Student Response and Assessment Tools

Lesson Idea Name: Comets, Asteroids and Meteoroids

Content Area: Science
Grade Level(s): 6th Grade
Content Standard Addressed:
S6E1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about current scientific views of the universe and how
those views evolved
e. Ask questions to compare and contrast the characteristics, composition, and location of comets, asteroids,
and meteoroids.
Technology Standard Addressed:
1.c.
Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their
learning in a variety of ways.
Selected Technology Tool:
☐ Socrative ☐ iRespond ☐ Quizlet ☐ Plickers ☒ Kahoot! ☐ Office365 Forms
☐ Other:
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):
https://create.kahoot.it/share/cam-test/0c2e7077-122d-454f-949e-ddf0bcbeeed1
Technology that student will use to respond to questions/prompts:
☒ Computer ☒ Hand-held student response system (like iRespond) ☒ Phone ☒ Tablet (such as iPad)
☒ Other wireless device (such as iPod Touch)
Type of session:
☒ Teacher-Paced ☐ Student-Paced
Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):
☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☐ Creating

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

Engagement: Vary the social demands required for learning or performance, the perceived level of support
and protection and the requirements for public display and evaluation. Involve all participants.
Representation: Pre-teach vocabulary and symbols, especially in ways that promote connection to the
learners’ experience and prior knowledge
Provide graphic symbols with alternative text descriptions
Action and Expression:
Providing “formative” feedback that allows learners to monitor their own progress effectively and to use that
information to guide their own effort and practice.
http://udlguidelines.cast.org/
Describe the instructional activities that will occur PRIOR to the SRT activity and how you will introduce
the SRT activity.

A. Anticipatory Set

I will start the lesson by asking a few questions to assess prior knowledge. What do you know about
the Milky Way? I expect some comment about a chocolate bar but would expect some of the
students to describe the swirl like pictures they have most likely seen. (The galaxy that contains our
solar system.) Where is our solar system in the universe? Based on previous question the students
will most likely answer in the Milky Way. (The Milky Way is a small group of galaxies known as the
Local Group and is a part of the Virgo Supercluster where our universe is located. Directly located in
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the Orion Arm.) Today we are going to learn about other objects in our solar system. What might
some of those objects be? (planets, space craft, meteors, comets, asteroids). I will ask if anyone in
the class has ever seen a shooting star, meteor shower or any of the other objects we mentioned—
and to briefly describe what they saw.

I will open a PowerPoint presentation that has various pictures of comets, asteroids and meteors. I
will ask the student’s what features they notice about each of the pictures. I am looking for certain
observations from the students. I will list the observations the students form on the board and guide
them to distinguishing which pictures are comets, which are asteroids, and which are meteoroids.

They should notice that there is a tail on a nucleus on the pictures of the comets expect terms such
as glowing ball and trail.

They should mention that there are multiple lines of light, it looks like a picture of rain, skinny light
streaks, etc.

The students should notice the rock like appearance, notice the dust trail behind the asteroid.

Once we have gone through and discussed the features that we observed from the pictures (with the
necessary guidance) students should conclude that there are some distinct features, but it is also a
blurry line between them as well.

B. Additional Learning Tasks

I will then pass out the graphic organizer that the students are expected to complete. This graphic
organizer (Space Rocks) will guide the students to learn more about the similarities, differences,
composition, and other pertinent information.

The students will use iPads or Computers to research comets, asteroids and meteors. They should
use the websites below to conduct their research. I will have this list of websites displayed on
projector for them to reference while they are doing their research (last slide of PowerPoint.

https://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-comets-meteors-and-asteroids/
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/asteroid-or-meteor/en/
https://www.slideshare.net/rebelbrindley/ast-cometsmet
http://astronimate.com/article/comets-asteroids-meteoroids-meteors-meteorites/
https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/universe/asteroids-and-comets-size-composition-comparison-
differences-and-similarities.html

The basic information that their graphics organizers should have is listed below.
 Comets are big rocks, covered in ice, with a tail
 Asteroids are comets without the ice or tail
 Meteoroids are simply small pieces of rocky space debris
 Meteors are meteoroids that hit Earth’s atmosphere and burn up
 Meteorites are meteoroids that successfully pass through the atmosphere and hit Earth’s surface
 http://astronimate.com/article/comets-asteroids-meteoroids-meteors-meteorites/
 Both asteroids and comets orbit the central star of the solar system. Both of these celestial
bodies sometimes fly close to Earth. Both are relatively small objects that have their origins in
interplanetary space, orbiting the sun.

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Once students have completed their graphic organizer, we will come back together and discuss their
research. We will make sure that all of the information above is written on their graphic organizers
through student responses.

We will mention any other fun facts that the students found. Mention that asteroids are also known as
planetoids or minor planets (connect this fact to Pluto and Ceres to help them remember that
asteroids are dwarf planets), the name comet comes from Greek meaning “head of hair” to mean a
star with hair (way to help students remember comets have a tail), meteors are also known as
shooting starts—(ask the students if they have ever seen a shooting star).

We will then watch this short video on YouTube that just reiterates all of the facts they should have
on their graphic organizer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvd47rMYia0

To demonstrate understanding to me, the students will be given a worksheet and they will place an
“X” in the appropriate boxes and briefly explain why they selected the boxes that they did,
referencing what they learned in their research, class discussions and the video. These worksheets
will be collected and graded for accuracy. Depending on the amount of time left in class, student may
have to finish this assignment for homework.

Before the students leave, I will have them complete a simple “Ticket Out the Door”. I will ask them to
briefly highlight the similarities and differences of comets, asteroids and meteoroids from what they
learned during the lesson.

The next day we will do a fun lab! YAY! We will follow the lesson plan at the link below to make a
comet.

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/lessonplans/space/makeacomet.html

Once we finish covering the rest of the unit, I will use a Kahoot test to access their learning of the
topics we have been covering. Students are expected to complete the assessments individually and
to the best of their abilities.

Describe the purpose of the SRT activity (check all that apply):
☐ Assess prior knowledge ☐ Anticipatory set (Create interest in a topic) ☐ To illuminate common
misconceptions ☒ Formative assessment of content knowledge (for purpose of differentiation and
mastery for ALL students) ☒ Summative assessment of content knowledge ☐ Test preparation
☐ Survey/Poll ☐ Discussion starter ☐ “Homework” collection ☐ Other (please explain):

Briefly describe what will happen DURING the SRT activity: During the SRT activity students will be asked
to use an electronic device (if available, class set of iPads). The students will be asked to go to the Kahoot app
or Kahoot.it and enter the code for the Kahoot. They will enter their first name and last initial. Once all
students are logged in, the teacher will start the Kahoot. The questions have 30 seconds before they time out.
The activity will take about 6 minutes and an additional 10 minutes for the free response questions.

Type of questions/prompts used in this activity (check all that apply):

☒ Multiple choice ☐ Multiple select ☐ True/False ☐ Yes/No
☒ Short open-ended response or fill-in the blank ☒ Longer open-ended response

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If you are unable to provide a working sample of your questions, please list them below (8-10):

Right/Wrong answers: Will there be right/wrong answers to these questions?

☐ Yes ☐ No
☒ Mixed (Some will have correct answers, other will not.)
Immediate corrective feedback: Will you pre-select correct answers to some of all of the questions and
display correct response to the class after the SRT activity?
☒ Yes
☐ No
Why or why not?
I will display the correct answer to the first multiple choice questions so the students can gauge their own
personal understanding and progress.
Describe what will happen AFTER the SRT activity?
The SRT activity will be done at the end of the class period and results will be discussed during the next
period.

How will the data be used?

After the activity, the teacher will collect all of the free-response answers and download the class results from
Kahoot so that he/she can grade the student’s performance and assess strengths and weaknesses with the
material. The teacher will then go over any common misconceptions in the next period before continuing on
to new material.
Describe your personal learning goal for this activity.
With this activity, I am hoping the students will apply their knowledge without the pressure of a traditional
test and the game like design of Kahoot will facilitate student engagement while still providing the teacher
with an accurate representation of the students’ understanding.

Reflective Practice:
Technology is being used throughout the entire lesson with teacher guidance as needed. In today’s
technology driven world, it is helping students learn how to use internet resources safely and effectively as
well as engaging them in game like activities to facilitate learning with less pressure.

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