Phenomenon Analysis: Earthship (MS-PS3)

This activity is designed with a "discovery learning" philosophy in mind: Present a phenomenon, ask open ended questions, help the discussion and have the kids start to formulate their answers. This activity works wonders to connect concepts learned in the classroom to the real world. This assignment is also set up in a way to allow for easy transition to distance learning.

In this activity, the students take a tour through an Earthship (a home designed to have a minimal carbon/environmental footprint). The Earthship is a great way to see the following concepts in action:

• Convection
• Conduction
• Radiation
• Thermal Energy
• Density
• Climate

Assignment versions:

Paper Version A: This is a standard worksheet with open-ended questions designed to help the kids analyze the phenomena and start to make connections to the topic or lesson.

Paper Version B: This is a worksheet with fill in the blanks and word banks. There is also space for students to draw their responses as well as it may be more appropriate depending on their needs.

Google Form Version A: This is a Google Form that has the same open ended questions as the paper version.  However, any drawing prompts will ask them to draw, take a picture of their drawing and then upload the picture to the form.  There is a built in video tutorial to show students how to take their pictures and submit them.  Alternatively, you can just delete this question from the form if you feel that is the best course of action.

Google Form Version B: This is a Google Form that rewords questions from version A to make them more user friendly for students with reading disabilities or other accommodation needs.  It’s goal is to assess understanding in a very clear and concise way.  It also has a tutorial to help the students draw their responses and submit them digitally through the form.  I would encourage you to keep this drawing submission in this form as so many students like to draw instead of write their responses if they have existing language issues. 

Please let me know if you have any questions!