LESSON PLAN FORMAT

CSL 570
SUMMER 2015
NAMES: Anthony Papalia
LESSON TOPIC: Writing space exploration proposals based on specific criteria.
RATIONALE: In the past students have been learning about the history of space
exploration. The students have also been learning about environmental issues in todays
society. This lesson will discuss the future of space travel and how it can be used to solve
societal problems. The students will be discussing the idea of space travel and how it can
be used to solve problems in society.
COMMON CORE STANDARD (S):
W3.1- Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
a) Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and
create an organizational structure that lists the reasons.
b) Provide reasons that support the opinion.
c) Use linking words and phrases to connect opinion and reason.
OBJECTIVE: The students will research the history of space travel and create a
document that discusses the planet or celestial body we should explore next. They will
give real life reasons that exploration of this planet will be beneficial to our society.
ACADEMIC LANGUAGE: Plant, moon, star, Jovian planet, terrestrial planet,
exploration, resources, satellite, shuttle.
MOTIVATION OR ANTICIPATORY SET: The students will enter the room which
will have several planets set up (created with clay, play dough, or any type of craft
materials). The teacher will explain to the students that they will be the next group of
humans to explore planets beyond our solar system. They will be told that the Earth is
running out of natural resources and must find new ways to gather them. They will have
the opportunity to explore the three planets at the front of the room and choose which one
they will be exploring for resources and why.
BRIEF PROCEDURE:
1. Before beginning the lesson, students will have read the book One Giant Leap.
2. Sitting in a group at the carpet area, the teacher will ask the students to recall the
book and think about what the story of Neil Armstrong tells us. Questions will
include:
a. What happened in the story One Giant Leap?
b. How was Neil Armstrong just like you?
c. Did Neil Armstrong give up on his dream to go to the moon?
d. What other places can we go to in space?
3. The teacher will then tell the students that they will be part of a mission to find
resources in space.

4. The teacher will ask the students why in the future we might need to find
resources from planets that are outside of our own Earth.
5. The teacher will explain to the students that they will be choosing one of the three
planets shown in the beginning of class to explore. The teacher will then show the
students the chart with all of the information about the three planets we know
about.
6. The teacher will ask the students what a planet and a moon are. The teacher will
refine their answers to clarify the definition.
7. The teacher will explain that we have sent satellites to these planets to gather the
information that we know. The teacher will ask the students what a satellite is.
The teacher will refine the answers to clarify the definition.
8. The teacher will also explain that there are two different types of planets,
terrestrial and jovian. The teacher will explain that jovian planets are made up
mostly of gas and terrestrial are made up of rocks and solid matter.
9. The teacher will tell the students that they will receive a document that they will
fill out to explain why they think the planet they chose is a good one to explore.
They will be told that they will read their reasons to the class to make a persuasive
argument backing up their reason. The teacher will explain that in the science
world, many times scientists must ask other people for support in their ventures.
To do this they must come up with good reasons that the research or project must
be done and why people should support them.
10. The teacher will introduce the document format for their persuasive writing piece.
This explanation will explore each part of the document and how the students
should fill it out.
11. The students will be given a problem to solve by traveling to the planet. There
will be three possible problem situations the students can receive. They are as
follows:
a. In the future, the planet Earth has become increasingly polluted. Much of
the drinking water on the planet Earth is no longer drinkable. NASA has
turned to you as scientists to find a solution to this problem by exploring
different possible solutions. You have access to a space shuttle that can
hold a large amount of liquid and travel through space at very quick
speeds.
b. In the future, the planet Earth relies on methane gas to power much of its
cities. On Earth, methane gas is becoming more and more rare. NASA has
asked you as scientists to turn to space to find a solution to this problem.
You have access to a space shuttle that can carry large amounts of gas.
This shuttle can travel through space at quick speeds.
c. In the future, global warming has caused ice melting that has made the
Earth flood. The land that used to be used to farm vegetables and other
produce is now under water. NASA has turned to you as scientist to solve
this problem. You have access to a space shuttle that has a large amount of
cargo space. This shuttle can travel very quickly back and forth between
Earth and other planets.
12. The students will work together in pairs to discuss which planet they will choose
and why. They will work together to fill out the document.

13. The teacher will walk around the room and conference with each pair of students.
The teacher will ask questions about what planet they chose and why. By doing
this, the teacher will develop the students reasons and give counter reasons to
their arguments. The teacher will challenge the students to explain why they
believe the planet they chose is best for their particular problem.
14. When the students have completed their documents, they will have the
opportunity to share them with the class.
CLOSURE: The teacher will ask the students what type of problems we are facing today
on the planet Earth. The teacher will then discuss with the students how we can prevent
these problems from becoming too large. The teacher will ask the students if they know
of any other reasons we might want to travel into space. The teacher will then ask the
students to fill out the back of their worksheet. The worksheet contains the questions:
What is one thing you have learned?
What is one thing you found interesting?
What is one question you still have?
Before the students return to their seats to answer the questions, the teacher will explain
each of the three questions and how they should answer them (in complete sentences
giving specific details that pertain to the lesson taught).
MATERIALS USED:
BOOK
Pencils
Document Worksheet
Chart with planet descriptions
Three planets
TECHNOLOGY COMPONENT (IF APPLICABLE):
Microsoft Word to make document
ASSESSMENT OF COMMON CORE STANDARD (S)
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
a) Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an
organizational structure that lists the reasons. Assessment of this common core standard
will be done using the rubric to examine the students answers on their report document.
The opinion should be stated in the section of the document that asks for a planet
selection. The students ability to give logical reasons as to why they chose that
particular planet will serve as the basis for the rubric grade.
b) Provide reasons that support the opinion. This criteria will be assessed using the
rubric to quantify the answers validity. If the student uses valid reasoning to explain their
choice, they will have met the criteria.
c) Use linking words and phrases to connect opinion and reason. This criteria will be
assessed using the rubric to determine if the students reasons for choosing a planet are
representative of the planet chosen.
ADAPTATIONS:
ELL Student One student will require that the vocabulary words be pre-taught.
This will be done during their scheduled English instruction time.

Reading Intervention Student- One student will require the instructions and
situation paragraphs be pre-read. This will be done during a scheduled AIS
reading time. The student will read the sections will assistance from a reading
teacher. The teacher will also pre-teach the vocabulary words being discussed in
the lesson.
Special Education Student- One student will require the text to be read. They will
also require a scribe as per their IEP. The use of amanuenses will be employed as
requested by the student.
General Adaptations- Depending on the instructional level of the classroom, this
lesson can be altered to include less planets and less proposal situations.