This activity employes many research-based strategies. You may want to try the activity yourself first so you will be better prepared to help your students. Have students work cooperatively (follow the link for advice) in teams.
Be sure Squeak is installed successfully on your computer. It will take about 30 seconds for the project to load for a fast connection (up to 10 minutes for a slow modem connection). Wait until you see an orange flap at the lower left labeled Navigation. Click the flap to open and close it and access some neat tools. If you click Escape Browser, you will have more space. Click Browser Reentry to get back your Browser controls.
The focus of this activity is for teams of students to
work collaboratively to investigate the possibility of
Northern Lights on other planets. Northern Lights have been
observed on other planets, and they are believed to
exist on still more planets. It is the student team’s job
to figure this out.They should start by reviewing
what they learned about Northern Lights on Earth from the
NASA CONNECT™ broadcast and generate a list of
conditions that are required for auroras to exist. It
would be best for the groups to create a table or
matrix (download a sample table in MSWord) of the necessary conditions so they can
compare Earth more easily to the other planets.They
will find exploration tools waiting for them to
discover the conditions on the other planets so they
can fill in their table.Through comparison, the teams
should be able to determine which other planets
could have Northern Lights, and they should be encouraged
to present their conclusions to their classmates. Download an MSWord Teacher's Guide with suggestions.
