Page 11 - ShareSpace's Mars Map Teacher's Guide - Sept 2016

GRADE LEVEL(S)

3–4

LENGTH

90 minutes

MATERIALS

 Giant Destination Mars Map
 Earth/Mars slideshow: goo.gl/dvbPn6
 Earth/Mars game cards
 Earth/Mars comparison worksheet
 Mars Match Game Answer Key and script

VOCABULARY

 Orbit
 Robotics
 Spacecraft

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How are Earth and Mars similar and how are they different?

LESSON OBJECTIVE(S)

Students will:
 learn about geological features on Earth that also exist on Mars,
 gather and analyze data from images of each planet,
 find evidence of water on Mars, and
 explain their observations in writing.

ENGAGEMENT

1. Explain that Mars is sometimes referred to as our sister planet. Allow the students to spend
15 minutes examining the Mars map to generate a list of things they see that are similar
to things they see or know about the Earth. They can refer to their notes from the previous
lesson.

2. Have student groups share their ideas and record on the board and discuss.
3. Show students the Earth vs. Mars slideshow discussing the various differences between Earth

and Mars. Use the script provided in the notes section of the PowerPoint to assist you with
the discussion. (Select “notes page” print option to print a copy of the PowerPoint presentation
notes.)

EXPLORATION

1. After discussing differences, hand out the Earth game cards. Students are to look at each
image from Earth and identify the location on the Mars Map that most resembles that
image. Have students work in pairs for this activity.

2. Hand out the Earth/Mars comparison worksheets to help guide students as they make their
choices.

Giant Destination Mars Map Teacher’s Guide
Lesson 2 P. 1