The most
recent objectives, plans & activities are near the top!|
Cycle 22: Thu. 4/4 - Fri. 4/12 |
Days 1-3 & 5:
#1 - Mr. S. first made you aware that
when it came out in 2009, you were not ready at the age of 5 or 6 for
the depth of the astrobiology in the groundbreaking movie "Avatar". He
then used notes from "The Science of Avatar" to prepare you for the
complex ways in which it genuinely considered how life might evolve and
geology might differ on a moon around a Jupiter-like planet. IF YOU
SIMPLY REFER TO THESE NOTES WHILE WORKING ON THE MOVIE'S FORM (AND PAY
ATTENTION TO MR. S's CHAT WINDOW COMMENTS DURING THE MOVIE), YOU WILL
EASILY TACKLE THE FORM'S QUESTIONS!!! |
| ↑NJCCCS: 5.1(A-I), 5.2(B,E), 5.3(A,B), 5.4(B-E), 5.5(B,H,I), 5.6(A-K), 5.8(B), 5.9(E-G), 5.11(A-E), 5.20(A,B,D), 5.21(A,B), 5.22(A-C), 5.23(A,B), 5.25(A-C) ↑Bloom's: K, C, An, Ap, S, E |
↑This
week's student learning objectives
(all start with "Students will be able to..."): ■ ...discuss, describe and explain 1) the various ways in which humanity searches for ET intelligence and 2) the various physical and chemical factors and conditions that exist on Earth that likewise might need to exist elsewhere for life of any kind to be fostered on another planet. (continued) ■ ...qualitatively describe the basic, complex relationship between science, technology and our society as detailed and depicted in narratives about the history of U.S. space exploration. (continued) …meet voluntarily with Mr. S (and at Mr. S's discretion) to discuss the customized creation of a "routine of habits" at home and in school that will lead to improved class attendance and the completion of more assigned work to foster classroom success. |
|
Cycle 21: Mon. 3/25 -Wed. 4/3 |
Days 5 & 1: Over these
2 DAYS (including the next day 1),
read
“Exomoons' Around Giant Planets May Be The Best Place To Search For
Life, Say Scientists” and then
answer the 3 related questions found in this Google Doc before
then inviting me to edit that Doc with your
answers. Day 3: With several letting me know they were out on Friday and still needed time to finish reading/note-taking on "The Paradox", this simply became a final day to do so while also making sure you logged onto Socrative (room E25ATWEST as usual) to complete the short quiz on it waiting for you there. You may take it as many times as you wish! Day 2: Now that you've had sufficient time to read and take notes on "The Fermi Paradox", logon to Socrative (room E25ATWEST as usual) and take the short 7-question quiz there waiting for you. You obviously can have the blog and any notes you took available to you! Day 1: Since your class time Friday was not enough to finish reading/taking notes on Tim Urban's lengthy blog on "The Fermi Paradox", complete that task today! The short Socrative quiz on "The Paradox" scheduled for this week will now be a 10 point activity you will complete tomorrow (and the quiz will be open for 48 hours for your convenience, starting Tuesday morning). |
| ↑NJCCCS: 5.1(A-I), 5.2(B,E), 5.3(A,B), 5.4(B-E), 5.5(B,H,I), 5.6(A-K), 5.8(B), 5.9(E-G), 5.11(A-E), 5.20(A,B,D), 5.21(A,B), 5.22(A-C), 5.23(A,B), 5.25(A-C) ↑Bloom's: K, C, An, Ap, S, E |
↑This week's student
learning objectives (all start with "Students will
be able to..."): ■ ...discuss, describe and explain 1) the various ways in which humanity searches for ET intelligence and 2) the various physical and chemical factors and conditions that exist on Earth that likewise might need to exist elsewhere for life of any kind to be fostered on another planet. (continued) ■ ...qualitatively describe the basic, complex relationship between science, technology and our society as detailed and depicted in narratives about the history of U.S. space exploration. (continued) …meet voluntarily with Mr. S (and at Mr. S's discretion) to discuss the customized creation of a "routine of habits" at home and in school that will lead to improved class attendance and the completion of more assigned work to foster classroom success. |
|
Cycle 20 & Testing: Fri. 3/8 -Fri. 3/22 |
Day 4:
With Mr. S. absent today,
your classwork assignment was to read
this
blog on "The Fermi Paradox"
and to take notes on it
since
you will take an open note quiz on what
you learned about "The Paradox" next week! Day 3: Learning about the space exploration history-changing work of the "Hidden Figures" opened the door for us to bring to a conclusion the story of humankind's dramatic voyages to the moon with the viewing/questions for our last trip there in 1972, Apollo 17, with "Le Voyage dan la Lune". (A little of Friday's day 5 class may have been needed for your class to complete it.) Day 1 & Testing day 5s: With International Women's Day on Sunday (and March Women's History Month), we took a break from ETs and their planets to begin the viewing and question-answering for "Hidden Figures" to observe both and to celebrate the life of the recently passed inspiration for the film, Katherine Johnson. This would last through the end of class Tuesday. |
| ↑NJCCCS: 5.1(A-I), 5.2(B,E), 5.3(A,B), 5.4(B-E), 5.5(B,H,I), 5.6(A-K), 5.8(B), 5.9(E-G), 5.11(A-E), 5.20(A,B,D), 5.21(A,B), 5.22(A-C), 5.23(A,B), 5.25(A-C) ↑Bloom's: K, C, An, Ap, S, E |
↑This week's student
learning objectives (all start with "Students will
be able to..."): ■ ...discuss, describe and explain 1) the various ways in which humanity searches for ET intelligence and 2) the various physical and chemical factors and conditions that exist on Earth that likewise might need to exist elsewhere for life of any kind to be fostered on another planet. (continued) ■ ...qualitatively describe the basic, complex relationship between science, technology and our society as detailed and depicted in narratives about the history of U.S. space exploration. (continued) …meet voluntarily with Mr. S (and at Mr. S's discretion) to discuss the customized creation of a "routine of habits" at home and in school that will lead to improved class attendance and the completion of more assigned work to foster classroom success. |
|
Cycle 19: Thu. 2/29 -Thu. 3/7 |
Day 5:
You were
assigned classwork that
included the reading of
this article entitled "The Color of Plants on Other Worlds"
before completing
this summarizing activity for the 4 subsections of the article.
If not completed on this day, it is due on Tuesday. Day 3: We brought your intro to the Star Trek franchise to an end on this day first with the viewing of an episode from the "The Next Generation" series (that was the #1 show on TV for 3 years in the early 1990s) called "The Inner Light" and you answered these questions on its story that had a surprising twist that was related to topics we have discussed in PlanEx. Day 2: With the movie completed first during this class, we had a little fun today considering the reasons why extreme Star Trek and Star Wars fans exist by watching a clip of "Trekkies" and answering the question "why do Trekkies (or extreme space franchise fans) exist?" A series of ST/SW fan videos on YouTube helped us be psychologists today as you were required to give me a minimum of 2 reasons on a half sheet of paper. Day 1: This was the day we came close to completing the viewing of "Star Trek" while answering these 2 simple questions. A little bit of Monday's class would be needed. |
| ↑NJCCCS: 5.1(A-I), 5.2(B,E), 5.3(A,B), 5.4(B-E), 5.5(B,H,I), 5.6(A-K), 5.8(B), 5.9(E-G), 5.11(A-E), 5.20(A,B,D), 5.21(A,B), 5.22(A-C), 5.23(A,B), 5.25(A-C) ↑Bloom's: K, C, An, Ap, S, E |
↑This week's student
learning objectives (all start with "Students will
be able to..."): ■ ...discuss, describe and explain 1) the various ways in which humanity searches for ET intelligence and 2) the various physical and chemical factors and conditions that exist on Earth that likewise might need to exist elsewhere for life of any kind to be fostered on another planet. (continued) ■ ...qualitatively describe the basic, complex relationship between science, technology and our society as detailed and depicted in narratives about the history of U.S. space exploration. (continued) …meet voluntarily with Mr. S (and at Mr. S's discretion) to discuss the customized creation of a "routine of habits" at home and in school that will lead to improved class attendance and the completion of more assigned work to foster classroom success. |
|
Cycle 18: Tue. 2/20 -Wed. 2/28 |
Day 5:
After you were given the first 20-25 min. of Wed.
to complete the
"Exosolar Detection & Kepler's Earth-like Planets" Activity
that was started yesterday, we viewed
this presentation on "Star Wars vs. Star Trek" as an introduction
primarily to the universe of Star Trek you Star Wars kids are unfamiliar
with as a jumping point for how space exploration technology theory and astrobiology on ETs have
evolved within the Star Trek franchise.
This intro set us up for the viewing of "Star Trek" (2009)
that consumed the rest of this long day 5 and a start to
the answering of these 2 simple questions.
(Class E completed the movie on Friday while class
B would need a little of Monday to do so.) Day 3: Today, we first held a discussion about the 2 main exosolar planet detection methods (the "wobble" and "light-blocking" ones) before then watching short videos on an overview of the Kepler Space Telescope's mission to find such planets, this 2014 discovery of Earth's "cousin" 186f and this even more exciting one on the 2015 discovery of its near "twin" 452b. Your class then completed this "Exosolar Detection & Kepler's Earth-like Planets" Activity that was turned in at the end of your Wednesday day 5. Don't forget your speculation about the fictional message on pages 45-48 to us is due that day, too! Days 1-2: These 2 days continued our contemplation of what ET intelligence could be like and how we would tackle the challenge of communicating with it via the viewing of the 2016 film "Arrival." The movie had no accompanying written assignment to start but stay engrossed in the story in order to answer a single question I'll give you when we complete our viewing on Friday. Don't forget your speculation about the fictional message on pages 45-48 to us is due by your next day 5 class on Wed. 2/26. |
| ↑NJCCCS: 5.1(A-I), 5.2(B,E), 5.3(A,B), 5.4(B-E), 5.5(B,H,I), 5.6(A-K), 5.8(B), 5.9(E-G), 5.11(A-E), 5.20(A,B,D), 5.21(A,B), 5.22(A-C), 5.23(A,B), 5.25(A-C) ↑Bloom's: K, C, An, Ap, S, E |
↑This week's student
learning objectives (all start with "Students will
be able to..."): ■ ...discuss, describe and explain 1) the various ways in which humanity searches for ET intelligence and 2) the various physical and chemical factors and conditions that exist on Earth that likewise might need to exist elsewhere for life of any kind to be fostered on another planet. (continued) ■ ...qualitatively describe the basic, complex relationship between science, technology and our society as detailed and depicted in narratives about the history of U.S. space exploration. (continued) …meet voluntarily with Mr. S (and at Mr. S's discretion) to discuss the customized creation of a "routine of habits" at home and in school that will lead to improved class attendance and the completion of more assigned work to foster classroom success. |
|
Cycle 17: Fri. 2/9 -Fri. 2/16 |
Day 5/6:
To start the day, you received
the first 2 papers
here pertaining to our real messages to ETs and you were asked
to give your best, descriptive guesses in
the margin of each paper at what the messages intended during class's
first 10-15 minutes. We then moved onto the start of our viewing of "The
Arrival" (◄get a copy from Mr. S. if you
were absent), a Science Channel program that simulated
the communications from and approach of ETs of superior intelligence
with
you responsible for
answering these questions as you watched the story. You then
received pages 45-48 of
these papers
pertaining to a fictional message sent by
ETs to us created by the UCal astrobiology dept. You then gave your best, descriptive guesses in
the margin of each paper at what the messages intended with the
remaining time in this long day 5. Your
guesses about these fictional messages to us were due
by your next day 5 class on Wed. 2/26. Day 3: After first completing the viewing and question-answering for "Understanding ETs" (as we contemplated further the work of SETI and just who might be out there and why we haven't heard from them yet), we discussed the nature of speculated Dyson Spheres constructed by Type II civilizations and how a star back in 2015 had the astrobiology world buzzing because of the way it was blinking at us in a way a Sphere could while under construction! Day 2: At the conclusion of "Contact" and after discussing this fascinatingly disturbing thought from NdT, we got started on the viewing and question-answering for "Understanding ETs" as we contemplated further the work of SETI and just who might be out there and why we haven't heard from them yet. This would be completed during your next class. Day 1: We continued our viewing of/questions for "Contact" today and it would spill over into Tuesday a bit also. |
| ↑NJCCCS: 5.1(A-I), 5.2(B,E), 5.3(A,B), 5.4(B-E), 5.5(B,H,I), 5.6(A-K), 5.8(B), 5.9(E-G), 5.11(A-E), 5.20(A,B,D), 5.21(A,B), 5.22(A-C), 5.23(A,B), 5.25(A-C) ↑Bloom's: K, C, An, Ap, S, E |
↑This week's student
learning objectives (all start with "Students will
be able to..."): ■ ...discuss, describe and explain 1) the various ways in which humanity searches for ET intelligence and 2) the various physical and chemical factors and conditions that exist on Earth that likewise might need to exist elsewhere for life of any kind to be fostered on another planet. (continued) ■ ...qualitatively describe the basic, complex relationship between science, technology and our society as detailed and depicted in narratives about the history of U.S. space exploration. (continued) …meet voluntarily with Mr. S (and at Mr. S's discretion) to discuss the customized creation of a "routine of habits" at home and in school that will lead to improved class attendance and the completion of more assigned work to foster classroom success. |
|
Cycle 16: Thu. 2/1 -Thu. 2/8 |
Day 5: This day finally began our
serious consideration of the BIG question that drives PlanEx - "are we alone?"
- with
a discussion about
the organization of scientists known as SETI before then beginning the
viewing
of/questions for "Contact". The movie contemplates what it
would be like if ETs far more advanced than ourselves made contact with
us first and its viewing/question-answering continued through at least
next week's Tuesday day 2. Day 3: Mr. S's absence on these days saw us start and complete this activity on the Drake Equation (...AND HERE IS THE LINK JUST TO ITS DRAKE EQ. CALCULATOR), a tool used to empirically determine just how many civilizations might be out there in our galaxy. This set up our discussion about the organization known as SETI and our viewing of the movie "Contact" over the next few days. Days 1-2: Today, we started (and class E completed) our viewing of and note-taking on the "16 Days" video that told the story of the final mission of Space Shuttle Columbia and mission STS-107 as our way of observing (a little late) NASA's January 28 "Day of Remembrance" as we discussed it here. We then fed the curiosity many of you expressed in the part of quantum mechanics that suggested their might be parallel universes by viewing "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives" (and the answering of these questions on it), a biographical story of "Eels" lead singer Mark Everett's quest to understand the work of his late father, Hugh Everett, the founder of this intriguing concept in q.m. |
| ↑NJCCCS: 5.1(A-I), 5.2(B,E), 5.3(A,B), 5.4(B-E), 5.5(B,H,I), 5.6(A-K), 5.8(B), 5.9(E-G), 5.11(A-E), 5.20(A,B,D), 5.21(A,B), 5.22(A-C), 5.23(A,B), 5.25(A-C) ↑Bloom's: K, C, An, Ap, S, E |
↑This week's student
learning objectives (all start with "Students will
be able to..."): ■ ...discuss, describe and explain 1) the various ways in which humanity searches for ET intelligence and 2) the various physical and chemical factors and conditions that exist on Earth that likewise might need to exist elsewhere for life of any kind to be fostered on another planet. ■ ...describe the nature and composition of stars and explain how their types and life cycles are intricately tied into the potential for life on the growing numbers of planets we are discovering orbiting other stars. (continued) ■ ...qualitatively describe the basic, complex relationship between science, technology and our society as detailed and depicted in narratives about the history of U.S. space exploration. (continued) …meet voluntarily with Mr. S (and at Mr. S's discretion) to discuss the customized creation of a "routine of habits" at home and in school that will lead to improved class attendance and the completion of more assigned work to foster classroom success. |