Teaching tools > Comets > Overview: Comets Q&A

Description:

Q&A: Comets is a series of questions and answers about comets written for teachers and students. The questions are ones that students might ask while studying comets. Teachers can use this Q&A to gain additional knowledge about comets, or use it in the classroom as outlined below.

Format(s) available: Printer-friendly web page

Grades: Adaptable, at teacher's discretion

Teachers can use Q&A: Comets as:

• An engagement activity. Use selected questions to start a discussion.

• An inquiry tool. Use selected questions and answers to help students generate questions. Propose a question, such as "What is a comet?" (see question 1 in Q&A: Comets). Have students read the answer to the question and write down 3–5 questions they would like answered as a result of reading the material.

• A source of information. Students can use the questions and answers as part of their research on comets.

• A form of review. Use the questions as a review at the end of a unit on comets.

• A follow-up. Have students read the questions and answers to gain additional information about comets following a related activity.

• A starting point for a debate. "Was Shoemaker-Levy 9 a comet or an asteroid?" This idea is addressed in the question "What did the impact sites tell us about Shoemaker-Levy 9?" (see question 17 in Q&A: Comets).

Related materials

Online exploration: Comets

Online exploration: Planet Impact!

Graphic organizer: Comparison of comets and asteroids

HubbleSite — New Views of the Universe — Hubble Gets a Black Eye:
http://hubblesite.org/discoveries/hstexhibit/planets/blackeye.shtml

Teaching tools > Comets > Overview: Comets Q&A