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From our small world we have gazed upon the heavens for thousands of
years. Ancient astronomers observed points of light that appeared to
move among the stars. They called these objects planets, meaning
wanderers, and named them after Roman deities.
Our solar system is made up of
a star - the Sun - eight planets, 162 moons, a bunch of comets,
asteroids and space rocks, ice and several dwarf planets, such as
Pluto, which was recently renamed to that title.
In this activity, children
"virtually" became space cadets and visited interactive websites to
research the solar system. They used their information to create a
PowerPoint presentation, complete with movie clips of each planet.
For fun they put their knowledge to the test, became a "deity" for a
minute or two and created their own planets each. Some planets even
survived until the end of the lesson!
Educational Outcomes
In this Computer Room activity, year 3 students conducted an
Internet research activity and published their findings using
Microsoft PowerPoint.
Computer technology skills covered:
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Using a Web Browser (Internet Explorer)
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Interpreting and evaluating information
from a Website
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Create a multi-slide PowerPoint
presentation
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Designing using a black background and
using the Master Slide
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Adding video clips to PowerPoint
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Slide-show animation
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File management and software management
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Publishing, editing and printing
Curriculum areas include:
English
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RS2.5 Reads independently
a wide range of texts on increasingly challenging topics and
justifies own interpretation of ideas, information and events.
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RS2.6 Uses efficiently an
integrated range of skills and strategies when reading and
interpreting written texts.
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RS2.7 Discusses how
writers relate to their readers in different ways, how they
create a variety of worlds through language and how they use
language to achieve a wide range of purposes.
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RS2.8 Discusses the text
structure of a range of text types and the grammatical features
that are characteristic of those text types.
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WS2.9 Drafts, revises,
proofreads and publishes well-structured texts that are more
demanding in terms of topic, audience and written language
features.
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WS2.10 Produces texts
clearly, effectively and accurately, using the sentence
structure, grammatical features and punctuation conventions of
the text type.
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WS2.11 Uses knowledge of
letter-sound correspondences, common letter patterns and a range
of strategies to spell familiar and unfamiliar words.
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WS2.12 Uses joined letters
when writing in NSW Foundation Style and demonstrates basic
desktop publishing skills on the computer.
Science and Technology
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ESS2.6 Identifies some of
the features of the solar system and describes interactions that
affect conditions on earth.
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INVS2.7 Conducts
investigations by observing, questioning, predicting, testing,
collecting, recording and analysing data, and drawing
conclusions.
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DMS2.8 Develops,
implements and evaluates ideas using drawings, models and
prototypes at appropriate stages of the design process.
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UTS2.9 Selects and uses a
range of equipment, computer-based technology, materials and
other resources with developing skill to enhance investigation
and design tasks.
some text on
this page from:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/
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