Curriculum / ELA / 5th Grade / Alternate Unit 4: Exploring Mars: Spirit and Opportunity / Lesson 33
ELA
Alternate Unit 4
5th Grade
Lesson 33 of 33
Jump To
Lesson Notes
There was an error generating your document. Please refresh the page and try again.
Generating your document. This may take a few seconds.
Are you sure you want to delete this note? This action cannot be undone.
Using the engineering and design process, develop and design a rover that can travel on Mars and can pick up samples.
Resource: Rover Races Activity — Activity #11 and #12
We participate in the Amazon Associate program. This means that if you use this link to make an Amazon purchase, we receive a small portion of the proceeds, which support our non-profit mission.
Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.
Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved.
Explain the steps your team took to develop your rover.
Which changes worked well when testing and designing the rover? Why?
Which changes did not work well when testing and designing the rover? Why?
If you were to design another rover, what changes would you make? Why?
Final reflection: How does this process help you better understand the challenges NASA engineers face when building rovers for space exploration?
Suggestions for teachers to help them teach this lesson
3-5-ETS1-1 — Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
3-5-ETS1-2 — Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
3-5-ETS1-3 — Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
Identify and explain the goal of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission and why it was important.
Standards
RI.5.3RI.5.8
Explain how Steve’s proposals for missions were different from previous missions to Mars and what problem he was trying to solve.
RI.5.3
Explain why it took three years for Steve’s team to create the rovers and describe the steps the team took to ensure the rover was ready for a trip to Mars.
Explain the importance of each stage of the engineering design process and how NASA engineers used the process to prepare for Mars.
Explain what the team did to prepare Spirit for the trip and why they were worried.
Explain the steps necessary for Spirit’s landing and why each step was important.
Use details from the video and sidebars to revise and add additional information about the steps necessary for Spirit’s landing and operation.
RI.5.3SL.5.2W.5.9
2 days
Develop and design an Entry, Descent, & Landing system for a rover using the engineering and design process.
3-5-ETS1-13-5-ETS1-23-5-ETS1-3
Describe where Opportunity landed, what Opportunity found, and how the team responded to Opportunity’s findings.
Analyze the strategies Elizabeth Rusch uses to make science feel like an adventure.
RI.5.8SL.5.1SL.5.4SL.5.5W.5.9
Describe the different accomplishments made by Spirit and Opportunity and what made the accomplishments possible.
Use details from the articles and sidebars to revise and add additional information about the different accomplishments made by Spirit and Opportunity and what made the accomplishments possible.
RI.5.3RI.5.9
Develop and design a communication protocol for rovers using the engineering and design process.
Explain what evidence the author includes to support the idea that math is a critical component of space exploration and engineering.
Explain what initial discovery Opportunity makes inside Endurance Crater and the tools and techniques scientists used.
Debate and analyze unit essential questions.
RI.5.9SL.5.1SL.5.3
Write a multiple-paragraph essay to answer a unit Essential Question.
W.5.2.bW.5.2.cW.5.2.dW.5.2.eW.5.9
4 days
Write a narrative from the perspective of one of the Mars rovers about what it was like to land on Mars using descriptive details from the unit.
L.5.1.cL.5.1.dL.5.2W.5.3W.5.3.aW.5.3.bW.5.3.dW.5.5W.5.8
Analyze the importance of the sun for Spirit’s survival and the steps scientists take to ensure Spirit has access to the sun.
Summarize “Mars Rovers Advance Understanding of the Red Planet”.
RI.5.2RI.5.3
Summarize what happened with Opportunity on his way to Victoria Crater and the steps the team at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) took to remedy the situation, by explaining the relationship between two or more scientific and technical ideas.
Use details from the articles to revise and add additional information about the challenges Opportunity faced when approaching Victoria Crater.
Compare and contrast the points of view from which the Mighty Mars Rovers and the press releases are written, by analyzing multiple accounts of the same topic.
Analyze the strategies Elizabeth Rusch uses to make science feel like an adventure, by explaining how authors use word choice, language, and point of view to support particular points in a text.
RI.5.5RI.5.8
Summarize what Spirit found and how the team responded, by integrating information from several texts on the same topic.
Summarize what happened to Opportunity and how the team responded by integrating information from several texts on the same topic.
Compare and contrast how text structure and point of view influence the mood of a text.
RI.5.5RI.5.9
Analyze and explain the reasons and evidence the author includes to show that the rovers' missions were “more than accomplished.”
RI.5.8
Debate and analyze unit Essential Questions.
SL.5.1SL.5.3W.5.9
W.5.2W.5.2.bW.5.2.cW.5.2.dW.5.2.eW.5.9
Gauge student understanding of unit content and skills with one of Fishtank's unit assessments.
Write an afterword for The Mighty Mars Rovers by writing an informative text to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
RI.5.9W.5.2W.5.2.bW.5.2.cW.5.2.dW.5.2.eW.5.7W.5.8
Create a free account to access thousands of lesson plans.
Already have an account? Sign In
See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.
Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.
Yes
No
We've got you covered with rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free