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Planet hunter - Alien activity from Wikid
Type: Activity
Learning Strategy: Imaginative inquiry
Topic: Galaxies & Universe
Earlier missions failed to find life on other planets. Is it still worth looking? Can we justify the expense of the search for extra terrestrial intelligence? In this next sequence the students will be deciding just how likely intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy is.
This activity is a sample from the Alien unit, from upd8's best-selling 11-14 course. "Are we alone, or are there other life-supporting planets in our galaxy? Where might we find these planets? What sort of life might they support? Scientists from many disciplines are collaborating in the search for answers to these tantalising questions."
Not only is the Alien unit full of fantastic learning material on space, forces and How Science Works, it also comes with comprehensive assessment: APP-based quizzes and levelled problems for assessment.
Spring 2010 offer! Buy the Alien unit at 33% off.
Published: 14th July 2009
Reviews & Comments: 2
Learning objectives
· Astronomers have changed humanity's perception of its place in the Universe from the 'centre of creation' to being part of a solar system on the edge of just one in many billions of collections of stars.
· Astronomy and Space science require a special approach, because of the vast scale of Space, and rely not on experiments but on a mix of very accurate observation, theory, technology and models.
Try the activity
- Planet hunter presentation
Downloaded: 1446 times - Planet hunter student sheets
Downloaded: 1157 times - Planet hunter teacher guide
Downloaded: 791 times - Alien unit guide
Downloaded: 679 times
You will need Acrobat Reader installed to open the activity sheets.
Curriculum link
How astronomy gives insight into the nature and observed motions of celestial objects (PoS Strategy 3.4 and Solar system (5.3))Running the activity
Download the lesson plan for full details.
Reviews & Comments
Write your online review to share your feedback and classroom tips with other teachers. How well does it work, how engaging is it, how did you use it, and how could it be improved?
Good Lesson
Jul 4th, 2010

My lesson came out to be very good thank you for helping me with the work
Reviewer: magdalena szczepanczyk
Planet hunter - Alien activity from Wikid review
Feb 9th, 2010

Very good activity . I used it with my top set and really enjoyed doing it
Reviewer: moses otunga
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