TKI - Assessment: Exemplars: Social Studies

Time, Continuity, and Change

The Power of Ideas

Galileo's Legacy

What the work shows Curriculum links The learning context Where to next?

What the work shows

Danielle draws conclusions about the ways that Galileo's ideas and actions have influenced modern science and space exploration.

Transcript of student work

Galileos ideas that the Earth moved around the Sun was criticising the Bible and in 1615 the Pope told him he was forbidden to state that the Earth moved. But by 1632 he had written a book supporting his theory. The new Pope sentenced him to imprisonment for life, but because he was old and sick he was sentenced to house arrest for life. In 1992 Pope John Paul publicly accepts Galileos discoveries.

Galileo is important to us today because he stood up against other peoples theories and beliefs He experimented with his theories and tested things untill he believed he was right. He was good for our scientists to follow.
Refer Where to next?

Some of the missions that astronauts and probes have completed today have been successful because they have reached their places they were going to by using the laws of motion that Galileo began to formulate before he died.

Danielle's explanation of Galileo's ideas and inventions

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Progress Indicators

Ideas about society

Participation in society

Understands how ideas lead to actions that have changed people's lives

Danielle explains how Galileo continued to develop his ideas after he was warned of official opposition in 1615 and took the action of writing a book about his theories by 1632, leading to his trial and sentence of house arrest. She identifies two ways in which Galileo 'is important to us today':

that he 'stood up against' current theories and beliefs
that he 'tested things,' providing a good model of experimental verification for scientists to follow.

She also comments on the continuing impact of his contribution to the formulation of the laws of motion.

Personal and social significance

Explains how an idea or action has affected them and/or others in society

By transferring her learning to a current issue, Danielle suggests the continuing significance of Galileo's ideas about experimenting with and testing scientific ideas.


			Pollution is a really bad thing today in every country. It affects the ozone layer. Scientists could try out new ideas like Galileo did. They could think of things that don't involve petrol or gas like solar cars that use the sun's energy to move.