Lesson: The surface of Mars is diverse and is made up of many different kinds of structures.

Student Materials: The Mars photos, learning logs, paper and pencils.

Teacher Materials: KWL chart or an area to write the student’s answers, the Mars photos, experiment trays, categorizing exercise sheet. (Appendix A, B, E).

Class Description:

This is designed for a 4^th to 5^th grade levels.

Objectives:

1. After the lesson on the surface structures on Mars, the students will be able to make a list dividing these structures based upon how they were made. Example, causes may be; wind, water, impact, plate tectonics, volcanism, slump, or ice.

Introduce the lesson on the surface of mars to the students and ask them what they think caused the different structures we see on the Mars today. After some brainstorming of the possible causes, bring out photos of Earth showing similar structures, i.e., rivers, and volcanoes. Allow the class to focus on the cause and effect processes found on earth and relate them to Mars. The class will then experiment with boxes filled with silt to see if their theories prove correct.

Role of Teacher:

First as a facilitator of discovery, second as an information giver and collector.

Procedure:

1. Introduce the lesson by displaying all of the Mars photos and asking the students what they think caused these features. Record their answers on the front board with categories for each structure type.
2. Allow the class to focus on the cause and effect processes found on earth and relate them to Mars. These can include floods, volcanism, impact, wind, and plate tectonics.
3. Have the students write their hypothesizes on their papers.
4. Bring out the experiment trays, filled with dry, fine silt.
5. Ask the students to give you their hypothesizes and see if they work to make the desired structure. For example, if a student says that the craters were made by impact, throw a marble into the silt and see what happens. Problem: The real impacts are so intense that the falling bodies, as well as part of the surface, are vaporized. We can’t throw that hard. Try your best. Start with dry hypothesizes first and end with the wet ones.
6. After these activities, pass out the categorizing exercise sheet. Have the students fill it out by writing the structure’s names in the "caused by…" category. Have them also write in their reasons for selecting the way they did.

Some students may have a disability processing the abstract information and putting it into a recognizable format. In this case, Allow these students to "show you" how these structures were made by letting them work with the experiment tray.

Closure:

After we have completed the activities, have the students add to the KWL chart what they have learned today (Same as Part 9 in procedures).

Evaluation:

The students should be able to make a list dividing these surface structures based upon how they were made and place those items in a categorize list. Brief reasons should be included to justify choice.

Extension Activities:

The students who finish before the allotted time is over may help others who are not finished.