Space For KidsPostvisit Activity for Current Events in Space

Courtesy NASA

Grades 4-8CDE StandardsScience: 1,4.4,5

Language Arts: 1,2,3,4,5,6

Preparation and MaterialsEstimated Preparation Time: 10 minutesEstimated Activity Time: Three to five class periods of at least 30 minutes

MaterialsPaperComputersNewspapersMagazinesInternet accessCopies of Time for KidsCopies of “Colorado Kids” from the Tuesday Denver PostPublishing software (optional)Construction paper (optional)Scissors (optional)Glue (optional)Markers, crayons, or colored pencils (optional)

Learning Goals/ObjectivesStudents will

• Use articles and news stories about current space events to create aclassroom “Space for Kids” newsletter

• Summarize information found in their research to write their ownnews articles using the five “wh” questions; who, what, where, when,and why

Connection to Space OdysseySpace Odyssey is committed to providing its visitors with up-to-dateinformation about current events in space. Museum Galaxy Guides haveaccess to current space news on their laptops’ digital collections portal.Museum Galaxy Guides are trained not only to provide you with currentinformation but also to find the answers to your questions using the MuseumGalaxy Guide Portal. Alternatively, visitors can explore on their own usingthe Mission Board, where they will find the latest space science news viasatellite. Visitors can find out about day-to-day activities in space and seeand hear a running update of upcoming and ongoing space missions. The SpaceScreen showcases images from the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-rayObservatory, robotic orbiters and landers, as well as other major

observatories. Museum visitors can also access the InfoLounge where theycan explore the latest in space science. Computers, videos, DVDs, books,magazines, and the Museum’s Digital Library will keep visitors updated on thelatest and greatest space sciences information available.

Advanced Preparation1. Locate copies of Time for Kids or “Colorado Kids” in the Tuesday

edition of the Denver Post. Familiarize your students with thesections and layout of each periodical.

2. Decide how students will produce their newsletter. If the finalnewsletters will be computer generated, you will need a publishingprogram such as Microsoft Publisher or some similar software. If thefinal products will be cut-and-paste products like a scrapbook, you willneed to assemble additional supplies.

Classroom Activity1. Put students into cooperative learning groups and assign or have them

“apply” for positions within their teams. Each group should have atleast one editor, layout designer, artist, and writer.

2. The teams will need to work together to brainstorm stories they havealready learned about and then decide on the layout and sections fortheir newsletter. After they have decided upon sections, the writerswill need to research and write articles for each section.

3. Have students work together using articles from your Current Eventsin Space bulletin board, information they learned from SpaceOdyssey, and other research to write articles and activities aboutcurrent events in space.

4. Give students the necessary materials to publish and share theirnewsletters with other groups.

Variations/Extensions1. Turn your newsletter into a script for a space updates TV show similar

to the Space Today program in Space Odyssey.2. Have students develop quizzes to give to other groups after reading

their newsletter. Allow groups to work together to read and completethe quiz for each newsletter.

3. Allow students to assess other teams’ work using the “Space for Kids”rubric.

Resourceshttp://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/index.htmlhttp://www.spaceref.com/http://www.hubblesite.org/newscenter/http://www.nasa.gov/news/highlights/index.htmlhttp://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/http://www.spaceflightnow.comhttp://www.space.com

Team Name: _____________________Assessor’s Name: _____________________

“Space for Kids” Rubric4 3 2 1 Score

Organization

The newsletter has aneasy-to-follow formatand the text flowssmoothly from one ideato another. Thesequencing is logical andeffective.

The sequencing of thenewsletter is easy tofollow. The layout isreader friendly.

The sequencing showssome logic but maysometimes leave thereader confused. Thelayout is hard to follow.

The writing lacks aclear sense ofdirection. Theconnection betweenideas is confusing andthe sequencing needsa lot of work. Thelayout is confusing forthe reader.

Presentation

The newsletter hasexceptionally attractiveformatting and well-organized information.Graphics go well with thetext. There is a balanceof text and graphics.The newsletter isinformative and pleasingto the reader.

The newsletter hasattractive formatting andorganized information.Graphics complement thetext, but there may be alack of balance betweentext and graphics. Thenewsletter is informativeand easy to read.

The newsletter isformatted and containsrelevant informationthough the layout maybe very general withfew or no graphics.This newsletter isadequate, but is notfun to read.

The newsletter’sformatting andorganization areconfusing to thereader. Graphics donot match the text orappear to be randomlychosen. Thisnewsletter is difficultto read andunderstand.

ScientificAccuracy

Scientific facts arecompletely accurate. Thereader can learn a greatdeal of informationabout current events inspace.

Scientific facts aremostly accurate. Theremay be one or two errorsor inconsistencies in theinformation. The readercan learn importantinformation aboutcurrent events in space.

Scientific facts aresomewhat accurate,though there may bemore than a few errorsor inconsistencies. Thereader may need moreinformation to learnabout what’s happeningin space.

Scientific facts arecompletely inaccurate.The facts aremisleading and do notrelate to currenthappenings in space.

TextConventions

There are no grammar,spelling, capitalization,or punctuation errors inthis piece. The authorscorrectly use scientificvocabulary and definewords unfamiliar to thereader.

There are very fewmistakes in grammar,spelling, capitalization, orpunctuation in this piece.The authors correctlyuse scientific vocabulary.

There are manymistakes in grammar,spelling, capitalization,or punctuation in thispiece. The authorssometimes struggle inusing scientificvocabulary correctly.

This project is riddledwith errors ingrammar, spelling,capitalization, andpunctuation. Theauthors misusevocabulary throughoutthe piece.

Sources

The team has gone aboveand beyond to researchinformation for theirnewsletter. The authorsused factual informationand personal ideas toenhance the project. Atleast four sources werecited for this project.

The team has done anexcellent job ofresearching. They havecorrectly cited at leastthree sources ofinformation to providefactual information tothe reader.

The team has used aminimum number ofresources to providefactual information tothe reader. Some ofthe team’s citationsmay be incomplete orinaccurate.

The team did notinclude accuratedocumentation oftheir sources.Resources were notused effectively. Theteam did little or nofact gathering on thetopic.