Lesson 5 Astrobiology

NGSS Lesson Planning Template
Grade/ Grade Band: 3-5th grade Topic: Is it living Lesson # __5__ in a series of _6___ lessons
Brief Lesson Description: Mission crew will need to sustain themselves when they land on Mars. This lesson helps students think about how
to support life and deal with misconceptions about what is living and what is not living.
Performance Expectation(s):
4-LS1-1 Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth,
behavior, and reproduction.
4-LS1-2 Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their
brain, and respond to the information in different ways.
Specific Learning Outcomes: Students will engage in a field research study to determine the conditions for supporting life on Mars. Based
on observations, categorizations, and evaluations about Earth conditions, students will begin a narrative about how to support the Mars
mission crew once they get established on the surface.
Lesson Level Narrative
Now that we are on the surface of Mars, it is time to transform the surface so that is can support life. Your tasks is to figure out what on
Mars needs to be transformed, what about Mars makes it inhospitable to life currently and how can we change it? You will construct the
criteria for supporting life based on observations that you have made about planet Earth.
Science & Engineering Practices: Disciplinary Core Ideas: Crosscutting Concepts:

Developing and Using Models to test LS1.A Structure and Function Systems and System models
interactions concerning the support of life Plants and animals have both A system can be described in
on Mars. internal and external structures terms of its components and their
H that serve various functions in interactions
Engaging in Argumentation from Evidence growth, survival, behavior, and
Students will construct an reproduction.
argument based on their
observations about what is living
and what is not living. They will
come up with the best criteria for
supporting life on Mars.
Possible Preconceptions/Misconceptions:
Students will need to know that the atmosphere on Mars is thin and cannot currently support life on the surface. In addition, it is very cold,
has a carbon dioxide based atmosphere, and has a source of water, which is a BIG BINGO. Students will need to have this discussion with
you about what can happen on the surface to help transform the surface to support Earth based life. So, the mission crew would need
breathable air, use the water to support plant life, plants make O2 as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Preconceptions of students may
include seeing food as substances (water, air, minerals, etc.) that organisms take directly in from their environment Anderson, C., Sheldon,
T., Dubay, J. (1990). The effects of instruction on college nonmajors' conceptions of respiration and photosynthesis. Journal of Research in
Science Teaching, 27, 761-776. Students may also think that food is a requirement for growth, rather than a source of matter for growth.
They have little knowledge about food being transformed and made part of organism.
LESSON PLAN 5-E Model

ENGAGE: Karina
Teacher:
review last week lesson and vocab Students
what is friction? 1.They will Explore what is living and what is not.
what is potential and kinetic energy? 2. They will go outside and finding two things that
How did we modify our wheels to be able to move our
rover. are living in one that is not. To test their
What was our gas fuel? knowledge and they will have to come out with a
Introduce this week subject. reason why it's living.
Astrobiology
EXPLORE: Lesson Description How the Lesson Goes/ Safety Rules/ How The Groups Are Made (Cristina)
1. Look at the sand samples

2. Look at each individually
3. Make observations/ draw them
4. Add warm water
5. Make observations/ draw them
6. What are the results? What's living?
-(Dont taste the sand, and don't smell it directly)
EXPLAIN: Concepts Explained and Vocabulary Defined: (AMY)
Concepts
States of water: solid (ice), liquid, gas (vapor).
The five senses: seeing, touching, smelling, hearing, and tasting.
Habitable zone planets: Earth, Venus, Mars -- but!
? Are venus and mars inhabitable?
Habitable worlds: like Earth. Conditions-- 1) large enough for gravity to keep water on the planet. 2) has an atmosphere--for stability. 3)
distance from the sun/stars must be perfect.
? Would Venus be a habitable world? Is it in the habitable zone?
Examples of living vs nonliving - bacteria
fingernail clipping
seashell
milk
Vocabulary
Astrobiology: the branch of biology concerned with the study of life on Earth and in space.
Observation: action process of observing something or someone carefully in order to gain information.
Soil sampling: a soil test refers to the analysis of a soil sample to determine nutrient content, composition, and other characteristics such as
acidity or pH levels.
Habitable zone: the orbital region around a star in which an Earth-like planet can possess liquid water on its surface and possibly support
life.
ELABORATE: How The Re-Test Is Introduced/ Possible Modifications: (Santiago)
Ask questions that further their exploration of the subject. Focus on Open Ended Questions? e.i. Why do you think this happens
This part will be conducted as the activity is going on.
Explore the concept of water and how it is a signal of life.
Give examples of extreme environments where life has been found such as deep ocean species, bacteria living in extreme heat or cold.
What would be one thing that we would look for in other planets that we know is living
Explain about different atmospheres and how they can hold or deny life in other planets
Drakes Equation
Extremephiles: These life forms are called extremophiles. Extremophiles live where no other life can, under conditions generally
considered fatal by the rest of us. They are typically microscopic organisms such as bacteria
GINA
EVALUATE: Question To Ask To Ensure Students Understand the Concepts
Formative Monitoring (Questioning / Discussion):
-what is astrobiology? study of the potential of the universe to harbor life beyond earth
-how would we know life if we saw it?
examples:(movement, growth, reproduces, talks, walks-plants/bacteria/mobility/consumes energy and food and water)
-which cup represented life? cup B
-what was in cup b that made it living? yeast (more than animals and humans can be alive)

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NGSS Lesson Planning Template

Science & Engineering Practices: Disciplinary Core Ideas: Crosscutting Concepts:

LESSON PLAN 5-E Model

1. Look at the sand samples

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