Students will experience the four phases of the I-search process:

1.  Exposure to a topic area and formulating questions
2.  Developing a research plan
3.  Gathering and integrating information
4.  Generating a report in a variety of possible forms

Specifically:

Students will be exposed to factual and visual information on the Solar System, and take part in activities to give them an appreciation for the scale of the Solar System, the explorations man has made, the immediate future of explorations, and a concept of what this has cost.

Students will be confronted with their own level of interest in the wonders of the Solar System, and in collaborative groups form value judgements on the importance and benefit of space exploration.

Students will take on question areas for further exploration and development from a range of difficulty levels, from interest in a project on a single planet, to topic areas like problems facing further exploration, or the ethical situation of costly spending on space exploration.

Students will develop some expertise in using resources like the internet to help them develop their topic area.

Students will develop some expertise in using technology-based tools for storing, manipulating editing, and presenting data to prepare their topic.

Students will prepare and present a final group report. 
 
 
 

  (ii) Content Objectives: 

This topic offers skill development related to a number of disciplines:

Language Arts- reading and comprehending material, both in texts and on the Internet. Writing and editing to produce a final report.

Science - Significant science related information and concepts, particularly related to a unit of Sciencepower 9 curriculum.

Social Studies- The geography of the next frontier... space,  in the next “room”--  the solar system.  Historical look at the short time of space exploration, and the time line of events that led to it.

Math - Dealing with relative sizes, distances, time, dates, and cost.

Health - Some may like to explore the questions of living in space environments and the options for enduring long trips to even the nearest planets.

Political Science - Possible questions areas of the “space race” and the involvement of countries like the US, former USSR, Japan, and the European community in space exploration.
 
 
 

   (iii)  Attitudes and Behaviors:

The student will hopefully develop an interest in the fascinating world of the solar system, and in it as a frontier of exploration.

The student will develop a curiosity that takes him or her into many web-based resources and activities to further understand the arrangement of the solar system. 

The student will learn to control random wandering on the internet in favor of planning, note-taking, assembling of data, and narrowing of search.

Students will question the purpose of space exploration, and develop value judgements on the benefits of this in comparison to the possible use of talent and money on earth.

Students will learn to search for information as an individual and as a team, cooperatively discuss the findings with group participants, and collaborate on ideas and themes.

Students will learn to contribute to the group task, and assist in a cooperative manner to compile a group project.

Students will take a role in a group presentation of the results of their question area, whether on paper or in a presentation format.