Week 2: April 13-17

Learning Goal:

How does earth’s surface change over time and what are fossils and what can they tell us about the past?

Estimated Time for The Week:

60-75 Minutes

Type of Lesson:

Soils, Rocks, and Landforms

Materials:

• Soil
• Clear cup/bowl
• Spoon
• Water
• Shallow dish
• Small toys
• Small paintbrush or old toothbrush

Learn & Practice:

For the Google Slides to click-through the below directions, click here!

1. Choose one or several ways you want to learn about rapid surface changes!
   • Listen on PebbleGo! Earth in Action (For instructions on how to login to PebbleGo, see above for the Elementary Logins document!)
   • Watch this Videos Landslide
   • Read an article: Scroll down past the video
   • Play a game: Stop Disasters!
2. Choose one or several ways you want to learn about rapid fossils!
   • Watch a video: Fossils for Kids
   • Read and article and view a slideshow: National Geographic
   • Play a game: Super Fossil Finder
3. Extend your learning:
   • Nearpod for Changes to the Earth: Enter the code: PVKIO
   • Nearpod for Fossils: Enter the code: VBHLZ
   • Become a reporter. Interview a family member about experiences with Earth’s changes.
4. Make Rock Layers
   • See slides for details!
5. Become a Paleontologist
   • See slides for details!
6. Reflect
   • What was your favorite activity from the choice board?
   • What are two new things you learned?

Learning Goal:

• The students will be able to understand the engineering design process.
• I can see how my rocket’s performance changes based on my design.

Estimated Time for The Week:

30+ minutes

Type of Lesson:

Engineering Design

Materials:

• Pencil
• Scissors
• Tape
• Straw
• Tool for Measuring (Meter Stick, Tape Measure, Ruler) May also use your feet - just count out steps.
• Rocket Template (If unable to print, have the student draw the shapes)

Learn & Practice:

For the Google Slides to click-through the below directions, click here! (It includes pictures for the steps below.)

1. Cut out the large rectangle on the rocket template. This will be the body of the rocket.
2. Wrap the rocket body around a pencil length-wise and tape it closed to form a tube.
3. Carefully cut out the two fin units. Align the rectangle in the middle of the fin with the end of the rocket body, and tape it to the rocket body. Nothing should stick out past the bottom of the rocket body. (See pictures in Google Slides for help.)
4. Do the same thing for the other fin, but tape it on the other side of the pencil to make a “fin sandwich.”
5. Bend the part of the fin that looks like a triangle 90 degrees so that each fin is at a right angle to its neighbor. Looking at the bottom of the rocket, the fins should look like a +.
6. Twist and pinch the top of the rocket body around the tip of the pencil to create a "nose cone" for the rocket. Tape the nose cone to prevent air from escaping and to keep it from untwisting.
7. Remove the pencil and replace it with the soda straw.
8. Go outside or find an open area in your home, maybe your living room. Move away from people and other hazards and blow into the straw to launch your rocket.
9. Use your measuring device (meter stick, tape measure to measure the distance it travels), then record the distance on your data log.

10. Try improving your design! Make new rockets by altering the template. Try different rocket lengths, fin shapes or fin angles. Repeat the steps above for every launch, recording each design change and rocket-flight distance in your data log.

11. Decorate your rocket if you would like or create more with your family and have launch parties for fun!

The link for this lesson can be found here:Soda Straw Rockets: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory