Galaxies Galore, Games and More is a learning module designed to
allow elementary students to use their observational skills, recognize patterns,
and learn how galaxies are classified. In these lessons students will learn
the parts of galaxies and will be able to identify the three main types:
spiral, elliptical, and irregular. Students will become acquainted with
the structure of their home galaxy, the Milky Way. In the assessment activities
students test their memory and apply their understanding to new scientific
images. Students will complete these objectives by interacting with a variety
of Web-based activities. The non-reader can complete the activities; however,
all activities have text as well as graphics for students with reading skills.
How to Prepare for an “Online Exploration”
Decide if the activity meets your needs.
- Check out the activity ahead of time by working through it as your students
will. As you go through the activity, pay attention to the following:
- How to navigate from one place to another.
- The ability level. Can students work this activity successfully?
- Natural breaks within the activity. Is there enough flexibility that
students can complete all or selected parts within the time restraints
of the daily schedule?
- Check out the “Teaching Tips” for the following information.
- Overview: Serves as a broad, comprehensive summary of the
activity, including a description, the concepts covered, prerequisites,
and the target audience.
- Science Background: Provides information about the science
behind the activity. It clarifies important concepts used in the activity
and contains a message from the scientist who worked with the team
to develop it.
- Lesson Plan: Addresses specific recommendations for using
the activities, including learning outcomes, new vocabulary, misconceptions,
engagement activities (under the heading procedure/directions), and
follow-up activities. Includes suggestions for using the activity in
one-computer classrooms and those without computers.
- National Standards: Provides alignment between the activity
and the National Science Education Standards, the National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum and Evaluation Standards, and
the Project 2061 Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy Standards. Many
state and local standards were developed from these so it should be
easy to check for correlations.
- Grab Bag: Provides resources for educators who wish to
customize the activity. Includes images from the activity, which can
be used to develop your own interactive lesson. Also identifies resources
used in the activity and others related to the topic, which can be
used by students and educators to do further research.
Before using the activities...
- Check out your computers.
- Review the Computer Needs section of the activity.
- Reserve a time to use the computer lab.
- Bookmark the activity on the Web browser (Netscape Navigator or Microsoft
Explorer) of each student computer.
- Determine a strategy for organizing your students. Options include the
following:
- Use a whole-class approach with one computer.
- Use a team approach in a computer lab, with different students having
specific responsibilities during the activity (such as “mouse user,” “note
taker,” and “oral reader”).
- Use a one-computer-per-student approach.
- Think about how this online activity matches up with teaching materials
that are already available to you. These might include:
- Curriculum guides
- Textbooks
- Videos
- Posters
- Labs
Preparing students
- Share the objectives and the key vocabulary words used in the activity.
- Use a large monitor, LCD, or transparencies to give a preview of the
activity and to demonstrate how to navigate within it.
- Give your students a computer/Web pre-assessment to determine their
computer experience and/or competence.
- Organize your students in such a way that more experienced users are
matched up with less experienced ones.
- Try one of the Suggested Engagement Activities, which can be found under
Procedure/Directions in the Lesson Plan section of the activity’s
Teaching Tips.
While students are doing an activity…
- Help individual students navigate through the activity.
- Provide options for those who finish the activity early:
- Have them review the activity again to define key vocabulary words.
- Have them visit related Web links to conduct additional research.
- Have them completing some type of assessment activity. A number
of these can be found under Follow-up Activities/Extensions in the
Lesson Plan section of the activity’s Teaching Tips.
Using the activities without an Internet connection
- Order a CD of the activities.
- For activity-specific suggestions, consult the Classrooms Without Computers
section (in the Lesson Plan section of the activity’s Teaching Tips).
- Print the information provided in the Science Background, which might
be useful for content reading.
- Download the activity in advance from the Amazing Space Web site. Instructions
are in the Computer Needs section accessed from the activity’s title
page.
- Go to the activity’s Grab Bag section and select text, student
activities, or other Internet links that direct you to related topics.
Concepts:
- Our solar system is in a spiral galaxy called the Milky Way.
- There are three main types of galaxies: spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
- The four main parts of spiral galaxies are a bulge, spiral arms, gas and
dust, and stars (both old and new).
- Elliptical galaxies range in shape from round to oval and consist mainly
of older stars.
Prerequisites:
Before attempting to complete this lesson, the student should:
- Understand that some things in the universe are beyond visual sight and
can only be seen using a telescope
- Understand that the universe is made up of planets, stars, planetary systems,
and galaxies
- Demonstrate an ability to match similar objects
Process Skills Acquired:
- Recognizing patterns
- Classifying shapes
- Inferring relationships
Target Audience/Grade Levels:
- Elementary students in grades K-5
- Middle school (grades 6-8) students could use the science background in
conjunction with "Galaxy Trading Cards"
Preparation Time:
- Time necessary to download computer software to support the lesson (Netscape
Navigator 4.0).
- Time necessary to become familiar with the lesson.
Execution Time by Module:
The following are approximate times depending on your school's Internet location
(e.g., classroom, library, computer lab), the number of computers available
with Internet access, and the number of students in the class.
- Build the Milky Way-10 minutes
- Spiral Shapes-10 minutes
- Elliptical Slide-10 minutes
- Imagine Irregulars -10 minutes
- Galaxy Card Games-20 minutes
a. Game I - Concentration
b. Game II - Trading Cards
- Galaxy Hunt-20 minutes
Field Tested:
In progress.
Last Update:
July 30, 2003
Send your comments about this page to: amazing-space@stsci.edu
