Teacher Help

Intended Audience: The intended audience for this webquest is for 6th or 7th grade middle school students. This quest is fun and interactive for them. It helps not only to teach the students more about the solar system and all of the planets but it also incorporates creativity by allowing them to make their own solar sytem, math by making them come up with their own size scale and incorporate it into their project, and it helps teach them how to use the internet for their advantage during the project.

Learning Goals: The goals are to make the students aware of how huge the solar system really is and what it is made up from. Secondary goals would be to help teach them how to use scales a bit different than you would on a map. And then to incorporate a project that allows the students to express creativity.

Skills needed: Before beginning the quest students need a basic understanding of what a scale is and they need to be able to use one. They also need to have a basic understanding of generally where the planets are and how far away they are.

Time frame: For the project students will need at least 3-4 hours of computer time for looking up information and for following the directions on the quest itself. The project should take about two weeks for them to complete.

Grading: Excellent: For an excellent project the students will have looked up all of the measurements of the planets and their distance from the sun and made an exceptional scale model and will present it very neatly. The planets they make will have all known moons shown and clearly labeled. The planets and moons will show the same type of surface that is expected on the surface of the actual planet or moon. The project descriptions will be very in depth and show a deep understanding for the material.

Average: For an average project the students will have a decent model with some contrast between the planets and have them all at least in the correct order. Most if not all moons will be present and they will be labeled as moons. Some will have surface texture some may not. The color scheme will be close to the actual color. The descriptions will be informative an show a general understanding.

Below Average: All planets are present, but with no regard to size or color or texture. The Descriptions will be very vague and show little or no conceptual understanding of the material.

Introduction

Website #1

Website #2

The Project