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Lesson: LCROSS Moon Mission

STANDARD: National Science Education Standards 5–8, Earth and Space Science Content Standard D (National Research Council): As a result of activities in grades 5–8, all students should develop an understanding of Earth in the solar system.

Click here for the accompanying article for student reading.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

In this article, students will learn about:

• How NASA scientists use technology to learn more about the moon.
• How LCROSS will gather and send back information.
• Why scientists want to know if there is water on the moon.
AIM: What is the latest moon mission about?

PRE-READING:

Play a game to find out what students know about the moon. Have students stand in a circle. Tell them they will take turns tossing a ball to someone. The student who catches the ball will say a word or sentence that tells something about the moon. That student will then toss the ball to someone else. Tell students that since you are holding the ball, you will go first. Say, “The moon is round like this ball.” Then toss the ball to a student.

DURING READING:

Tell students to pay attention as they read to the sequence of events, or the order in which the events of the LCROSS moon mission take place, beginning with the launch of the Atlas V rocket and ending with LCROSS’s impact on the lunar surface. Use the Text Comprehension Skill Lesson and the activity sheet on page 4 to support your instruction.

AFTER READING:

Ask students to work with a partner and take turns retelling the sequence of events of the LCROSS moon mission, without looking at the article or the activity sheet they completed on page 4.

Answers to Review Questions

1. What question does NASA hope the LCROSS mission will answer?
Is there water on the moon?

2. What are two things that will happen after Centaur splits off from LCROSS?

Answers may include: LCROSS will follow along Centaur’s path; special cameras and instruments on LCROSS will analyze the debris caused by Centaur’s crash; LCROSS will crash into the moon, too.

3. Why is Centaur’s impact on the moon compared to a huge stone dropping into a large pile of flour? Answers may include: The author knew it would be easy for the reader to visualize a stone dropping into flour; the author wanted the reader to imagine what the plumes of debris would look like after impact.

4. The author asks, “Will LCROSS find water? What else might it find?” What do you think it might find? Answers will vary.

5. How does technology help scientists answer important questions and solve problems?

Answers may include: finding alternative sources of energy; preventing pollution; improving communication.

CURRICULUM OBJECTIVE: FOCUS ON TEXT COMPREHENSION SKILLS — SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

Sequence of events refers to the order in which events happen. Understanding the sequence of events while reading is an important skill that helps students better understand and remember what they read. Tell students, “Good readers ask questions about the order of events as they read. They ask, ‘What happened first? What happened next? What happened after that? What happened last?’ ” Model using sequence of events to describe a familiar process, such as making a sandwich. Say, “First, I take out the bread, peanut butter, and jam. Next, I spread the peanut butter on the bread. Then I spread the jam on top of the peanut butter. Finally, I put the two slices of bread together.” Explain to students that identifying sequence of events in an article means that they think about the order in which the events happen.

Click here for the accompanying article

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