MAKING SENSE OF PLANET EARTH AND BEYOND: LEVEL 5

ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES

Students can

and
investigate and describe processes which change the Earth's surface over time at local and global levels, e.g., erosion, weathering, earthquakes, volcanoes, continental drift, plate tectonics;
(a) use simple technological devices, such as telescopes and simple star maps, to observe and describe changing patterns in our night sky, e.g., position of the Moon, orientation of the Southern Cross;
(b) use information obtained from technological devices, such as radio telescopes and satellites, to clarify, challenge, and extend their ideas about the general characteristics of some near and far space objects, e.g., structure, size, surface landscape, climate; the Sun and other stars, Earth's moon, planets, comets, meteors, clusters, galaxies; feasibility of life;
research a national environmental issue and explain the need for responsible and co-operative guardianship of New Zealand's environment, e.g., water reserves, water pollution, soil erosion.

Students could be learning by:

making a poster of geological events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides recorded in the media over a month;
using a slinky spring to demonstrate S and P waves;
plotting the distribution and magnitude of recorded earthquakes in New Zealand;
constructing a distance-time graph for earthquake waves from data provided;
constructing a model seismograph and explaining how it records seismic waves;
drawing a cross section of the interior of the Earth to illustrate its structure;
plotting major areas of ice cover on a world map, explaining possible reasons for any distribution patterns;
discussing types of evidence used in determining past positions of continents;
researching and presenting a report on plate tectonics;
using a planetarium program on a computer to recreate the night sky;
making telescopes using lenses, concave mirrors, and cardboard tubes;
acting out planet orbits to scale on the playing field;
launching water-powered, plastic soft drink bottle 'rockets' with a bike pump and testing variables which affect the flight of such model rockets;
using the projection method to record sunspot activity;
researching the latest information available on the nature of extreme outer space;
investigating the significance of past and future sea-level changes in New Zealand;
investigating an example of ground or surface water pollution in the local area.

ASSESSMENT EXAMPLES

Teachers and students could assess the students':

knowledge of the suggested relationship between sites of volcanic and earthquake activity in New Zealand and the Pacific Rim and the position of Earth's crustal plates, when the students draw an annotated diagram to explain their ideas;
understanding of the changing position of stars in the night sky, when the students identify the Southern Cross at two different times of the night or year;
ability to visualise the structure of the solar system, when the students place planet diagrams correctly on to a blank map of the solar system;
ability to understand how telescopes are used, when they provide observational evidence to support their ideas of the surface structure of Mars;
ability to relate theory to observation, when students prepare a project on a named celestial body;
awareness of the nature of space objects, when students compare the size and speed of meteors and satellites;
ability to manipulate equipment correctly and safely, when students focus a clear projected image of the Sun through binoculars or a telescope on to a small screen, taking appropriate precautions;
ability to communicate, when they report on their findings from an investigation into the significance of past and future sea-level changes in New Zealand;
understanding of the importance of soil conservation, when the students debate the topic 'soil is a non-renewable resource on a human time scale.'