Earth & SpaceGrade 6Ea

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Grade 6

Earth &Space

Science 6

First Peoples’ Perspectives on Science: An Introduction

"For thousands and thousands of years different peoples have tried to make some sense of the world upon which they lived. They needed to understand where they lived so that they could take advantage of the different seasons by preparing food stores to survive seasons where little or no light would be available or where the sun would never set (the Inuit of Canada's north), where different seasons, and what we came to call months, produced different foods (berries, grains, nuts) or different runs of fish (herring and salmon) and when some food was safe to eat and times when it might not be safe to eat (red tide and shellfish).

Different people explained somewhat similar situations with stories that were handed down from generation to generation. Those stories, because of their importance, did not change from teller to teller. The important truths in them (that Spring follows Winter and Fall follows Summer) had to stay constant. The lessons that those truths told had to survive or people would not.

Reading about different stories and myths allow us to look for the lessons in each story. We can then see how that story could be used to bring understanding and order to the lives of people.

First Peoples' stories, from around the world, are almost always based on their close observations about what was happening where they lived. When we ask you to act as if you were a scientist or engineer, we are asking you to do what people have done over many generations. Stop. Think through a set of actions. Observe phenomena. Record your observations (through a story or through notes). Make conclusions. Repeat the process.

Over the last few thousand years we have created a set of tools that help with this process (specific words - fall, summer), story structures, tools to record notes, languages to explain those notes, measuring devices, optical tools (magnifying glasses, microscopes and telescopes). Over the next long periods of time the children of our great, great great grandchildren will, as our ancestors did and we are doing, refine those tools and deepen their understanding of the world, solar system and universe in which they live."

Image Source: https://www.mcgill.ca/fph/channels/event/2nd-annual-aboriginal-awareness-week-218140

Big Ideas …

Content ...

Curricular Elaborations…

= Topic … Main Ideas … and Details

Suggested Ways to Weave Aboriginal Ways of Knowing within this unit:

Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community,

the land, the spirits, and the ancestors:

Understanding our solar system has helped us to understand seasons and tides. We can use tidal information

to predict flooding in Lewis Park for example. First Nations used knowledge of the seasons in all of their food

gathering activities.

Learning involves patience and time:

Learning to use information about seasons and tides took many years. As different communities gained this

knowledge, they could move fishing and hunting camps to different parts of their territories.

Suggested Ways to Embed Assessment for Learning Strategies:

When we ask lots of questions, our students get curious and THEY do the work. The simple

act of asking questions has the massive potential of turning passive learners into actively

engaged students. So ask lots of open-ended questions!

What are you noticing?

Why…?

How else…?

What if…?

What surprises you?

What happens if…?

What are you doing as a researcher today?

What are you working on?

What part is hard for you?

What makes sense? What doesn’t?

What’s working? What’s not?

Where to next?

Suggested Ways to Engage Students in Science Inquiry:

A Need to Know To establish a need to know with your students, show them the Red Bull stratosphere jump ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f-K-XnHi9I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYw4meRWGd4

Now that you’ve watched the video, imagine that you were part of the science team that sent a rocket to Mars. The video is from the outer atmosphere to the ground. How would you build a device that would allow for a safe landing on another planet? (Remember that the atmosphere on Mars is quite thin. Jumping off a platform may not work.) Explore and research different ways that we have tried in order to accomplish this. Science doesn’t always work out because we’re going into extreme environments. Have a look at the examples running across the top of this link: http://www.space.com/10930-mars-landings-red-planet-exploration.html

And what more fun could there be than to make a water rocket!?

A Driving Question What are the relationships between Earth and the rest of the universe? What is an extreme environment? What extreme environments exits on Earth or in our galaxy?

An authentic Purpose Understanding our solar system has helped us to understand seasons and tides. We can use tidal information to predict flooding in Lewis Park for example. First Nations used knowledge of the seasons in all of their food gathering activities.

Assessment Framework

Subject: Science Grade: 6

Strand: Earth & Space

Unit

Earth & Space Earth and the Universe I can … create a model or representation to show the relationship between Earth and the rest of the universe.

I can classify the four phases of the moon.

I can predict tidal patterns and infer from these patterns the impact that high and low tides have in different seasons (In December the king tide in the Comox Valley is likely to cause flooding).

Extreme Environments I can distinguish between extreme environments on Earth and in our solar system.

I can describe the characteristics of extreme environments on Earth and in our solar system.

Components of our Solar System

I can demonstrate an area of interest regarding moons, planets, asteroids, meteors, and comets.

I can name the planets in our solar system.

Through personal inquiry, I research my area of interest (moons, planets, asteroids, meteors, and comets)

I can compare and categorize meteors, meteorites, and meteroids, asteroids, and comets.

First People’s

Perspectives

I can compare and contrast First People’s myths and stories which explain seasonal change, aurora borealis, patterns of stars, and length of day with similar stories from other cultures.

Once myths and stories are understood, I can see how First Peoples and people in other cultures could use this information to structure their lives.

After reading a First People’s story, I can explain some of the lessons that they trying to pass down to future generations.

Canadian Contributions Through personal inquiry, I can demonstrate an area of interest regarding Canadian contributions to exploration technologies (Canadarm, Newt suit, Venus, and Neptune programs).

Unit

Earth and the

Universe

You and the Universe: http://www.cosmos4kids.com/files/universe_intro.html

Understanding the Universe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AE-rm_vJ4Q

Story of the Universe: https://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/SEMX4EBE8JG_OurUniverse_0.html

Our Expanding Universe: http://www.space.com/52-the-expanding-universe-from-the-big-bang-to-today.html

Universe - from National Geographic: http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/universe/

Great general resource - NASA Solar system videos: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/videos/index.html

Extreme

Environments

The Extreme Environments of Earth and Beyond: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AE-rm_vJ4Q

Life in Extreme Environments: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/astrobiology/environments/

Top 10 Extreme Environments: http://www.stufftoblowyourmind.com/blog/list/top-10-extreme-environments/

Types of Extreme Environments: http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/extreme/environments.html

Design, Build and Test a way to Study an Extreme Place: http://nationalgeographic.org/media/extreme-environments/

Exploring Extremes: http://nationalgeographic.org/activity/exploring-extremes/

Just for fun – Minecraft Extreme Environment School Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLxYEuo6Fm8

Components

of our Solar

System

National Geographic video Solar System 101 - http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/101-videos/solar-system-sci

Cosmos4kids - http://www.cosmos4kids.com/

More than Planets - http://www.cosmos4kids.com/files/solsyst2_intro.html

Solar System Exploration - http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/

Solar System FAQ from the Hubble Site - http://hubblesite.org/reference_desk/faq/all.php.cat=solarsystem

NASA Websites from A to Z - http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/finditfast/K-8_Alpha_Index.html

Teacher Resources for the Solar System - http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/s_system/

Links to Support the Assessment Framework

Subject: Science Grade: 6 Ea

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Unit

Canadian

Contributions

Alouette 1 - video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9qoBD1o6pQ

Alouette 1 (our first satellite) - http://spaceref.ca/space-exploration-1/space-quarterly/alouette-1---celebrating-50-years-of-canada-in-space.html

Space Technology - http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/space-technology/

Canadians in Space - http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/missions/

Chris Hadfield videos - https://www.youtube.com/user/ColChrisHadfield

Canadarm - Canadian Encyclopedia - http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadarm/

Canadarm video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMSctD2PNaI

Explore the Activities Sectors to see areas where Canadians might contribute - http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/activities.asp

Space Careers: http://spacecareers.uk/?p=job_profiles

Links to Support the Assessment Framework

Subject: Science Grade: 6 Ea

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2016 versus 2006 Please note:

In our 2006 curriculum, extreme environments were stand-alone topics that lead to areas of

interest for students. In our redesigned curriculum, as we explore solar system we can identify

different environments and use them to understand how our environment adapted over time.

Extreme environments become a tool to understand our environment and the environment

on other planets. (e.g. We can understand the environment on Mars by exploring Canada’s

north mountain tops and deserts.)

We have learned about other planets from the rocks that we have collected (meteorites and

moon rocks).

Notice, Think, and Wonder Please make time for the books within this science unit to be shared among students in an

informal way. During silent reading time, books from this kit and from those gathered at

your school library may be shared in a casual buddy reading/info circles format. As students

share these books, who knows what might occur … students may naturally launch into requests

of, “Can we try this?” Inquiry is born from subtle suggestions toward an intended destination!

“Maybe … perhaps … or I think … “ Exploratory talk like this brings multiple minds together to

work on the same problem in powerful ways.

Peter Johnson author of Choice Words

Acknowledge and affirm the question and the curiosity. Use the ‘language of possibility’ …

‘maybe’, ‘could be’, ‘what if’… Experiment, explore, discover, wonder, persist, re-think, model,

wonder aloud … then walk away and see what happens!

Kath Murdoch author of Collaborative Inquiry

An Interdisciplinary Approach As the introduction to this unit explains, First Peoples' stories, from around the world, are almost

always based on their close observations about what was happening where they lived. Invite students to read myths and legends as this science unit unfolds. From book series like those below, students can extract stories which explain phenomena about our solar system, seasons, and tides. These stories represent what people have done over many generations. Stop. Think through a set of actions. Observe phenomena. Record your observations (through a story or through notes). Make conclusions. Repeat the process.

In Destiny, do a series search for Aboriginal Legends of Canada to find

this series, or look for a set in your school library.

As I read through a variety of myths

and legends, I can find explanations

regarding scientific phenomenon.

As I read through a

variety of myths and

legends, I can find

explanations

regarding scientific

phenomenon.

Name of Myth or

Legend: Scientific Phenomenon explained: Brief explanation:

Establish a need

to know Red Bull stratosphere jump ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f-K-XnHi9I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYw4meRWGd4

Have fun and

learn about

travelling

through space

Is there life of Mars?

Make a water rocket ~ (Google images for this!) doing this activity connects Newton’s Laws to

Space Exploration. given one or two 2 litres bottles (carbonated water sends a better message

than pop) , and a rocket launcher and pump, design a water bottle rocket. How big do the

fins need to be? How many fins are best? What materials are best for these fins? How much

water should be added?

(***Safety glasses needed) Always angle it, never straight up!

Scale Smithsonian Night Sky book pgs 12, 13 Using string, create ellipses on a sheet of paper that

mimic how planets travel around the Sun

Smithsonian Night Sky book pgs. 10,11 Make paper planets; go to the gym or outside to

reproduce the scale of our solar system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NU2t5zlxQQ

Structure Smithsonian Night Sky book Make a lunar calendar ~ pgs 22, 23; use apps to track the phases of the moon in conjunction with an analysis of local tidal charts. Use this combination of information to predict the next flooding of Lewis Park, or when to surf at Long Beach on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. http://earthsky.org/moon-phases/understandingmoonphases http://www.space.com/18880-moon-phases.html

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=4404 http://www.google.ca/sky/

http://www.google.com/moon/

http://www.google.com/mars/ (track where Mars Explorer is! Zoom in. Where would

you drive to next?)

Rick Crosslin Science Moon Phase Model

Smithsonian Night Sky book Make Martian Soil ~ pgs 32, 33 Why is Mars Red? Check out

the webcam for Mars ( FYI ~ it doesn’t broadcast 24/7)

Smithsonian Night Sky book p.36, 37 “Stormy Weather” Using Milk and food colouring,

mimic the ferocious winds and storms that stir the gases into colourful stripes and

whirlpools on Jupiter.

Smithsonian Night Sky book pgs 16,17 make a sundial ~ a sundial tells us the time of

the day based on the position of the sun.

Age of universe Smithsonian Night Sky book pgs 68,69 The Expanding Universe. With an explanation of

the Big Bang theory, this experiment demonstrates the ever-growing nature of our

universe.

A tight connection to our curriculum …

Skyways: Astronomy Handbook for Teachers provides

lots of background information along with suggested

classroom activities. Several of the suggestions include

a trip outdoors … an opportunity to stretch the body as

well as the brain.

Please note: This book includes other suggestions to

create a scale model of the Earth, Moon, and Sun.

Other activities to consider from Skyways.:

Our relationship with the sun

Sun in the Middle - http://www.cosmos4kids.com/files/solsyst_sun.html

Crash Course in Astronomy #10 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b22HKFMIfWo

Earth's Rotation & Revolution - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l64YwNl1wr0

Bill Nye Explains Seasons - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUU7IyfR34o

Image Source

Do a Google search, “Purchasing Seeds from Space.”

http://gizmodo.com/buy-these-seeds-from-space-and-make-yourself-an-interga-

1561503822

Seeds from space can be ordered and grown to compare with regular seeds from

Earth.

Primary Resources from the UK has many black line masters and activity suggestions

for this unit (and other science units too).

http://primaryresources.co.uk/science/science4d.htm

http://primaryresources.co.uk/science/science4d.htm

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Galaxy Zoo https://www.galaxyzoo.org/?utm_source=ScienceWorld&utm_medium=Web

Taking the next steps through inquiry projects

Mini-Inquiry: An exploration of space and extreme environments provide an

opportunity for students to investigate some Canadians and their contributions

to space technology ... Students may choose to do some research about a

Canadian person or a technological contribution.

http://bccurriculum.pbworks.com/w/page/40756251/Ocean

The images above are examples of the Canada Arm which

is still regularly being used by the international space

station.

The first Canadian in space was Marc Garneau. He is now a

member of Parliament. Students can research Canadian

astronauts. The most recent Canadian astronaut was Chris

Hadfield. Have students check out his Facebook page. he

is always talking about science and is a brilliant

ambassador for science, space, and Canada.

https://www.facebook.com/AstronautChrisHadfield

And please share the following video with Chris Hadfield

singing Major Tom in Space.

Nelson Literacy 6C has a unit called Exploring Space which

offers articles with access for the whole class.

An electronic copy of this teacher guide can be found on Learn71 athttps://portal.sd71.bc.ca/group/wyhzgr4/Pages/default.aspx

Contributors: Cheryl Adebar, Thea Black, Noah Burdett, Doug David, Kara Dawson, Colleen Devlin, Allan Douglas, Gerald Fussell, Nora Harwijne, Sarah Heselgrave, Debra Lovett, Kim Marks, Gail Martingale, Dale Mellish, Heather Mercier, Jane Rondow, Teri Ingram, Debbie Nelson, Joan Pearce, Stewart Savard, Laura Street, Lynn Swi�, Carol Walters.

School District No. 71 (Comox Valley) grants permission for teachers to use these resources for educational purposes.

Published July 2016