EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS Grade 6 Unit Study CONTENTS OF KIT:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Extreme Environments The Amazing International Space Station, The Kids Book of Canadian Firsts Parent Guide Student pages are available on the HCOS library website for download, along with the parent guide with live links. http://www.onlineschool.ca/rooms/library/resource_kits/index.php Ask your online teacher for the username and password for: www.discoveryeducation.ca This is the link to the videos referenced throughout the unit. http://www.astrosociety.org This is another useful site.

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Extreme Environments Unit Daily Activity List Lesson 1: What is an extreme environment?

Read Extreme Environments, p. 4-5 Which extreme environment would you like most to visit? Look through books and/or websites to find out What is the most difficult challenge to overcome for humans to survive in the extreme environment I find most interesting? Think of three challenges that would need to be overcome to live in each of the following environments. Write up your findings in a chart. o space o desert o arctic o ocean

Lesson 2:

What do we find in extreme environments?

Read Extreme Environments p. 6-9 Watch American Deserts video (approx. 10 minutes) on United Streaming. A teachers guide for the video is included in the parent activity guide. Do Mutualism card sorting activity (in student activity packet). Do Planning a trip through the desert activity (in parent activity guide). What considerations must be taken for survival in a Desert environment? Do An Absorbing Activity. You will need a carrot, jicama (a South American root vegetable), radish, and turnip.

Lesson 3: How does technology help us explore extreme environments? Read Extreme Environments p. 10-13. Do the Exploration on page 10. Read The Kids Book of Canadian Firsts, p. 16-19 Watch Space Exploration video (approx. 10 minutes) on United Streaming.. What considerations are scientists researching to make it possible to live on other planets? Read The Kids Book of Canadian Firsts p. 20-21. How have Canadians contributed to the exploration of extreme environments through wearable inventions?

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Lesson 4: Space as an example of an extreme environment Read Extreme Environments, p. 22-25 Read The Amazing International Space Station, p. 4-7 Complete Crash Landing activity (cards included in unit study; guidelines in parent activity guide) Watch Space Suit on the United Streaming. (approx. 3 minutes) Begin work on Design a Space Suit activity, researching information on the conditions that would be encountered by exploring a selected planet. Activity procedures and guidelines in parent activity guide. What are some obstacles to exploration?

Lesson 5:

Read Extreme Environments p. 14-17 and do the Exploration on page 14 Read The Amazing International Space Station, p. 8-13. Try the Space Sim on p. 11. Continue work on Design a Space Suit activity Watch Weather on Mars (approx. 27 minutes) on United Streaming.. A teachers guide for the video is included in the parent activity guide.

Lesson 6: How can we use technology to explore space? Read Extreme Environments p. 26-29 and do the Exploration on page 26. Read The Amazing International Space Station, p. 30-43 Consider this: How is technology used to keep people alive in space? Complete work on Design a Space Suit activity. How are the needs for your suit different from one designed to explore Mars? Pluto? Jupiter?

Lesson 7: What is it like to live and work in space? Read Extreme Environments p. 34-37. Skip the exploration on p. 34, but do the Exploration on page 30. Read The Amazing International Space Station, p. 20-30 Watch People and Space on United Streaming.. Visit http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/index.html to learn more about what it is like to live in space.

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Lesson 8:

The arctic as an example of an extreme environment

Watch Freeze Frame: An Arctic Adventure (approx. 25 minutes) on United Streaming. What features has God given the arctic animals to survive in this extreme environment? Beside six of the animals in the list, explain one feature that God has given it to enable it to survive in the Arctic.

Lesson 9:

Exploring Oceans

Watch Earth Science: Oceans (approx. 20 minutes) on United Streaming.. What challenges are faced in exploring the ocean? Discuss the questions based on the video (in Parent Activity Guide) Visit www.gametop.com/download-free-games/ocean-quest/ to download and play Ocean Quest, a game exploring the coast of British Columbia. Explore the National Oceanic Administrative Association website at http:// oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/explorations.html to find out about some of the ocean explorations made involving the United States Government. Explore http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/oceanage/welcome.html to see what kinds of careers are involved in ocean exploration.

Lesson 10:

How can we explore responsibly?

Read Extreme Environments p. 40-41 Complete the Responsible Exploration chart in the student activity packet Complete any unfinished projects or activities from the unit study.

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Ongoing Unit Activities: You may want to have your child keep an Extreme Environments journal for recording their findings in the different experiments and activities. The journal could be composed of 2-3 sentence reflections on the days learning.

Provincial Learning Outcomes for Grade 6: manipulate and control a number of variables in an experiment apply solutions to a technical problem (e.g., malfunctioning electrical circuit) explain obstacles unique to exploration of a specific extreme environment assess technologies used for extreme environments describe contributions of Canadians to exploration technologies

Notes: Some lessons include more activities than youll need. Feel free to omit and/or modify as necessary. Not all activities will be suitable for all age levels, so pick and choose the ones that are most suitable for your childs level of understanding. Several resources for this unit seem slanted toward evolutionary understanding of the universe. Time should be taken to discuss how God as the creator of the universe and the things in the universe has taken care to provide for His creation by giving creatures attributes that would help them survive.

Websites that you might find helpful:

Enchanted Learning Site, Contact your teacher for password: Label Map of Deserts Desert Quiz Biome Report chart #3 Spacesuits: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/spacesuits/home/index.html Welcome to the NASA Education Spacesuits and Spacewalks Web site. Engage your students in the wonders of space as they learn about spacesuits and spacewalks. Things you can do with this site: --Check out the Clickable Spacesuit and learn about the different parts of a spacesuit. --Take a look at videos about the spacesuits of the future. --Watch Brain Bites videos and learn about hard-to-do moves in a spacesuit. --Take a step back in time and visit the Spacesuit History Gallery.

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--Explore the Educational Activities. --Read about spacesuit designers and engineers who create and test spacesuits. --Discover other NASA Web sites with information about spacesuits and spacewalks

Ocean Planet - explore this website How deep can they go? http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/ocean_planet_overview.html

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/explorations.html National Oceanic Administrative Association http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/extreme/html_docs/Index.html Harcourt School site answering questions about the most extreme places on earth. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/index.html NASAs information about living in space http://www.discovery.com/stories/science/iss/iss.html Discovery Schools interactive site about life in Space. http://www.polarhusky.com Go North! National Arctic Wildlife Refuge site

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Earth Science: Exploration of Extreme Environments Students will explain the obstacles that are unique to the exploration of a specific extreme environment. They will assess technologies used for extreme environments and describe contributions of Canadians to exploration technologies. Portfolio Submission Guidelines: Students will submit three samples for each portfolio. Please submit at least one experiment log in each portfolio.

A sample showing the students solution to a technical problem (ie. Determine why an electrical circuit is not working and modify it to make it work, design, build, and test a product to be used by people, etc.) A chart or graph showing the students observations, experiences, or thinking. A chart that classifies objects, events, or organisms based on criteria determined by the student. Written notes or observations including the students ideas about what the outcome of an experiment would be An oral recording of the student discussing any of the above content. A photograph of the student doing an experiment or a photograph of a project Any artwork the student has created as he made observations. A written (or oral) summary of any reading the student has done on the above topics. A labeled diagram A marked test (or a test with an answer key) Answered questions from a text showing an understanding of the topics listed above

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