SPACE TRAVEL

image of rocket Saturn spinning SPACE TRAVEL!

A WebQuest for 2nd Grade
(Science and Language Arts)

<>Introduction

The date is June 15, 2016. The Intergalactic Travel Agency is creating brochures about other planets in our solar system. You and a partner have been selected to research information and create a brochure about one planet. The agency has asked you to include specific information about the planet. How will you present this information in the brochure?

The Task

You and your partner will research information on the internet about the planet to make a creative travel brochure for the agency for their future clients (teachers and classmates).

You will need to find:

distance from the sun
number of moons
length of day
length of year
temperature
planet composition
a picture of the planet

You will be writing this information on the Agency Guidelines document they have provided for you.

When you have assembled this information, you and your partner will create a travel brochure together including ALL of the information.

The Process

You and your partner will each be assigned to one of the following jobs:

Agent #1

Your job is to locate the following information about your planet:

distance from the sun
length of day and year
size of planet
pictures
two (2) interesting facts

space man

Agent #2

Your job is to locate the following information about your planet:

number of moons
temperature
planet composition
pictures
two (2) interesting facts

1. Click on your assigned job above to download the Agency Guidelines document that you will complete as you do your research.

2. Once you have downloaded the Agency Guidelines document, print it.

3. Using the websites listed below, find the answers you are responsible for, and then record them on the Agency Guidelines document. You may need to use more than one website to find all the answers for your planet.

WEBSITES TO USE FOR RESEARCH:

Mercury	1	2	3
Venus	1	2	3
Mars	1	2	3
Jupiter	1	2	3
Saturn	1	2	3
Uranus	1	2	3
Neptune	1	2	3
Pluto	1	2	3

4. When you and your partner have written all of your information on the Agency Guidelines document, check-in with the Intergalactic Travel Agency Director (your teacher).

5. After you have both checked-in with the Director, go to the graphic design studio of the agency (classroom art center). Working with your partner, use all available resources in the studio to create one attractive and informative brochure. Click the link below to view a sample brochure of planet Earth.

PLANET EARTH BROCHURE

Evaluation

You will be evaluated on the following six elements of the project:

	Check Minus	Check	Check Plus
Information	Student brochure is missing 2 or more pieces of information or 2 or more pieces of information is inaccurate.	Student brochure is missing one piece of information or one piece of information is inaccurate.	Student brochure includes all 6 pieces of information and is accurate.
Grammar, Spelling, & Punctuation	Student brochure has three or more spelling, grammatical, or punctuation mistakes.	Student brochure has one or two spelling, grammatical, or punctuation mistakes.	Student brochure is free of any spelling, grammatical, or punctuation mistakes.
Illustration	The illustration on the brochure is missing or incorrect in two or more of the following areas: size, color, rings, or any other significant physical characteristics.	The illustration on the brochure is missing or incorrect in one of the following areas: size, color, rings, or any other significant physical characteristics.	The illustration on the brochure is accurate in size, color, rings, and any other significant physical characteristics.
Teamwork	Students did not complete their work. They did not work cooperatively.	Students completed their work together. However, they were seen not working cooperatively.	Students worked well together and could be seen diligently completing their work cooperatively.
Agency Guidelines Document	The worksheet was completed but not in the allotted time. The worksheet was missing 2 or more pieces of information or had 2 or more inaccuracies.	The worksheet was completed in the allotted time. The worksheet was missing one piece of information or had one inaccuracy.	The worksheet was complete in the allotted time and accurately filled out.
Appearance of Final Product	The brochure presented was attractive. It was lacking in two or more of the following areas: color, readability, or organization.	The brochure presented was attractive. It was lacking in one of the following areas: color, readability, or organization.	The brochure presented was very attractive and contained pictures with color. It was easy to read. It was well organized.

Conclusion

Now that you have created your brochure, each group will share their brochure with the other Intergalactic Travel Agents (classmates), and also view the brochures they have created.

In doing this webquest, you have learned to identify characteristics of planets in our solar system, locate and extract information from the resources, and create an informational brochure with illustrations. Most importantly, you shared your information with others!!!

PDE Standards

Science and Technology

3.4.4d

Describe the composition and structure of the universe and the earth’s place in it.

Identify planets in our solar system and their general characteristics.
Describe the solar system motions and use them to explain time (e.g., days, seasons), major lunar eclipses.

Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening

1.2.3a

Read and understand essential content of informational texts and documents in all academic areas.

· Differentiate fact from opinion within text.

· Distinguish between essential and nonessential information within a text.

· Make inferences from text when studying a topic (e.g., science, social studies) and draw conclusions based on text.

· Analyze text organization and content to derive meaning from text using established criteria.

1.4.3b

Write informational pieces (e.g., descriptions, letters, reports, instructions) using illustrations when relevant.

1.5.3b

Write using well-developed content appropriate for the topic.

· Gather and organize information.

· Write a series of related sentences or paragraphs with one central idea.

· Incorporate details relevant and appropriate to the topic.

1.8.3c

Organize and present the main ideas from research.

· Take notes from sources using a structured format.

Summarize, orally or in writing, the main idea

Credits & References

NASA

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/

Web & Hobby

Washington Post