Back to Asteroids – Unit 1: Mission Planning
Asteroids – Unit 1 Lesson 3: Documenting the Mission
In this lesson: First, students will consider the reasons and methods of preserving information for the future. Then, they will examine an example of a Mission Development Log (MDL) and provide feedback. Next, students will make a timeline and plan for their own MDL. Finally, students will begin their MDLs in groups and enter important mission information.
Lesson level question: Why is clear written documentation so important to planning successful, long-term, complex projects?
Engage
Students will examine a series of images to spark their thinking about the kinds of information it is important to record and various ways of recording information (writing, photos, drawings, tables, graphs, videos, etc).
Explore
Students will review an example of a Mission Development Log (MDL) prepared for a previous student challenge and evaluate how well it allows them to understand the mission involved.
Explain
Students will share their three pieces of advice for improving the MDL example.
Elaborate
Students will apply what they have learned about MDLs and the mission so far to plan their mission timeline.
Evaluate
Students teams will begin their Mission Development Logs for this project.
Extend (optional)
Students will explore notebooks that past and present scientists, engineers, and designers have made.