The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Plants on the Moon? Part 1

Plants on the Moon? Part 1

A 4th-5th grade STEM lesson

Eshelle Surber

12 May 24

Notes for teachers

• This is lesson is based off the Artemis II Roads Moon Mission, developed by NASA.
• My students use tablets with bluetooth capabilities to program their robots.
• My students used some block coding, as well as, Python code.
• The instructions are for the Lego Spike Prime Robot, but skills are transferable for other robots.

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Lesson Part 2

List of Materials

• Each student needs a laptop/desktop computer
• Web Browser (My district is a Google district, so Chrome)
• Projector
• Teacher computer or laptop
• Website: Moon AI Artemis Foundation
• Website: Lunar Greenhouse
• Website: Lego Prime Grabber
• Website: Lego Prime Grabber Instructions & Downloads
• Drawing paper
• Science Notebook for records

Three Dimensions of Science

Standards

ISTE: 1.3 Knowledge Constructor

Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

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5th Grade Science

U2: The knowledge produced by science is used in engineering and technologies to solve problems and/or create products.

L2: Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they often depend on, or compete with, other organisms.

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Sub Standards

1.3.a Effective Research Strategies

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Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.

1.3.b Evaluate Information

Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.

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3-5-ETS1-1.

Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

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3-5-ETS1-2.

Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Objectives:

I can plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits; and determine if their are credible sources of information.

I can generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Agenda (45 min.)

Engage: (5-7 minutes)

• Objective: To introduce the topic and engage students in thinking about the importance of research strategies and credible sources.
• Begin with a short video clip or real-world example that demonstrates the importance of using research strategies and identifying credible sources.
• Ask students to share their thoughts and prior knowledge about how they search for information and what makes a source credible.

Explore: (7-10 minutes)

• Objective: To explore different research strategies and types of sources.
• Divide students into small groups and provide each group with a list of questions related to a specific topic.
• Instruct students to brainstorm and discuss possible research strategies they could use to find the answers to the questions.
• Encourage students to share their ideas with the whole class.

Explain: (10-12 minutes)

• Objective: To explain the concept of credible sources and why it is important in research.
• Present a mini-lesson on identifying credible sources, including factors such as author expertise, publication date, and bias.
• Model how to evaluate the credibility of sources using examples.
• Provide students with a checklist or criteria for determining if a source is credible.

Elaborate: (10-12 minutes)

• Objective: To practice employing research strategies and evaluating sources.
• Assign students a topic or question to research individually or in pairs.
• Provide a list of sources (some credible, some not) for students to analyze and determine which ones are reliable.
• Circulate around the room to support students as they engage in their research and source evaluation.

Evaluate: (5-7 minutes)

• Objective: To assess student learning and understanding of research strategies and credible sources.
• Have students present their findings and explain why they chose certain sources as credible.
• Ask students to reflect on their research process and what they learned about the importance of using effective research strategies and identifying credible sources.

Intro/Driving Question/Opening

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It is important to know how to find credible sources and information on the Internet. How do you know if your sources are credible?

Hands-on Activity Instructions

• My tech lab is a hard-wired, desktop setup that provides a 1:1 environment. Students are in rows, so “shoulder partners” work well for this lesson.

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1. I ask the question: There is a lot of information on the Internet. How do you know if your information is credible?
2. Have students use shoulder partners to discuss their ideas. Have one partner write on a sticky note what they have discussed. Partner 2 puts the sticky note in the window labeled “I think…”. (3 min.)
3. I have the students watch the BrainPOP.com video Online Sources.
4. After the video, they will go back to their shoulder partner and discuss what they have learned from the video. They write their answers on a new sticky note and place in window labeled “What I know now…”
5. We continue discussing different websites that may not be as reliable as was thought.
1. Wikipedia.com
2. zapatopi.net/treeoctopus

Photos: http://brainpop.com

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Assessment

Assessment of Learning:

• Students will be assessed based on their ability to:
• Identify and explain different research strategies.
• Evaluate the credibility of sources using specific criteria.
• Present their research findings and justify their choice of sources.
• Assessment can be in the form of a checklist, rubric, or student reflections on their learning process.

Differentiation

Provide additional support for students who may struggle with identifying credible sources by offering more guidance and examples.

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Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Challenge advanced learners by encouraging them to delve deeper into evaluating the bias of sources or analyzing the reliability of information.

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