Back to Asteroids – Unit 2: Planetary Geology
Asteroids – Unit 2 Lesson 3: Landform Dynamics
In this lesson: Students will examine and compare features of Earth and at least one other body in the solar system. Then, they will design and carry out experiments to try and recreate the features they see. They will use the observations from these experiments and other sources of information to make a claim about how the features on other solar system bodies formed.
Lesson level question: What forces create various landforms, and how long does that formation take?
Engage
Students examine images of landforms on Earth and other bodies and speculate on how they might have formed.
Explore
Students plan and carry out investigations to figure out how landforms were made.
Explain
Students compare/contrast their experimental models with the landforms and features they see on Earth and on Mars and make some claims about what caused the formation of the feature under study as a result of this comparison.
Elaborate
Students will consider the many different forces that shape the land using their own experiments and NASA evidence.
Evaluate
Students complete a Claims/Evidence/Reasoning statement in the MDL.
Extend (optional)
Three options are provided.