Christopher

=__**//Hey guys... I am struggling with this project. I have changed it three times now. Someone take a look at this and please give me some input... I need ALL the help I can get right now.//**__=

•**The grade level and subject area addressed** 8th grade Physical Science

** •A brief description of the lesson ** Humans have slowly, but surely destroyed the Earth. It is quickly becoming uninhabitable. The students work for NASA and have been charged with the task of finding the human race a new place to live. Students will choose or be assigned a planet to research. After their research, they will have to come up with a game plan on how humans will get to that particular planet and also set up a colony.

** •The learning outcomes, skills, and content area objectives or standards the lesson will address **

S6E1. Students will explore current scientific views of the universe and how those views evolved. c. Compare and contrast the planets in terms of Size relative to the earth Surface and atmospheric features Relative distance from the sun Ability to support life

S8CS3. Students will have the computation and estimation skills necessary for analyzing data and following scientific explanations. a. Analyze scientific data by using, interpreting, and comparing numbers in several equivalent forms, such as integers, fractions, decimals, and percents.

•**The steps of the lesson including the problem you will pose to students and an explanation of how the problem is relevant to your students**

Students will be given the task. We will watch the introduction of the movie WALL-E where the Earth has become deserted. The problem is relevant to students because it will make the students more aware of the importance and unique qualities our Earth has. Next students will gather detailed information about all the planets and be assigned to one specific planet to become an EXPERT on. From this point, the students will be in groups where they will have to come up with Life Sustaining measures for their planet. (For instance, something to keep them warm on Pluto because of the temperature or something to compensate for the extreme pressure inside of Jupiter.) The students will then have to present their finding to the class body.

** •How students will use technology during this portion of the PBL process **

[] Students will use the site above along with others to gather data about all the planets in the solar system. They will use tools such as excel or concept mapping to record information such as temperature, rotation periods, size, distance form the Sun, etc about each planet

** •How you will customize the activity for diverse learners in your classroom **

Diverse students will be partnered up with higher end students for the project.

** •How you will assess student learning as a result of this lesson **

Students will be assessed by using scoring rubric. The rubric will score their participation in the fact finding (Their excel or concept map). The presentation of their finding to the class and an evaluation of them from their peers in the group.

Chris,

I think your lesson plan looks pretty good! I have two suggestions for you, one would be to have your students set up a wiki page to communicate with each other all of the information that they find on their specified planets. This will give them a chance to collaborate with each other and really take the activity outside of the class so that not all of the work is being done in school. My second suggestion would be to provide more customization for diverse learners by maybe setting aside jobs within the groups before splitting the students up into groups. This would allow each group member to have a specific job and hopefully your students would choose a job that fits their strengths.

David Chiarella

Cris, I also agree with David. You have selected a good topic. Idea on research is good. give them more websites to have through knowledge of the topic. Also they can create a cartoon strip or PowerPoint presentation or spreadsheets to visualize the data of as David suggested set up wiki page to collaborate with each other...

Shameen

=Second Lesson=

> 8th grade Physical Science > **This lesson is a continuation of Lesson 1**. Students will communicate with groups other than their own to get a better understanding of the entire solar system. Each "planet" group will have to create a wiki in which they start to lay down the foundation of their proposal for life on said planet... They will also have to visit a minimum of two other wikis and give constructive feedback. S6E1. Students will explore current scientific views of the universe and how those views evolved. c. Compare and contrast the planets in terms of Size relative to the earth Surface and atmospheric features Relative distance from the sun Ability to support life
 * **The grade level and subject area addressed**
 * **A brief description of the lesson**
 * **The learning outcomes, skills, and content area objectives or standards the lesson will address**

S8CS3. Students will have the computation and estimation skills necessary for analyzing data and following scientific explanations. a. Analyze scientific data by using, interpreting, and comparing numbers in several equivalent forms, such as integers, fractions, decimals, and percents. > Students will create a wiki space where they will record and share their information. Students will also visit other planet wikis and give constructive feedback and/or ask probin questions. > Continuing from the PBL, the students will set up a wiki space to record their findings on their planet. On this wiki, they will start to outline how they are going to propose how to live on their planet. ALL students will need to visit at least a minimum of two other planets' wikis and give feedback. They should ask questions about the teams' proposals... (i.e. How are you going to overcome the extreme temperatures? What about the pressure?) > Diverse learners will be partnered up with higher level students. Diverse learners will be given small direct aspects of the wiki site. They will be given a step-by-step sheet to follow posting instructions. As they become more comfortable with the program, they will discard the step-by-step sheet on their own. The lesson is all about creative thinking. The groups will have to go to other wikis and objectively look at them. They must give constructive feedback to assist their fellow classmates. Posting questions is higher order skill. > Students will be graded on their constructive responses to their peers wikis... They will also be graded on a reflection they have to write regarding the lesson. > We will spend class time setting up the wiki pages... I will reserve the computer lab. I believe it should be 1-2 days max. Creating the pages and subscribing to all of them. Another tool I will use is the LCD projector where I can give a demo on setting up the page and they can follow my lead. After the pages are set up. The groups will work together and start putting their info into their page. All info must be up on the page by day 2. This will allow for the collaboration aspect to begin on the second night. On the third day, groups will have to respond and answer the questions posted to their planet's wiki. This will allow them to see where some holes or gaps where in their initial notes. The next step is to make the appropiate adjustments using the recommendations of their peers.
 * **The steps of the lesson**
 * **How students will use social networking and/or online collaboration tools in the lesson**
 * **How you will customize the lesson for diverse learners in your classroom**
 * **How you will incorporate a creative thinking component in the lesson**
 * **How you will assess student learning as a result of this lesson**
 * **How you will manage this activity in your classroom**

Chris,

I really like how your unit plan is coming along. I like that you were able to connect the lessons (your 1st and 2nd) together in a way that fits within the context of the project. I think that using the wiki to have the students share ideas and information with their group and others in the class will work very well. This can serve somewhat like an informal assessment because it will provide students with necessary feedback. Great work!

David Chiarella

Chris, Good lesson. The students will develop deep understanding of the earth features. This topic will also help the students to understand the environmental issues. I like the way you will demonstrate to set up wikki.but do you think this lesson will take 12 days? Will you be creating rubric to grade the students? shameen