Slide Show Presentation
TITLE
Space Math: Calculate Your Other Planet Weight
PROJECT AUTHORS
Jonnette Baker, 7th grade Math Teacher, Alief Middle School, Alief ISD
Maria Criselda Golucino, 8th grade Math Teacher, Killough Middle School, Alief ISD
Olive Gomes, 10th - 12th grade Science, Elsik High School, Alief ISD
Robin Hess, Pre K - 2nd grade Librarian, Onondaga Central School District (OCS)
Demetris Montgomery, 8th grade Science Teacher, Olle Middle School, Alief ISD
demetris.montgomery@aliefisd.net
Thandiwe Washington, 7th grade Math, Teacher, Alief Middle School, Alief ISD
thandiwe.washington@aliefisd.net
SUBJECT AREA AND INTENDED GRADE LEVEL
Math and Science, K - 12
DESCRIPTION
Stimulate student thinking about the connections between gravity, mass, and weight by having learners 1) research the gravitational force, mass, and radius of their chosen planet, 2) utilize an expression to calculate the actual gravity, 3) use the gravity to predict and solve for the weight of a set of real-world items (themselves, school bus, whale, car, etc) and 4) visually model/represent the comparison of the weight of certain items between certain planets and/or Earth as well as the size of the planet to its relative gravity.
LEARNER OUTCOMES
Astronomy: 6(B) - compare and contrast the scale, size, and distance of objects in the solar system such as the Sun and planets through the use of data and modeling;
7.2 (D) - use division to find unit rates and ratios in proportional relationships such as speed, density, price, recipes, and student-teacher ratio;
7.2 (G) - determine the reasonableness of a solution to a problem;
7.3 (B) - estimate and find solutions to application problems involving proportional relationships such as similarity, scaling, unit costs, and related measurement units;
8.14 (A) - identify and apply mathematics to everyday experiences, to activities in and outside of school, with other disciplines, and with other mathematical topics;
8.14 (D) - select tools such as real objects, manipulatives, paper/pencil, and technology or techniques such as mental math, estimation, and number sense to solve problems;
8.15(A) - communicate mathematical ideas using language, efficient tools, appropriate units, and graphical, numerical, physical, or algebraic mathematical models;
8.15(B) - evaluate the effectiveness of different representations to communicate ideas.
6.11(B) (Readiness) - 8th (Supporting) Understand that gravity is the force that governs the motion of our solar system.
TIME
Day 1:
Olive Gomes & Robin Hess’s students meet. (45 minutes)Olive Gomes high school students read stories on planets to Robin Hess’s elementary students.
Robin Hess’s students share information they found on each of the planets.
Discussion.
Day 2:
Location Introductions (10 minutes)
Project Introduction (2 minutes)
Planet overview - OCS students (16ish minutes)
PREPARATION
OCS - Class researches each of the planets and creates PicCollages or a Slideshow with short descriptions of each of the planets.
Review of Earth’s gravity - What is it? How does it affect items on Earth? Does it exist on other planets?
MATERIALS
PicCollage or Slideshow on planet descriptions.
Images of each of the planets and people to be used for visual aids to go with density comparison.
VIDEO CONFERENCE AGENDA
Introduction
Elementary Overview
7th Grade Math Overview
8th Grade Science Overview
8th Grade Math Overview
High School Overview
Summary
POST ACTIVITIES
OCS - planetarium
Others - Exit ticket/writing prompt
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
Elementary and middle school math and science teachers will assess the students using a quiz and a writing assignment (exit ticket).
High School Astronomy teachers will use the book the students wrote for assessment.
IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
The video conference will take place during the Spring Semester of SY 2015-2016. Olive Gomes will be the lead coordinator for Alief ISD and Robin Hess for Onandaga Central School District. Four classes are planning to participate from AISD and one class is participating from OCS.