Mars Exploration Lesson

This lesson was the best lesson all semester- the kids LOVED it!

12/2/16 Drama Lesson Plan

Mars Exploration Lesson

6^th Grade, Mrs. Geer’s class

Objective: Students will present possible solutions to progress in the exploration of Mars in group skits using the correct vocabulary of space exploration vehicles.

Materials:

·         Space technology role assignments- 24

·         Space exploration vehicles chart- write on board

·         Elon Musk video emailed to Mrs. Geer

Content Introduction: Introduce Elon Musk- 5 min

Narration—Elon Musk’s story is introduced- Explain they will go to Mars in 10 years and NASA vs Spacex.

Watch video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IRwUsQdzx4

Hot-seating—Students question teacher as Elon Musk to discover additional information about the plan.

Space Exploration Vehicles:- 3 min

Go through types of space exploration vehicles with chart.

	Manned	Unmanned
Flies through space	Crew capsule	Probe
Orbits	Orbital vehicle Space station	Satellite Orbiter
Lands	Landing module	Lander Rover

Drama Warm up/Content Review: A Big Wind Blows- 5 min.

Preparations: Have students all put chairs in a circle around you. (so there is one less chair then there are people including you)

Description: One person standing in the middle raises their hand and says, "a big wind blows ______" and they fill in the blank with something they have done or something they like. Then everyone who applies to that, if they have done it or like that thing as well stand up and switch chairs. For example, if they say, " a big wind blows to everyone who likes camping" then everyone who likes camping stands up and switches chairs. The person stuck in the middle then changes the sentence and so on.

Play the game, but first pass out small pieces of paper with one of the 6 types of space exploration vehicles on it. Say, "A big wind blows for____", and give a clue about one or several of the types of space exploration vehicles. If the clue applies to a students' vehicle in their hand, they must switch seats.

Clues: 

Flies through space

Orbits

Lands

Manned

Unmanned

What they landed on the moon with

The international space station

The mars rover

Satellite tv

Student Task: Exploration solutions to Mars- 15 min

Mantle of the Expert—Students are asked to take on the role of Spacex engineer employees who need to make progress on the 10 year plan to go to Mars, discovering how to actually colonize the planet.

(Objective- review proper names of space exploration vehicles, to decide what the major issues are with colonizing mars and come up with solutions to begin the exploration)

Explore possible ways to set up a civilization.

Requirements:1-2 minutes long, groups of 4?

Consideration of things humans need to successfully travel to, colonize, and survive on Mars. (1 problem that needs a solution).

Problems to consider: sources of power (chemically, solar panels), timing (takes 6-8 months to get to mars)- how long of a trip, the objective of your trip, humans needs for survival (food, water, etc), fuel, staying healthy along the way, air to breath once you’re on Mars, extremely cold at night, food for the journey, food production on Mars, water production on Mars, cost

Present your plan to begin exploring a solution. Not the answer- how you are going to start. Ex: If I don’t know how I am going to make a fire in the woods, the solution is find firewood and a match, but if I didn’t know that and just needed to begin exploration, I would present that I would experiment with what does and doesn’t light on fire with materials around me, and then I would walk around looking for fuel.

Use of at least one space exploration vehicles in their proper context.

Include a plan to explore possible solutions. You don’t need the answer- you just need to know a problem and have a plan to make progress on the problem through the use of technology. That’s how real science and engineering works. If they had all the answers, we’d be on mars now.

Drama guidelines: identify problems and solutions in first 3 min. Last 10 minutes to work on a skit. Characters: engineers, people running the spacecraft (astronauts if manned)

Context: engineering meeting considering possibilities, then start working on ways to test it

Example: Air for breathing: Meeting with crew, rover, setting up a big bubble thing/building that’s airtight. Put oxygen tanks inside and some plants that use the sunlight, see if the plant survives, then see if a mouse could survive the trip

Presentation of Skits- 10 min

Standards-

Theater: 6.T.CR.4 Define roles, identify responsibilities, and participate in group decision making.

Drama 6.T.P.2 Perform as a productive and responsible member of an acting ensemble in both rehearsal and performance situations.

Drama 6.T.CO.3 Investigate universal or common social issues and express them through a drama/theatre work.

Science: 6.S.3.2 a Relate science's understanding of the solar system to the technology used to investigate it. 

Science 6.S.3.2 b Find and report on ways technology has been and is being used to investigate the solar system.