History in Space?

That's right parents and guardians, today we talked about History in Space! Some people still call it the last frontier, so it is a little confusing to be talking about the future and history all in one lesson - but today we did just that!

Our lesson today was done during our time in the Computer Lab for Special. First, we did another one of our infamous Chalk Talks to see what we already knew about the United States Space Program. We discussed our ideas and prior knowledge, and then watched a few cool TeacherTube.com videos to get our brains thinking about the US Space Program and the Apollo Missions. After watching the videos, our fifth grade class got ready to go to the Lab for a fun-filled activity!

The NASA website offers some great resources for teaching about the history of their programs, and we utilized some of those resources today. During our time in the Lab, we went through a reading passage about the US Space Program, then did an interactive slide show presentation about the Apollo Missions and the history associated with them. If you'd like to check them out yourself, feel free!! The links are posted below, and our student scientists can now help you learn more about the history of the US Space Program.

~ http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/what-was-apollo-program-58.html
~ http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/apollo40/

During our time in the Lab, our students also filled out a worksheet geared toward the information they gathered online. The worksheet consisted of some basic reading comprehension questions based on the reading and the slide show. Our Ticket Out The Door today was done on the back of our worksheet, and asked our students why they think the US Space Program is so important. This was not a trick question, merely an opinion-based one, and the students came up with some fantastic and thoughtful answers!

After today's lesson, our student scientists were able to see how the past and future connect - and how they affect each other so much! It may seem a bit odd, but we put both together in a great lesson today! If you or your student have any questions about the Space Program, feel free to visit the NASA website - it holds a lot of information that I'm sure will answer your questions. Any class related questions can be posted here, emailed to us, or if you'd like to call that is fine too! Have a good night and we'll see you in the morning!

Ms. Opdyke