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The Solar System

A WebQuest for 4th Grade (Science)

Designedby

Angela Johnson, Jennie Lindenberger, Nicholle Post

 

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Introduction

Have you ever thought about what is out there? Way out there! The students of Ms. Frizzle’s Magic School Bus class takes an exciting journey through the solar system – and we will be on board.

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The Task

Ms. Frizzle is lost in outer space. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to locate Ms. Frizzle and bring her home. You will be asked to do some research using the computer. Remember to take notes in your journal because you will need this information in order to complete your mission.

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The Process

1. Read the book, The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole, Illustrated by Bruce Degen, as a class.  

2. In your journal:1. List the nine planets in the solar system and record facts that you can recall.2. Draw and label a picture of the Solar System.3. If you had to chose a planet to live on, which one would you pick and why?4. Use the website provided to help answer the following question:~ Are all these planets from the book still considered planets? If not, which ones are

still considered planets and which ones are not and why? Use the following website for help: Planets?

3. Web Quest:~ Ms. Frizzle was able to contact us on earth via her radio. She just informed me that she’s

lost in space! She is trying to describe where she is so we can rescue her . As she describes her surroundings, we need to research each planet to see if they have any similarities to her descriptions. Work in groups and use the chart provided to help determine where Ms. Frizzle is, but keep one thing in mind. Ms. Frizzle’s radio has a low battery and we have determined that it will be dead by the end of the week. We’ve decided that she should contact us once a day to tell us something new about her location. Let’s work together and find Ms. Frizzle before she is lost in space forever!

(As well as filling out the chart, each student should also record the specifics about each planet they investigate.)

~Here are some helpful websites to help you obtain the information you need to find Ms. Frizzle:www.kidsasstronomy.com/solar_system.htmhttp://www.windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/planets_table.htmlwww.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/index.html

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Day 1 – “Hello class! I’m so thankful that you’re helping me find my way back to earth. The first thing that I noticed about this planet is that it has a moon, just like earth… and possibly more than one!”

Day 2 – “I know that I miss home, but it sure is beautiful up here. The planet that I am currently on seems to have rings that are surrounding it. It is so neat!”

Day 3 – “It’s also been a lot of fun up here; I’ve noticed that I just float around! It made me curious about my weight. So I went onto the Magic School Bus (which is out of gas, because of course there is no gas stations in outer space), and I pulled out my scale. It turns out that I weight quite a bit less here than I do when I’m on earth.

Day 4 – “I know that I said this planet seems to be fun, but the cold air is really having a toll on me. Could you please hurry up and find me already! I think there’s an icicle on my nose!”

Day 5 – “Oh no, this is the last day I can talk to you! I hope that you will be able to find me after I give you this last clue because the battery on my radio is almost dead. The last thing I can tell you this. I have been taking careful observations on the length of the day. It seems that the sun is always directly above me every 17.2 hours. Its quite a short up here compared to earth.”

BEEP BEEP BEEP! (Ms. Frizzle’s radio battery has officially died )

4. Once the student’s have completed their charts, have each group share their results with the class. Make one large class chart to help identify the planet that Ms. Frizzle is on. As the students help fill in the classroom chart, have the show their classmates as a whole which website they found their information on.

5. Congratulate the class on finding Ms. Frizzle! Let them know that you will contact the space station so they can find her and bring her safely back to her own classroom.

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EvaluationEverything will be graded based on individual performance, except for the group chart.

Exemplary4

Accomplished3

Developing2

Beginning1

Score

 Responses to Writing Prompts (Which planet would you want to live on and why?) 

Thoroughly answers the

question stated.

Writes complete thoughts and

sentences that are free of error. The response is

creative and original.

Answers the question.

Contains minimal errors relating to

structure and grammar.

Does not fully answer the

question stated.

Does not write in complete

sentences.

Does not answer the question

stated.

Confusing to read and hard to

comprehend.

 Drawing  

The planets are drawn in the

correct order and neatly labeled.

Appearance is attractive and

neat.

There are few errors on the

drawing.

Appearance is fairly neat.

The drawing is missing labels, or

is labeled incorrectly.

Appearance is not neat and lacking color.

The drawing is unlabeled and

missing planets.

Appearance is sloppy,

uncolored, and not relevant.

 Journal Pages (factual information collected throughout the investigation)  

Factual information is

correct.Writing is legible.

Provides website of where the information

was found.

Factual information is not

completely accurate.

Writing is legible.Provides

websites for most of the information

found.

Missing some factual

informationWriting is legible.Does not provide the websites that

were used to gather

information.

Facts are inaccurate,

incomplete, or missing.Writing is illegible.

No websites are provided. more

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Evaluation (continued)

 Chart 

The chart is completed accurately.

Chart includes the clue for each

day.

0 errors

The chart is complete.

However , it is not completely

accurate.

1-2 factual errors.

The char is complete.

However it is not completely accurate.

3-5 factual errors.

The chart is incomplete with

more than 5 factual errors.

 Group Cooperation

Contributed to the group everyday.

Did not participate in

group activities.

back

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Conclusion

Now that you have completed the WebQuest, take a look back to the first day in your journal. We answered the question “What planet would you want to live on and why? “ Do you still agree with your response. If so, why? If not, why, and which planet would you rather live on?

Thank goodness you were able to rescue Ms. Frizzle! You did a great job completing this mission. There is a lot more to learn about the planets – If they interested you, you can look at a variety of different books from the library for more information., or feel free to ask me, your teacher!

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The Solar System

A WebQuest for 4th Grade (Science)

Designedby

Angela Johnson, Jennie Lindenberger, Nicholle Post

 

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TopIntroduction

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Standards

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Conclusion

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Introduction

This lesson was designed for 4th graders. In the Pennsylvania Standards under Earth and Space Sciences, a sub-topic includes learning about the solar system. For this Web Quest, The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System was the basis for the students’ project, which combined individual and collaboration skills through methods of research, literature, journal keeping, and data analysis.

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Learners

This lesson is designed for 4th grade science students, but will also incorporate the language arts. Prior to beginning this lesson, the students should be read at grade level and have basic knowledge of the computer.

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Curriculum Standards

Space ScienceStandard 3.3.4 B1: Identify planets in our solar system and their

basic characteristics. Describe the earth’s place in the solar system that includes the sun (a star), planets, and many moons. Recognize that the universe contains many billions of galaxies and that each galaxy contains many billions of stars.

EnglishR4.A.1.5: Summarize a fictional text as a whole.R4.A.2: Understand nonfiction appropriate to grade level.R4.B.3.2: Distinguish between essential and nonessential

information within text.1.8.4.B: Conduct inquiry and research on self /selected or

assigned topics using a variety of teacher guided media sources and strategies.

more

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back

Curriculum Standards (continued)

NETS*S3.b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and

ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.6.a. understand and use technology systems.

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ProcessThis lesson will take place during the science period each day for one week. This lesson is multidisciplinary as it focuses on the language arts as well. The chart groups will be assigned randomly.

A well prepared novice teacher could orchestrate this lesson with ease.

1. Read the book, The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole, Illustrated by Bruce Degen, as a class.  

2. In your journal:1. List the nine planets in the solar system and record facts that you can recall.2. Draw and label a picture of the Solar System.3. If you had to chose a planet to live on, which one would you pick and why?4. Use the website provided to help answer the following question:~ Are all these planets from the book still considered planets? If not, which ones are still

considered planets and which ones are not and why? Use the following website for help: Planets?

3. Web Quest:~ Ms. Frizzle was able to contact us on earth via her radio. She just informed me that she’s lost in

space! She is trying to describe where she is so we can rescue her . As she describes her surroundings, we need to research each planet to see if they have any similarities to her descriptions. Work in groups and use the chart provided to help determine where Ms. Frizzle is, but keep one thing in mind. Ms. Frizzle’s radio has a low battery and we have determined that it will be dead by the end of the week. We’ve decided that she should contact us once a day to tell us something new about her location. Let’s work together and find Ms. Frizzle before she is lost in space forever!

(As well as filling out the chart, each student should also record the specifics about each planet they investigate.)

Teacher Page

TopIntroduction

Learner

Standards

Process

Resources

Evaluation

Conclusion

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Process cont

~Here are some helpful websites to help you obtain the information you need to find Ms. Frizzle:www.kidsasstronomy.com/solar_system.htm

http://www.windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/planets_table.html www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/index.html

Day 1 – “Hello class! I’m so thankful that you’re helping me find my way back to earth. The first thing that I noticed about this planet is that it has a moon, just like earth… and possibly more than one!”

Day 2 – “I know that I miss home, but it sure is beautiful up here. The planet that I am currently on seems to have rings that are surrounding it. It is so neat!”

Day 3 – “It’s also been a lot of fun up here; I’ve noticed that I just float around! It made me curious about my weight. So I went onto the Magic School Bus (which is out of gas, because of course there is no gas stations in outer space), and I pulled out my scale. It turns out that I weight quite a bit less here than I do when I’m on earth.

Day 4 – “I know that I said this planet seems to be fun, but the cold air is really having a toll on me. Could you please hurry up and find me already! I think there’s an icicle on my nose!”

Day 5 – “Oh no, this is the last day I can talk to you! I hope that you will be able to find me after I give you this last clue because the battery on my radio is almost dead. The last thing I can tell you this. I have been taking careful observations on the length of the day. It seems that the sun is always directly above me every 17.2 hours. Its quite a short up here compared to earth.”

BEEP BEEP BEEP! (Ms. Frizzle’s radio battery has officially died )

4. Once the student’s have completed their charts, have each group share their results with the class. Make one large class chart to help identify the planet that Ms. Frizzle is on. As the students help fill in the classroom chart, have the show their classmates as a whole which website they found their information on.

5. Congratulate the class on finding Ms. Frizzle! Let them know that you will contact the space station so they can find her and bring her safely back to her own classroom.

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Resources Needed

-The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole-Computers-Solar System Chart PlanetsChart.xlsx-Journals-Writing Utensils-Websites that are needed are listed in the “Process” section of this PowerPoint

This lesson can be implemented by one teacher.

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Evaluation

Exemplary4

Accomplished3

Developing2

Beginning1

Score

 Responses to Writing Prompts (Which planet would you want to live on and why?) 

Thoroughly answers the

question stated.

Writes complete thoughts and

sentences that are free of error. The response is

creative and original.

Answers the question.

Contains minimal errors relating to

structure and grammar.

Does not fully answer the

question stated.

Does not write in complete

sentences.

Does not answer the question

stated.

Confusing to read and hard to

comprehend.

 Drawing  

The planets are drawn in the

correct order and neatly labeled.

Appearance is attractive and

neat.

There are few errors on the

drawing.

Appearance is fairly neat.

The drawing is missing labels,

or is labeled incorrectly.

Appearance is not neat and lacking color.

The drawing is unlabeled and

missing planets.

Appearance is sloppy,

uncolored, and not relevant.

 Journal Pages (factual information collected throughout the investigation)  

Factual information is

correct.Writing is legible.

Provides website of where the information

was found.

Factual information is not

completely accurate.

Writing is legible.Provides

websites for most of the information

found.

Missing some factual

informationWriting is legible.Does not provide the websites that

were used to gather

information.

Facts are inaccurate,

incomplete, or missing.Writing is illegible.

No websites are provided.

more

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Evaluation (continued)

 Chart 

The chart is completed accurately.

Chart includes the clue for each

day.

0 errors

The chart is complete.

However , it is not completely

accurate.

1-2 factual errors.

The char is complete.

However it is not completely accurate.

3-5 factual errors.

The chart is incomplete with

more than 5 factual errors.

 Group Cooperation

Contributed to the group everyday.

Did not participate in

group activities.

back

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Conclusion

This lesson will be a fun and interactive way to help the students learn about the planets. The students are given a purpose to research the facts and complete the project. It’s their responsibility to save Ms. Frizzle. It also incorporates other content areas and provides opportunities for collaboration.

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Credits &References

http://www.wpclipart.com/space/solar_system/solar_system_large.png.html

http://milo.com/magic-school-bus-lost-in-the-solar-system-magic-school-bus-series

http://languageisavirus.com/grey-gardens/store/view.php?asin=630339678X