Models on Earth and Space

This interdisciplinary curriculum unit is based on the Teacher Institute of Philadelphia’s seminar entitled “Is There Any Life in the Worlds Beyond Our Own?”. The seminar discussed common misconceptions about the size of our universe and how these misconceptions can be corrected with instruction about scale. This unit discusses using scale to create models in both science and social studies to clear up misconceptions and develop a deeper understanding of content area topics. Students from first to third grade can benefit from this unit with modifications in response formats. Teachers may start in the beginning of the year and pull in many examples across social studies and science subjects. Starting at the beginning of the year will give students time to become comfortable with creating and using models across the curriculum.
During this unit students will develop higher order thinking skills such as comparing, contrasting, creating, assessing, and analyzing. They will learn the purpose of models and how scientists use scale to study very large or small objects. Students will learn to create models and use them to explore the world around them. The culminating activity will be a model of the solar system based on distance to be displayed in the school neighborhood.