| Physics |
Lesson
13: The Martian colony |
| Curriculum
Key: |
AQA
Core 13.4 |
|
OCRB
P2f |
Edexcel
Topic 12 |
Objective(s)
1.
Understand what Mars is like as
another planet
2. Know that scientific knowledge
evolves over time.
3. Recognise that sometimes good
scientists reach the wrong conclusion
– but that does not make them
bad scientists.
|
Resources
needed
Starter
activity cards
British Imperial Colonial society
sheet and assessment sheet
Optional: extract from science
fiction of the 19th or 20th Century. |
Starter:
15
minutes
Mars
card sort: What methods of investigating
Mars do we have? Ask students
to sort the facts of Mars into
a chronological order of discovery;
then to suggest what equipment
or skills were needed to make
that discovery. |
Teacher
input/assessment
Prompting.
Achieving a “whole class” order
for the cards. |
Main
Activity 1: 10
minutes
British
Imperial Colonial Society investigation
of Mars 1912. This is a quite
challenging document, so the students
will need to discuss, and perhaps
annotate it with the teacher.
Go through the document and discuss.
Students should attempt to respond
to the brief given in the document. |
Teacher
input / assessment
Explaining
the language of the sheet. Introduce
the work of Lowell. |
Main
Activity 2: 20
minutes
Students
complete the assessment sheet
individually. Next, they compare
responses in pairs; then discuss
answers in whole class discussion. |
Teacher
input / assessment
Monitor
the discussions at the pair stage,
challenge the students to consider
alternative opinions. |
Plenary:
15
minutes
Either
1) Ask students to write a short
summary of their views on the
mistaken ideas of what Mars was
like that, as shown in the document.
How do we know it is wrong now?
Were the people who thought up
such ideas good scientists or
bad ones?
Or 2) Read the students an extract
from a science fiction story from
the past (e.g. CS Lewis’ description
of Venus in “Perelandra“). Ask
students to guess which planet
it describes and then why people
of the author’s day might have
found the description believable.
|
Teacher
input / assessment
Either
1) assess quality of reasoning
in students’ descriptions.
Or
2) Read the passage and lead the
discussion. |
Learning
Outcomes:
All
students must: Complete
the assessment sheet and participate
in the card sort.
Most
students should: Contribute
to the discussion of mistakes
and misconceptions on a factual
level.
Some
students could: Make
reasoned judgements about the
quality of the science displayed
in the resources. |
Key
Skills: Analysis
and logic
Key
words: Evidence,
Assumption
Homework:
Write
a short description in the style
of a science fiction writer of
the past. |
Differentiation:
More
able: A
chance to be creative through
their own writing and discussion.
Less
able: Can
follow the assessment sheet and
focus on mistakes that are found
in the original brief. |
