LANSDOWNE – This winter, fragments of the moon made their way to Delaware County. Fifth and sixth graders at Lansdowne Friends School are using the lunar rocks in their study of space.
“We’re learning how the solar system and the moon were formed,” says fifth grader Cameryn. “We record a lot of observations and beginning ideas in our science journals.”
A few years ago, the school was exploring ways to expand its space curriculum, so fifth and sixth grade teacher Deb Hazen got certified in moon rock handling through NASA at Penn State. A sample of lunar rocks from Johnson Space Center arrived at Lansdowne Friends School on December 9.
Hazen teaches her combined fifth and sixth class based on their own inquiries. Students were given an overarching question and an investigation.
Instead of memorizing facts, the students build their knowledge through a process that allows them to evaluate what they already know, to get new information about the essential questions related to the study of space, and then to evaluate how their thinking has changed and why.
“I’m trying to get the kids excited about some of the mysteries of space, what we don’t know and what we think we know about space,” Hazen said. “It’s a great way to learn that science is about theorizing, and how what we know changes as we have new tools.”
In the space unit students used real data to make sense of their questions and examined prevailing theories about how the moon was formed.
“We tackle the same questions scientists do, with the same process,” says fifth grader Zander. “We have been studying space for a month and have already tackled three of the largest questions scientists ponder.”
The unit has also included a visit to the planetarium shows at Franklin Institute, working with telescopes, building a scale model in the school’s auditorium of the solar system, and an experiment involving cocoa powder and flour, to simulate the surface of the moon. The class read Wendy Gass’s young adult novel Every Soul a Star together, and their homework over winter break was to tackle Antoine de St. Exupery’s classic, The Little Prince.
In January, after the lunar rocks have move on to their next stop on Earth, Hazen’s fifth and sixth graders will focus on the Apollo 11 mission and the issues NASA had to address in order to land on the moon, the historical importance of the space race, and the science of creating an enclosed eco-system to support human life.
“I want them to understand the wonder of the exploration,” Hazen says.