exploring Earth Science, ~ Glencoe Earth Science, ~ Project STAR: The Universe in Your Hands, Earth and Beyond, ~ Project Earth Science: Astronomy, ~ Activities for the School Planetarium, ~ Earthy Things, ~ Exploring Space: Using Seymour Simon's Astronomy Books in the Classroom, ~ Project SPICA: A Teacher Resource to Enhance Astronomy Education, ~ Science Experiments: Earth Science, ~ The Universe at Your Fingertips: An Astronomy Activity and Resource Notebook, Multi & Applied Sciences: Earth and Physical Science: Content and Learning Strategies, ~ Everyday Science: Real-Life Activities.
Comets, Earth Sciences: The Universe at Your Fingertips: An Astronomy Activity and Resource Notebook, Multi & Applied Sciences: Great Moments in Science: Experiments and Readers Theatre.
Models, Physical Sciences: Glencoe Physical Science, ~ Matter: Building Block of the Universe, ~ Chemical Interactions, ~ Experimenting with Model Rockets, ~ Inventor's Lab, ~ Newton's Toy Box, ~ Experiments with Balloons, ~ Experiments with Motion, ~ LEGO Technic I Activity Center, ~ Machines, ~ Science Experiments: Chemistry and Physics, ~ Simple and Motorized Machines Activity Pack, ~ Soap Films and Bubbles, ~ Structures, Life Sciences: Glencoe Life Science, ~ Heredity: The Code of Life, ~ DNA--From Genes to Proteins, ~ Food, Energy, and Growth, ~ From Genes to Jeans: An Activity-Based Unit on Genetic Engineering and Agriculture, ~ The Human Body: How Can I Maintain and Care for Myself?, ~ An Introduction to Biotechnology: Book 2, ~ Life Changes through Time, ~ You and Your Body, ~ Zebra Mussel Mania, ~ The Molecular Model of DNA and Its Replication Kit, ~ Order and Diversity in the Living World: Teaching Taxonomy and Systematics in Schools, Environmental Sciences: Plastics in Our Lives, ~ Water: Can We Keep It Fit for Life?, ~ Environmental Issues: Intermediate, ~ Environmental Resource Guide: Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention, ~ Global Awareness for Students (GAS): Studies in Climate, ~ H2O Below: An Activity Guide for Groundwater Study, ~ STV: Water, Earth Sciences: Project STAR: The Universe in Your Hands, Earth, Moon, and Stars, ~ Earth Processes, ~ Earthquake!, ~ Earthquakes, ~ The Moons of Jupiter, ~ Project Earth Science: Geology, ~ River Cutters, ~ Stories in Stone, ~ The Universe: Exploring Stars, Constellations, and Galaxies, ~ Earthquakes: A Teacher's Package for K-6, ~ Earth Science Investigations, ~ Earthy Things, ~ Hands-On Geology: K-12 Activities and Resources, ~ Janice VanCleave's Earthquakes: Mind-Boggling Experiments You Can Turn into Science Fair Projects, ~ On the Rocks: Earth Science Activities for Grades 1-8, ~ Project SPICA: A Teacher Resource to Enhance Astronomy Education, ~ A Sedimentary Geologists' Guide to Helping K-12 Earth Science Teachers: Hints, Ideas, Activities and Resources, Multi & Applied Sciences: Models and Designs, ~ Prime Science: Level C, ~ Energy Transformations: Fourth Module in Bio-Related Technologies Unit, ~ Hot Water and Warm Homes from Sunlight, ~ How Telecommunication Works: How People Use Energy to Communicate, ~ If Shipwrecks Could Talk, ~ JASON IV Curriculum: Baja California Sur, ~ Life: Here? There? Elsewhere? The Search for Life on Venus and Mars, ~ Packaging, ~ A Sunken Ship, ~ The Teaching Tank Discovery Book, ~ The Teaching Tank Discovery Book, ~ Technology Science Mathematics Connection Activities, ~ Transformations: Science, Technology and Society.
Moon, Earth Sciences: Project STAR: The Universe in Your Hands, Earth, Moon, and Stars, ~ Earth, Moon, and Sun, ~ Project SPICA: A Teacher Resource to Enhance Astronomy Education, Multi & Applied Sciences: Prime Science: Level A.
Planets, Earth Sciences: Project STAR: The Universe in Your Hands, Earth and Beyond, ~ The Evolution of a Planetary System, ~ The Moons of Jupiter, ~ Project Earth Science: Astronomy, ~ Global Climates--Past, Present, and Future: Activities for Integrated Science Education, ~ Project SPICA: A Teacher Resource to Enhance Astronomy Education, ~ The Universe at Your Fingertips: An Astronomy Activity and Resource Notebook, Multi & Applied Sciences: Middle Grades Science: A Problem-Solving Approach, Sixth Grade, ~ Life: Here? There? Elsewhere? The Search for Life on Venus and Mars.
Solar system, Earth Sciences: Concepts and Challenges in Earth Science, ~ Exploring Earth Science, ~ Glencoe Earth Science, ~ Project STAR: The Universe in Your Hands, Earth and Beyond, ~ Earth, Moon, and Sun, ~ The Evolution of a Planetary System, ~ Project Earth Science: Astronomy, ~ Earth Science Investigations, ~ Global Climates--Past, Present, and Future: Activities for Integrated Science Education, ~ The Great Solar System Rescue, ~ Project SPICA: A Teacher Resource to Enhance Astronomy Education, ~ Thematic Applications: Sciences I, ~ The Universe at Your Fingertips: An Astronomy Activity and Resource Notebook, ~ Water, Stones, and Fossil Bones, Multi & Applied Sciences: Middle Grades Science: A Problem-Solving Approach, Sixth Grade, ~ Prime Science: Level C, ~ Science Interactions: Course 3, ~ Science 2000: Science 1 (Grade 7), ~ JASON VI: Island Earth, Hawai'i Expedition Curriculum, ~ Life: Here? There? Elsewhere? The Search for Life on Venus and Mars.
