Introductory Activity to Space Units - Smartboard

If you are starting a new unit on space and need an activity to get students excited about it, then this activity is for you! This Smartboard presentation takes students through a series of ten pictures. Each picture has a question attached to it. As you show a picture, have students answer the question in their science groups on a looseleaf sheet of paper. Leave each picture up on the Smartboard for about two minutes each. The whole activity should take about two science classes (two 40 minute class periods). It will take one day to get through the pictures, another day to discuss them and fill out a KWL chart. Here are some of the questions students are asked in this activity:

1) What is responsible for the length of one day? What is the responsible for the length of one year?
2) What causes seasons?
3) Why does the moon appear to change shape?
4) What is a lunar eclipse? What causes a solar eclipse?
5) What are the points of light in the night sky? Can you see them in the daytime? Why or why not?
6) What processes created each landform? Do these landforms exist on other planets or moons? Explain why or why not?

After all of the pictures I wrote down what my students came up with for answers. Feel free to delete what I wrote. I just wanted to give you an idea of what you are looking for when it comes to leading students towards the correct answers.

At the end is a KWL chart. It is best to get students thinking like astronomers early on in the unit. This is a great way to get them critically thinking!

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