The Universe

Teacher Day Time Branch TA Class

Tanya UNI

Resources needed:
• Picture of Universe/solar system.
• Hand out on Big Bang Theory
• Hand out on planets and sun
• Balloon

Stage: Icebreaker Aim:

Page: Is to have fun
Time: 5-8
Method:
• Introductions of names
• Teacher will ask them one question like ‘Where would you like to go?’ etc

Comments

Stage: Warm-up Aim:

Page: Students will understand the history of the Earth and the Universe
Time: 25-30 Method:
• Teacher will ask SS how old they are, how old China is etc.
• SS have to guess a number of how old Earth is – Answer: 4.5 to 4.6 billion
years old
• ‘What is the Universe, and what does it include?’ Write down the list on the
board. Explaining any vocabulary that is not known.
• Then give a handout depicting the Universe and another showing a star, a
planet etc.
• SS have to guess how old the Universe is – Answer:
• ‘How did the Universe begin?’ Give demonstration with a balloon of the Big
Bang Theory. After discussion read the handout with Teacher reading one
line and SS echoing the script. Using a balloon as a model for the expansion.
• Also pre-teaching any words unknown. CCQ their comprehension.
SS will then read get in groups and take it in turns to read from the handout
given on the Big Bang Theory and in groups they must visually show the
creation of the Universe giving a short story in their own words

Comments

Stage: Practice Aim:

Page: Students will understand where they live in point of reference to the Universe
Time: 15-20
Time: 15-20 Method:
• Drawing attention to the present continuous tense, Teacher will ask questions
to keep expanding point of reference of where we live using the globe and
balls to represent our solar system.
1. ‘Where are we sitting now?’
2. ‘Where is this school?’
3. ‘Where is Harbin?’
4. ‘Where is China?’
5. ‘Where is Earth?’
• Give handout of the word solar system is and what is in it.
• CCQ - ‘How many planets are there in our solar system’
‘Who can name them?’
‘Does anyone know anything about them?’
• Teacher will ask students to stand with labeled balls in reference to Earth.

Comments

Stage: Practice Aim: Students will understand the differences between the planets that live in our
Page: solar system
Time: 15-20 Method:
• Teacher will pre-teach any words that may not be understand.
• SS will read the handouts with characteristics on the planets and the sun
• In 8 groups (1 group will do 2) SS will extract information from the planet or
sun given and teach them to the other class members writing key points on the
board. Each SS will speak.
• CCQ – Ask each group questions to check their comprehension of material
for e.g. Is Mars closest to Earth or Pluto?
‘Why can we live on Earth? What makes it sustainable?’

Comments

Aim:
Students will discuss the possibility of life on other planets
Time: 10-15 Method:
• Teacher will ask whether anyone has seen any movies with aliens. What alien
movies are their favourite? And what did the aliens look like? Did they have
big eyes? Long necks?

• SS have to draw an alien and describe it verbally to the class.

• ‘Is there life on other planets? What suggests yes – what suggests no.’
Class will get into two teams and think of reasons why it could be or couldn’t
be. (Get them to think about sustainable life; as we know it and also the
enormity of the Universe itself.)

Comments

Stage: Production Aim:

Page: Students will be able to explore the idea of life on other planets with a bit of fun
Time: 10-15
Method:
• GAME – Aliens

• Teacher plays an alien (which is explained as a being from another planet)

and gives small example to class

• In groups SS must imagine which planet they came from, what alien race
they are, how is their planet different than Earth and how they would say
hello, e.g. is it through a physical gesture or a secret handshake?

• SS must then present it the rest of the class and teach everyone else their
‘hello,’ which the class will act out.
Comments

Stage: Review Aim:

Page: Students will review everything that has been covered.
Time: 10-15
Method:
• Picking a sentence out of a hat pairs must answer the question written and
present their understanding to the class.

What does the Universe include?

What are the planets in our solar system?
How did the Universe begin? And how long ago?
Why can we live on Earth?
Why can’t we live on Jupiter?
Why can’t we live on Saturn?

Etc…

Comments
The Universe and the Big Bang Theory -

What happened at the very beginning of our universe? Where did the Earth, the
stars, the Sun and the planets come from?

The Big Bang theory has the answers.

Scientists have found that our Universe is around 13.7 billion years old. The Big
Bang doesn’t mean that there was an explosion, the theory means that the Universe
started from nothing and has been expanding ever since.

The Earth and all its creatures are living together with several hundred billion other
stars in space. Many things are in space such as Dark Matter, planets, asteroids,
black holes, super-novas, stars and comets.

Dark Matter is what makes most of the Universe in which everything lives.

Earth lives in a Solar System rotating around the Sun with nine other planets.

Asteroids are a lot of small rocks that orbit a star. Over 100,000 asteroids orbit the sun.

Black holes are a great empty space.

When super-novas happen, a star explodes and shines brighter than the Sun by one
billion times
Our Solar System

In our solar system, nine planets circle around our Sun. The Sun sits in the middle
while the planets travel in circular paths (called orbits) around it. These nine planets
travel in the same direction (counter- clockwise looking down from the Sun's North
Pole). The picture on the right shows the different paths and positions of each planet
and these nine planets are grouped in many different ways. Two easy groupings are
composition (what they are made up of) and size.

COMPOSITION

ROCKY PLANETS (Mercury - Venus - Earth - Mars - Pluto)

The rocky planets are mostly made up of rock and metal. These planets are very
heavy and move slowly. They also do not have rings and very few moons.

GAS PLANETS (Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune)

The gas planets are mostly made up of gases (hydrogen and helium). These
planets are light for their sizes (just like a big air balloon) and move quickly. They
have rings and lots of moons.

SIZE

SMALL PLANETS (Mercury - Venus - Earth - Mars - Pluto)

The small planets have diameters less than 13000 km across. Mercury and Pluto
are sometimes referred to as lesser planets because they are so tiny.

GIANT PLANETS (Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune)

The giant planets have diameters greater than 48000 km. The giant planets are
sometimes also referred to as gas giants.
The Sun
The Sun is a star - it is not a planet. Our Sun is just like the stars we see in the
night sky. The Sun is also the only star we see during the daytime.The Sun is the
largest object in the solar system. The Sun is so big that you could fit more than 1
million earths inside of it! It measures more than a million kilometers across. The
Sun's center is about 15 million degrees Celsius. The Sun is so hot that planets
millions of kilometers away can feel its heat... That's very hot! The Sun is about 75%
hydrogen and 25% helium. This changes slowly over time as the Sun converts
hydrogen to helium in its core (center). The Sun's energy is produced by nuclear
fusion reactions. It generates 386 billion megawatts of energy!

Mercury
Mercury is a small, rocky planet. Mercury has been visited by the Mariner 10
spacecraft. Mariner 10 has mapped a little less than half (45%) of Mercury's surface.
Scientists think that there may be *volcanic activity* on Mercury. They are still
studying information sent to Earth from the Mariner spacecraft to make sure. The
temperature on Mercury ranges from 90 K to 700 K. It was once believed that there
was no water on Mercury, but this turned out to be false. Recent radar information
shows evidence of ice at Mercury's North Pole! The ice hasn't melted because it is
protected from the Sun's heat by shadows of some craters.

Venus
Venus is a small, rocky planet blanketed in a thick layer of yellowish clouds. These
clouds are not made of water (like the ones here on Earth). Instead, they are formed
from a poison called sulfuric acid. Venus' surface is very hot - about 400 degrees
Celsius! Even though Venus is very cloudy, it's simply *too hot* for rain to form. The
first spacecraft to visit Venus was Mariner 2 in 1962. Venus has since been visited
by more than 20 spacecraft in all so far! Some of these visiting spacecraft include:
Pioneer Venus, Venera 7, Venera 9 and Magellan. Venus has no moons.
Earth
Earth is a small, rocky planet which supports a variety of life! As far as we know,
Earth is unique from all other planets in this respect. Temperatures at the Earth's
center (called the "core") may be as high as 7500 K - That's hotter than the surface
of the Sun! The Earth is the densest major body in the solar system. This means
that it's the most "compact" of all the planets. For example, you have two loaves of
bread, both with the same amount. You smash one loaf of bread flat. Even though
both loaves are of the same amount, the smashed bread is *denser* because it is
more compact. The Earth is 4.5 to 4.6 billion years old, but the oldest known rocks
are less than 4 billion years old. Rocks older than 3 billion years are rare. The oldest
fossils of living organisms are less than 3.9 billion years old! The Earth is orbited by
one moon.

Mars
Mars is a small, rocky planet which is cold and lifeless. The first spacecraft to visit
Mars was Mariner 4 in 1965. Several others followed including the two Viking
Landers in 1976. After a long break, Mars Pathfinder landed successfully on Mars
on July 4, 1997. Mars has permanent ice caps at both poles made up mostly of solid
carbon dioxide. We know this as "dry ice." Very strong winds and vast dust storms
sometimes blow through the entire planet for months! Mars has two tiny moons
which orbit very close to the surface. Their names are Phobos and Deimos.

Jupiter
Jupiter is a giant gas planet which is made up of about 90% hydrogen and 10%
helium. Jupiter was first visited by the Pioneer 10 spacecraft in 1973. It was later
visited by Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and Ulysses. The spacecraft Galileo is
currently in orbit around Jupiter and will be sending back data for at least the next
two years. Jupiter is so big that you could cram 1,000 Earths inside of it!
Saturn
Saturn is a giant gas planet which is made up of about 75% hydrogen and 25%
helium. It's most famous for its thousands of beautiful rings. Saturn was first visited
by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft in 1979. Saturn has also since been visited by Voyager
1 and Voyager 2. Saturn's rings are made up mostly of water ice, but they may also
include rocky particles with icy coatings. The origin of the rings of Saturn is currently
unknown. Saturn is made up of materials which are lighter than water. If placed in a
big pond, Saturn would float much like an ice cube does in a glass of water. Saturn
has 18 known moons - more than any other planet! There may very well be several
small ones yet to be discovered.

Uranus
Uranus is a giant gas planet which is made up of mostly rock and various ices.
Uranus has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2 on Jan 24 1986. Uranus
spins differently from most planets. It seems to be tilted "sideways" instead of right-
side up. At the time of Voyager 2's passage, Uranus' South Pole was pointed almost
directly at the Sun. Uranus has 15 known moons. Voyager 2 discovered 10 small
moons in addition to the 5 large ones already known. It is likely that there are many
more tiny moons within the rings.

Neptune
Neptune is a giant gas planet which is most likely made up of various "ices" and
rock. Neptune has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2 on Aug 25 1989.
Almost everything we know about Neptune comes from this one visit. Depending on
how far along Pluto is in its orbit (path around the Sun); Neptune can be either the
eighth or ninth planet. Pluto's orbit is kind of wacky, and it sometimes crosses in
front of Neptune. When Pluto does this, Neptune is behind Pluto - hence, it is the
ninth planet for a short time. Neptune has 8 known moons; 7 small ones and a large
moon called "Triton."

Pluto
Pluto is a small, icy "dwarf planet". Scientists are still unsure as to exactly what it's
made of. Pluto has not yet been visited by a spacecraft, but there's one on the way!
Depending on how far along it is in its orbit (path around the Sun); Pluto can be
either the eighth or ninth planet. Pluto's orbit is kind of wacky, and it sometimes
crosses in front of Neptune. When Pluto does this, Neptune is behind Pluto - hence,
it is the eighth planet for a short time. Pluto has one moon. It's called "Chiron."