T E
A C H E R ’ S
N O T E S
Focus:
Students explore space, the planets,
other objects (both natural and constructed)
that are found in space, and tools that we use to
learn about space. Students will also learn about
survival in space, and the influence of space
technology on Earth.
Learning Goals:
Students will have opportunities to learn
• how to correctly use the terms asteroid,
comet, gravity, meteoroid, moon,
hemisphere, reflect, satellite, tilt, astronaut,
probe, astronomer, rover, telescope,
life-support system, microgravity,
spacecraft, space debris
• that the solar system is made up of parts
(planets, moons, asteroids, meteoroids,
comets)
• that the Sun and Moon affect the Earth
• how we use telescopes and other technology to
explore space
• how astronauts survive in space
• the pros and cons of the International Space Station
• how space technology has improved life on Earth
• how humans are negatively influencing space
Discussion Prompts:
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• What are the parts of the solar system?
• How do the Sun and the Moon affect the Earth?
• What technology do we have to explore space?
• How do astronauts survive in space?
• How has space technology both positively and
negatively influenced life on Earth?
Assessment Prompts:
• Do students demonstrate, in their discussions and
answers to questions, understanding of the science
vocabulary used in the cards for this unit?
• Are students able to carry out the skills of scientific
inquiry, following activity procedure steps safely
and accurately, making observations when
appropriate?
Assess students’ responses during discussions.
- Do students understand that the parts of the solar
system work together?
- Do they understand how humans have learned
about space both from the ground and from
space?
- Do they know that astronauts and space
exploration require special preparation and
technology?
- Can students explain how humans can both
negatively and positively affect space?
- Can students suggest ways to protect space and
learn from space exploration?
Links to PCSP Student Book Out of This World :
Card 1: see Lessons 1-5
Card 2: see Lessons 2-10
Card 3: see Lessons 2-10
Card 4: see Lessons 6, 7, 9, and 10
Card 5: see Lessons 6-10
Focus:
Students discover the main parts of the solar
system and what other objects are found in the solar system.
Activity Description: A new screen called “Rock or Gas?” appears. The
text answers the Think question, and students engage in a timed drag-anddrop activity distinguishing planets in the solar system as rocky planets or
gas giants.
Learning Goal: Students learn about two types of planets in our solar
system.
Ask Students: What are the two main kinds of planets in our solar
system? Describe how they are different and provide examples of each.
Assessment: Can students explain that there are two main kinds of
planets in our solar system and describe the differences between them?
Can they provide examples of each?
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Activity Description: A new screen called
“Place the Planets” allows students to play a timed
drag-and-drop activity. Students must drag each
planet onto its correct orbit around the Sun.
Learning Goals: Students clarify their
understanding of gravity and how each planet
moves around the Sun.
Ask Students: How do the planets orbit the
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PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Introduce students to the topic with
the video showing the solar system.
Discuss the video and any comments
or questions students may have.
Activity Description: The next screen describes how people
in the past could only rely on their eyes to speculate on what lay
out in space. Students also play a drag-and-drop activity, where
they must drag famous historical figures and their discovery to
the correct date on a timeline.
Learning Goals: Students learn the names of famous
philosophers, astronomers, and scientists, along with their
astronomical discoveries.
Ask Students: How did people in the past look at space?
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Activity Description: On
this screen students work with
an interactive bar graph to
record planet temperatures.
Learning Goal: Students
learn some specific details
about each of the planets.
Ask Students: What is the
diameter of Mercury? How long
does it take Saturn to orbit the
Sun? How far is Earth from the
Sun? (Use the table to generate
your questions.)
Assessment: Can students
enter the information from
the table into the bar graph
accurately? Can they locate
the appropriate information
from the table to answer your
questions?
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Sun? How does the Sun’s gravity affect planets closer or
farther away from it?
Assessment: How do the planets orbit the Sun? How
does the Sun’s gravity affect planets closer or farther away
from it?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Can you name some people who made
important discoveries in the past?
Assessment: Are students able to correctly
complete the activity? Can they describe how
people in the past observed space and can they
list some famous discoveries?
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Focus:
Students explore how both
the Sun and the Moon affect the Earth.
Activity Description: The Think question, is answered in the new screen “Solar
Eclipse”. Students click the orange icon to play an activity in which they create a
lunar eclipse. Students then click on the blue icon to watch a video of an eclipse.
Learning Goal: Students learn more about how solar and lunar eclipses occur.
Ask Students: Where must the Sun, Moon, and Earth be so they create an eclipse?
Assessment: Can students describe/draw a lunar/solar eclipse and explain how
each happens?
Activity Description: In the next screen, the
Think question is answered. Students click on the
blue icon to watch a video of the northern lights.
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Learning Goal: Students expand their
knowledge of the relationship between the Sun,
Moon, and Earth.
Ask Students: What happens when the Sun,
Moon and Earth are in different positions? (the
northern and southern lights appear)
Assessment: Are students able to describe how
the Sun, Moon, and Earth relate to each other?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Introduce students to the
topic with the video that
shows the Earth’s daily
rotation. Discuss the video
and any comments
or questions students may
have.
Activity Description: In the next screen the Think
question is answered, and students can click on the orange
icon to complete a timed activity to test their knowledge of
factual or fictional information about the Sun and Moon.
Learning Goal: Students reinforce their understanding
of how the position of the Moon and Sun influence the
Earth.
Ask Students: How do the Moon and Sun influence the
Earth?
Assessment: Are students able to describe how the Sun
and Moon influence the Earth?
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Activity Description: Text and a visual describe how the seasons occur because
the Earth tilts as it orbits the Sun. Students play a drag-and-drop activity, labelling
the different seasons on a diagram of Earth’s axis. Students then click on the Think
question to learn how the equator is the only part of the world that does not experience
summer or winter. When students click the orange icon on this screen they are taken to
a timed drag-and-drop activity that tests their knowledge of the Sun and Moon.
Learning Goals: Students
will extend their learning about
the seasons and learn about the
equator’s unique climate. They
will also reinforce their knowledge
about the Sun and Moon.
Ask Students: Why does the
northern hemisphere experience
a different season from the
southern hemisphere during the
same time of year? In which part
of the world is there no summer
or winter?
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Assessment: Are students
able to describe how the seasons
are caused by the Earth’s tilt
as it orbits the Sun? Can they
explain why the northern
and southern hemispheres
experience different seasons at
the same time of year? Were
students able to correctly
complete both activities?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
5
Focus:
Student explore how a telescope and
other inventions help us explore space.
Activity Description: By clicking on the dots in the next screen, the Think
question is answered with the locations for some of the largest telescopes.
Learning Goal: Students explore how telescopes work.
Ask Students: How do telescopes help us to learn about space?
Assessment: Do students understand that different telescopes are used for
different purposes, and that there are many kinds and sizes of telescopes?
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Activity Description: On the next screen, the text answers
the Think question. Students click on each picture to learn
more about each type of space technology. Students click
the icon to learn more about space technology, including the
spectroscope. They can play a timed I-Spy game to match
tools and images.
Learning Goal: Students explore types of technology that
are used to explore space.
Ask Students: What are some of the inventions that we use
that help us to explore space?
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PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Introduce students to the
topic with the video of the
Hubble Space Telescope.
Discuss the video and any
comments or questions
students may have.
Activity Description: A new screen answers
the Think question. Students learn more by
clicking on the dots in the diagram. Students
click the orange icon to answer the next Think
question and complete a self-checking activity
that requires the students to drag and drop
captions to complete a story.
Learning Goal: Students learn how
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robots might help us to
understand space.
Ask Students: How
could a robot help us to
understand/survive in
space?
Assessment: Do
students understand how
technology can help us to
live and work in space?
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Assessment: Are students able
to describe/draw several of these
technologies and explain how they are
used?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Assessment: Students complete a vocabulary word search using
the highlighter to click and drag the words.
Learning Goal: Students review the vocabulary of space.
Ask Students: Do you know what each word means?
Assessment: Can students describe/draw/label each of these
words to demonstrate the meaning of each word?
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Focus:
Students discover how astronauts survive in space
and explore the pros and cons of the International Space Station.
Activity Description: A new screen answers the Think
question. Students click on the dots to find out more about each
part of a rocket. Students click on the orange icon to drag and
drop labels to each part of a rocket-launch process. Students
click “continue” to get more information about the Think
question. By clicking on the orange icon, the students then drag
captions onto a space shuttle launch and then click to the last
screen to complete the answer to the Think question.
Learning Goal: Students will discover how rockets travel
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Introduce students to the video
showing astronauts preparing
to leave for a mission. Discuss
the video and any comments or
questions students may have.
Activity Description: A new
screen appears, and students
click on the dots in the diagram to
learn more about the parts of the
International Space Station (ISS).
Students then click the orange icon
to sort captions into pros and cons
for the ISS.
Learning Goal: Students will
discover the parts of the ISS.
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Ask Students: What is the
purpose of the ISS? What are the
pros and cons of the ISS?
Activity Description: A new
screen with a photograph of astronauts
appears, and students click on Julie
Payette to learn more about her training.
Students then click the orange icon
to complete a timeline activity where
students drag and drop the pictures into
the correct place.
Learning Goal: Students will discover
the history of space travel.
Ask Students: How do you become
Assessment: Can students
explain how the ISS program has
both positive and negative effects?
Activity Description: A new screen appears with a number
wheel that students can click to answer the Think question.
Learning Goal: Students will discover how astronauts cope with
space conditions.
Ask Students: What are some of the things astronauts do to
survive in space?
Assessment: Are students able to describe some of the ways
astronauts survive in space?
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PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
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and how the space shuttle
functions.
Ask Students: What are
the stages in the launching
of a rocket or shuttle?
Assessment: Are students
able to describe/draw a
labelled diagram about the
launch of a rocket or shuttle?
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an astronaut? How has space
travel changed over time?
Assessment: Are students able
to describe events in space history
or list them in order?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Activity Description: Students click on the dots on the next screen
to answer the Think question.
Learning Goal: Students learn the importance of the components of
a space suit.
Ask Students: How does each part of the suit help the astronaut to
survive?
Assessment: Describe/draw and label how parts of the space suit
are designed for survival in space.
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Focus:
Students explore how space technology has
improved life on Earth and learn about space junk.
Activity Description: The text and pictures answer the Think question
as the students click through the next few screens.
Learning Goal: Students extend their understanding of how space
technology is useful to us.
Ask Students: How does space technology help us?
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Assessment: Can students describe some of the ways space technology
aids us in our daily life?
Introduce students to the
topic with the video of the
astronaut outside of the
space station. Discuss the
video and any comments or
questions students may have.
Activity Description: A new screen called
“Inventions from Space” appears, which answers
the Think question. Students press the orange icon
to complete a timed activity to sort the correct tools
into the shuttle payload.
Assessment: A new screen called
“Space Junk” appears. Students click on the
orange arrows to see how space debris has
accumulated over time.
Learning Goal: Students will investigate how
inventions for space have benefit people on Earth.
Learning Goal: Students learn how
space junk is created.
Ask Students: What tools/inventions do we use
that were initially designed for space?
Ask Students: What is space junk? How
has it changed over time?
Assessment: Are students able to name several
space inventions and explain how they are used both
in space and here on Earth?
Assessment: Do students understand
how and why space junk is created by
humans?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
10
Activity Description: A new screen containing a wheel helps students to answer the Think
question. By clicking on the wheel, students learn different perspectives about space travel, and
drag and drop captions into a pro-and-con sorting chart under each heading.
Learning Goal: Students will explore the pros and cons of space exploration.
Ask Students: How does space exploration help/hurt our world?
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Assessment: Are students able to understand that there are many perspectives to space
travel and exploration? Are they able to discuss/debate these ideas with their peers and
understand both sides of the issue?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
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