WebQuest

I Don't Know My
Solar System...
Please Ex-Planet!

A WebQuest for 6th Grade (Science)

http://www.staq.qld.edu.au/k9p/

Niki Hodges
Holly Marlowe
Teresa Muldowney
Tamara Richardson

E-mail Addresses

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Introduction

You are a visitor from another galaxy and you cannot seem to find your way around the Milky Way. What kind of information do you need to know in order to survive in this foreign place? Use this quest to find needed information on the planets in the solar system that will eventually help you decide which planet you want to live on.

The Task

Your journey will consist of three challenges. As the captain of your spacecraft, your job is to navigate your way through space, making sure that you arrive at all three destinations of this journey. At each destination, you will have to follow distinct orders in order to complete the mission. Only after you have completed all three missions will you have the information you need in order to pick a planet to live on. From the information that you have gathered, you will have the opportunity to write a fictional story of your future life in your new home.

* Your first mission is to explore Arty Astro’s website. At this site you are free to experiment with the different activities available to you. After exploring this site, you will send an email to your teacher telling him/her how much you weigh and how old you are on different planets, and anything else that you found interesting.

* Your second mission is to explore all of the planets in our solar system. You can explore these planets by clicking on the individual pictures that are provided. Next, you will choose the planet that you found most interesting. Then, you will click on the icon for the worksheet. Print this worksheet and answer as many of the questions as possible about your planet.

* The final mission is to write a fictional story about the planet you have chosen to live on. Use facts that you have found throughout the WebQuest to support your reasoning for choosing that particular planet.

The Process

This WebQuest is designed for you to complete the journey on your own. You will be required to complete three missions throughout this journey. After exploring different sites on the Internet, you will be writing a paper that reflects what you have learned about our solar system. To complete the missions, simply click on each mission title below.

Mission One Mission Two Mission Three

Evaluation

Your journey will be evaluated based on the following criteria. Your grade will be determined by your performance and effort on each mission.

	Beginning 10	Developing 15	Accomplished 20	Exemplary 25	Score
Completion of Mission One	Did not explore most of the required areas, completed some of the task, did not E-mail partial results, shows no creativity in finding additional information	Explored some required areas, completed some of the tasks, e-mailed partial results, shows no creativity in finding additional information	Explored all areas required, completed some of the tasks, e-mailed partial results, some creativity in finding additional information	Explored all required areas, completed each task given, e-mailed results, showed creativity in finding additional information
Completion of Mission Two	Explored few of the 9 planets, completed little of the worksheet, handed in worksheet late	Explored many of the 9 planets, completed some of the worksheet, handed in worksheet late	Explored most of the 9 planets, completed most of the worksheet, handed in worksheet on time	Explored all 9 planets thoroughly, completed all of the worksheet, handed in worksheet on time
Completion of Mission Three	Completed short story using little of the given criteria, failed to meet length requirements, little proper grammar and English in writing, failed to turn in on time	Completed short story using most of the given criteria, failed to meet length requirements, some proper grammar and English in writing, turned in on time	Completed short story using all given criteria, met length requirements, some proper grammar and English in writing, turned in on time	Completed short story using all given criteria, met length requirements, used proper grammar and English in writing, turned in on time
Creativity in using collected data in final mission	Showed little to no creativity while using factual data collected	Showed some creativity while using factual data collected	Showed moderate creativity while using factual data collected	Showed outstanding creativity while using factual data collected

Conclusion

In your mission through your solar system, you have explored the nine planets and completed a detailed analysis of one of these planets. You now have a good understanding of the solar system you live in. Do you view the space around you differently? Do you think there may be life on these other planets?

Additional information can be found at the following sites:
   ~ http://www.kidsastronomy.com
   ~ http://www.nasm.edu/ceps/etp
   ~ http://www.the-solar-system.net/
   ~ http://www.starryskies.com/
   ~ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/
   ~ http://www.abcteach.com/SolarSystem/SolarSystemTOC.htm
   ~ http://207.193.111.177/index.html

Credits & References

The following resources were used for the educational purposes of this WebQuest in accordance with the Fair Use Policy.

   ~ http://www.artyastro.com/
   ~ http://www.staq.qld.edu.au/k9p
   ~ http://www.abcteach.com/
   ~ http://www.eduplace.com/
   ~ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/
   ~ http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/6603/spaceana.htm
   ~ http://animations1.tripod.com/anim/
   ~ http://bubl.ac.uk/link/c/comets.htm
   ~ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm
   ~ http://www.starships.com/SF_Midi_Gallery.html
   ~ Microsoft Clip art and Animations

Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page