Kid's Guide to the Solar System

I. Briefly review the project form. Discuss the project theme, outline and time line; review the project and curriculum objectives.

This project involved Grade 2 students collecting and recording data about the solar system, using it to build models and explore concepts relating to space.

Outline and Time line:

• This project will be approximately 5 weeks in duration.
• Most of the activity sheets, the time line for activities and the blank table will be posted on the Internet before the project starts.
• It will start with a grade 2 assembly at the beginning of week 1 to promote the theme.
• Each week ends by filling in parts of our on-line tables from data found in our class tables.
• Week one will include the distribution of planet tables, and the beginning of data collection.
• Week two will include the first communication with experts, via e-mail. Research will continue; new resources are posted to the web site as they are found and the table will be updated. With assistance students will scan their solar system models and post to their personal home pages.
• By the end of week 3 most table data should be completed and the solar system display can be created using this data (everyone pitches in). Ask the expert continues.
• During week 4 the interpretation of the data occurs. Students will explore the causes and results of gravity, causes of night and day, uses for the Sun's energy and why planets have varying surface temperatures. All tables are completed, resource lists are updated and further communication occurs with experts.
• During the final week a report on our successes and failures over the 4 weeks will be posted.

II. Show the audience the outcome of the project proposal.

Results and a tour of the project can be seen at: http://www.k12.nf.ca/coleyspoint/space/index.html

III. Briefly comment on any successes or problems that were encountered throughout the life of the project.

Students were able to further develop their abilities to use communications technologies, such as computers, scanners, the Internet, Multimedia CD-ROMs, Educational Software and traditional media. More importantly, they learned appropriate uses of such technologies, improved their research skills and learned to be critical of information collected (especially that found on the Internet). As with any research, they also improved their ability to separate the useful information from that which was not useful.

IV. Comment on any aspects of the project that you would do differently.

When we do this again next year we will attempt to contact an outside authority on space, such as a Canadian Astronaut (somebody to answer student questions). The project did lack outside communication.