Astronauts

Content Objectives

Students will:

• Learn about astronauts.
• Access prior knowledge and build background about the significance of astronauts.
• Explore and apply the concept of astronauts.

Language Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of astronauts.
• Orally use words that describe the purpose of astronauts.
• Extend oral vocabulary by speaking about space.
• Use key concept words [Space Station, spacecraft, solar system, astronaut, gravity, space suit, helmet, boots, gloves; exploration].

Other

Explain

• Use the slideshow to review the key concept words.
• Explain that students are going to learn about astronauts:
• What is an astronaut.
• What is the purpose of an astronaut.
• What do astronauts wear.
• What is space travel.
• What is the International Space Station.

Model

• After the host introduces the slideshow, point to the photo on screen. Ask students: What do you see in this photo? (planets, Saturn, moon, solar system, etc.) How many planets are there in total? (Nine).
• Ask students: What planet do you live on? (Earth).
• Say: The solar system is the sun and all the planets, satellites, asteroids, and comets that revolve around it. Traveling in space is important because we can understand our planet better. What do you think it's like to be in space? (answers will vary).

Guided Practice

• Guide students through the next three slides, showing them what is needed in space. Always have the students describe why these things are needed.

Apply

• Play the games that follow. Have them discuss with their partner the different topics that appear during the Talk About It feature.
• After the first game, ask students to talk about what is space food. After the second game, have them discuss why parachute jumping, swimming, scuba diving, and flying a plane are things an astronaut needs to know.

Close

• Ask students: Would you like to be an astronaut? Explain.
• Summarize for students that astronauts perform very valuable services towards our efforts of learning about the universe. Without astronauts, we wouldn't have gone to the moon! Without astronauts we wouldn't build the International Space Station. However, there are dangers for astronauts when traveling in space and that is why there are a lot of problems with the space program. Encourage them to think about the problems facing the space program and how we could fix them.