International Space Station

Cindy Quinn ED Spring, 2004

Unit ~ SPACE 3 rd Grade Lesson ~ International Space Station

Objectives Students will identify three reasons for construction of the International Space Station. Students will name the countries who are partners in the International Space Station.

Students will perform a rocket experiment Students will calculate the longitude and latitude of the International Space Station at a specific point in its orbit, using a tracking map

Objectives Students will understand and explain the concept of microgravity. Students will identify a problem and design a scientific experiment that could be carried out on the International Space Station

Materials Amazing International Space Station by Yes Mag. Kids Can Press Limited, International Space Station by Elaine Pascoe. Gale Group, The International Space Station: A Journey into Space by Wolfgang Engelhardt. Tessloff, The International Space Station with introduction by Astronaut Scott Carpenter with Let’s Read and Find Out Labeled Diagram of the International Space Station by Franklyn M. Branley. Harper Collins, 2000.

Materials 10 balloons Plastic straws Clear tape 6-8 yards of nylon monofilament fishing line Scissors 1 clothesline Rocket launch diagram Colored markers Chart paper Pencils Rulers Journals Tracking map

Expedition 9 Mission Overview International Space Station Science – One of NASA’s Rising Stars NASA’s Fundamental Space Biology Outreach Program Space Shuttles Satellite Sighting Information for Dayton,Ohio n.htmlhttp://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/viewsighting.cgi?Dayto n.html International Space Station Status Report mlhttp:// ml Liftoff

Student Activities 1. Students will divide into small groups of three to five. Students will brainstorm ideas to design a biological experiment that could be carried out on the International Space Station. When an idea is developed each student will write two parts of the experiment based on the scientific method.

Steps of Scientific Method Form Hypothesis Design Experiment Acquire Materials Perform Experiment Record Data Conclusion Results

Students will perform the experiment with their groups. Students will be assessed on written data and observed on how well their written part of the experiment was carried out. Students will write three sentences to state their hypothesis and support their conclusions. The scientific experiment will be submitted to NASA Space Biology Outreach Program.

2. Each Student will draw three columns on an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper. Columns will be labeled What I Know, What I Want to Know and What I Have Learned. Students will be given current information about the International Space Station. After the class discusses what they know students will work in pairs to do research on the International Space Station. The teacher will suggest topics for students to research such as information on which space shuttles and Russian rockets transported modules and materials to the Space Station. What are the names of the countries that act as partners in the Space Station? What types of experiments are carried out and why. How does microgravity affect the bodies and health of the astronauts?

Ask students to complete the What I Have Learned column in their K-W-L chart by listing five facts. Using two facts students will write an informational story in their journals about what they have learned, writing two to three sentences and illustrating one of the facts they have learned.

Students will be assessed on the how, what, why and when of their descriptions.

3. Students will study a tracking map to locate a point on the elliptical path of the International Space Station at which to estimate its longitude and latitude. NASAStation LocationHelpTrackingSightingOtherJ-TrackJ- Track 3DStationShuttleMoreJ-PassJ-Pass FAQLinks27 Apr :37 UTCCurrent Station LocationLatitude (Degrees)Longitude (Degrees)Altitude (Kilometers) Latest Science NASAHelpJ-TrackJ- Track 3DShuttleMoreJ-PassJ-Pass FAQLinks A Pocket of Near-Perfection - 4/26/2004 Right now, one of the most precise physics experiments ever attempted is orbiting Earth: Gravity Probe B. Its builders have created "a pocket of near- perfection" inside the spacecraft where spinning gyroscopes can sense the twisting of spacetime around Earth.A Pocket of Near-Perfection Keeping an Eye on Central America - 4/23/2004Keeping an Eye on Central America A Gathering of Planets: Part II - 4/21/2004A Gathering of Planets: Part II In Search of Gravitomagnetism - 4/20/2004In Search of Gravitomagnetism Subscribe for updatesUpdates once per minuteSubscribe for updates Curator: Bryan Walls NASA Official: Ron KoczorBryan WallsRon Koczor

Student groups will record their estimates of longitude and latitude on the blackboard. Students will verify their estimates by using the daily tracking chart on Assessment will be based on observation of students’ application of knowledge of calculating longitude and latitude to complete their estimates.

4. Each student will have a printout entitled “Space Shuttles” with which to identify the parts of a space shuttle and name the five space shuttles which have taken materials, including modules, to the International Space Station. The class will perform a rocket experiment.

–Thread fishing line through a straw. Attach each end of line with the straw on it to the back of a chair. Stretch the line tight. The teacher will blow up a balloon and keep it closed with fingers. Tape rocket pattern to balloon. Tape balloon to straw, keeping it closed. Place balloon near one end of fishing line with the open end closest to chair. Perform countdown. Release air from balloon. –Make hypothesis about the amount of air released from balloon and how far it could go. For a scientist this is backed by the experiment to show that results are always the same. Have children choose a reason for how many times to repeat the experiment and ask them to record the results on a chart, numbering from one to five on the chart. Ask the students to draw conclusions about the direction the balloon traveled each time. Students will compare their data. Question students: “Did the balloon move in the opposite direction from the release of air from the balloon. Assessment will be the based on the ability of students to list reasons for the results based on the varying data.

5. Each student will write a question that relates to the construction of the International Space Station the countries that are involved the reasons for the types of experiments done in the labs on the International Space Station

The questions will be sent to Ask a Life Scientist at Students will be assessed on the correct use of semantics, syntax, punctuation and spelling in their questions.

Crystals grown on the International Space Station

Surface tension

Ohio high school student works with NASA to load biological samples for an International Space Station experiment

Crew members on their way home on space shuttle Discovery after a 5 month stay

Space walk