URL:http://berners.bcoe.butte.k12.ca.us/~nelson/student/

Objective:
   Students will use the Internet to gain knowledge of the nine planets in the solar system. Students will construct a paragraph, using the hamburger, and develop a complete paragraph with a topic sentence, three detail sentences, and a conclusion sentence.
 Summary:
   Students will connect with Starchild to learn about the solar system. After researching the planets, students will create a paragraph with a topic sentence, three detail sentences, and a conclusion sentence, using the hamburger model. There will be a pretest and a post test to assess each studentís ability to construct a paragraph about a planet.
 Learning Context:
   The Solar System is a unit of study for third graders. Since September, we have been reviewing the basic
 construction of a paragraph, through using a hamburger. 
Standards Addressed 

 California Board of Education Standards 
   Subject : English Language Arts
     Grade : Grade Three
       Area : Writing
        Standard 1.0: Writing Strategies
        Students write clear and coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea. Their writing
        shows they consider the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing
        process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing successive versions).
         Concept : Organization and Focus
          Benchmark or Example 1.1: Create a single paragraph:
          a. Develop a topic sentence. b. Include simple supporting facts and details.
Instructional Objectives

 Procedure:
 1. Give students a pretest (empty hamburger) and ask them to construct a complete paragraph about why they would want to visit that planet. Students must try to give factual details and conclude the paragraph by
 summarization.

 2. Students will listen to the book, The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System and then be shown the video, The Magic School Bus: Gets Lost in Space. 

 3. Students will be shown how to connect to the Internet in our school lab and access Nasaís Starchild. (Note: Remember that you have an Internet Agreement that is signed by the parent)

 4. Nasaís Starchild site is http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html

 5. Let student explore at the primary level (Level 1) and navigate and read through the nine planets and sun. 

 6. After being exposed to the information, review how to construct a complete paragraph and ask the students to pick a planet of choice and reread the information about that planet. 

 7. The post test consists of the empty hamburger and the studentís knowledge of his or her planet. A brief review of the construction of a paragraph will be before the post test is handed out. A reminder to the students will be given about capitalization, spelling and punctuation. The rubric will discussed before the final paragraph is written.

Extending the lesson:
Take your hamburger and rewrite it  on another piece of blank paper.  Remember when you write a paragraph you need to indent your first sentence.  This will start the revising and editing process.  After your teacher checks your work, you are ready to type your paragraph in Appleworks.  Pick a font and size that you want to use.  Make sure you type your name  on your Appleworks document.
Student Activities
http://berners.bcoe.butte.k12.ca.us/~nelson/student/

To introduce the class to the solar system, we will read The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System together.  Following the book, we will then view the video of The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System.  This will then lead us to a class discussion on what we know about the different planets in the solar system.  We will brainstorm facts about each planet and list them on butcher paper.
 

Assessment

    Students will be given a pretest, an empty hamburger, and asked to write a paragraph about a planet. After using Starchild, students will be given another hamburger to create another paragraph.  Please visit the Grades page to see required expectations.

Results

By using a rubric, the students progressively raised their scores from three hamburgers to four hamburgers.
Web Resources & Supplementary Materials
 The Magic School Bus Gets Lost in Space  Scholastic Productions
The Magic School Lost in the  Solar System  Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html
Software titles required:
        Claris/Appleworks, KidPix, Netscape Navigator
 
 

Hamburger Explanation: A paragraph is just like the make up of a hamburger.  Your top bun is like a topic sentence.  Your extras on your hamburger is juicy details that are about your topic sentence.  Your bottom bun is made out of the same material as your top bun , it just looks a little different.  I explain to the kids to just rearrange their topic sentence to sum up their paragraph.

Crestmont Elementary School
1501 Sheridan Ave. Roseville, CA 95661
Tracy Nelson
tracynel@yahoo.com
Last Revised: 08/08/2000