Will Life Sustain on Mars?

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
English Language Arts
Science

Grade(s)

3

Overview

This learning activity explores the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive on Mars. Students will view the website https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/mars-2020/en/ to gather information and write opinion pieces titled "Can Life be Sustained on Mars?".  Students should be able to support their argument with evidence for or against the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources on Mars. Students must have knowledge of how to write an opinion piece prior to this activity. Prior knowledge regarding what organisms must have in order to survive is needed.

This resource was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
Science (2015) Grade(s): 3

SC15.3.11

Construct an argument from evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism’s ability to survive when compared to the resources in a certain habitat (e.g., freshwater organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in saltwater; desert organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in woodlands).

UP:SC15.3.11

Vocabulary

  • Construct
  • Argument
  • Evidence
  • Likelihood
  • Organism
  • Survive
  • Resources
  • Habitat
  • Explanations
  • Groups
  • Populations
  • Communities
  • Niche
  • Illustrate
  • Models
  • System
  • Depend (on each other)
  • Categorize
  • Basic needs (examples: sunlight, air, fresh water, & soil)
  • Produced materials (examples: food, fuel, shelter)
  • Nonmaterial (examples: safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors)

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all in a certain habitat.
  • If an environment fully meets the needs of an organism, that organism can survive well within that environment.
  • If an environment partially meets the needs of an organism, that organism can survive less well (lower survival rate, increased sickliness, shorter lifespan) than organisms whose needs are met within that environment.
  • If an environment does not meet the needs of that organism, that organism cannot survive within that environment.
  • Characteristics of a given environment (Examples: soft earth, trees, and shrubs, seasonal flowering plants).
  • Characteristics of a given organism (plants with long, sharp, leaves; rabbit coloration) .
  • Needs of a given organism (shelter from predators, food, water).
  • Characteristics of organisms that might affect survival.
  • How and what features of the habitat meet or do not meet the needs of each of the organisms.
  • Being a part of a group helps animals obtain food, defend themselves, and cope with changes.
  • Members of groups may serve different functions and different groups may vary dramatically in size.
  • Habitats and organisms make up a system in which the parts depend upon each other.
  • Resources and can categorize them as basic materials, produced materials or nonmaterials as resources in various habitats.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Make a claim supported by evidence about an organism's likelihood of survival in a given habitat.
  • Use reasoning to construct an argument.
  • Evaluate and connect relevant and appropriate evidence to support a claim.
  • Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive.
  • Articulate a statement describing evidence necessary to support the explanation that forming groups helps some organisms survive.
  • Create a model that illustrates how organisms and habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.
  • Describe relationships between components of the model.
  • Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials, produced material, or nonmaterial.
  • Organize data from the categorization to reveal patterns that suggest relationships.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change.
  • Evidence suggests a causal relationship within the system between the characteristics of a habitat and the survival of organisms within it.
  • The cause and effect relationship between being part of a group and being more successful in obtaining food, defending themselves, and coping with change.
  • That the relationship between organisms and their habitats is a system of related parts that make up a whole in which the individual parts depend on each other.
  • Resources in various habitats have different structures that are related to their function.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Engaging in Argument from Evidence; Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions; Developing and Using Models; Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

Crosscutting Concepts

Cause and Effect; Systems and System Models; Structure and Function

Learning Objectives

The students will be able to:

  • gather information and write opinion pieces titled "Can Life be Sustained on Mars?"
  • support their argument with evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources on Mars.

Activity Details

Remind students that by studying space, it allows society to make advances in technology. Review what students already know and what they want to know about Mars. The teacher may create a KWL Chart on the front board or on chart paper for all students to share what they know and want to know about Mars. The teacher may add what they have learned about Mars at the end of this activity. The students or the teacher will access the website https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/mars-2020/en. Students will explore this site while answering the following questions:

1) Does Mars have sunlight? 2) Does Mars have air? 3) Does Mars have water? 4) Is there soil on Mars? 5) Is food able to be grown on Mars? Is food able to be grown in a shelter such as a spacecraft? These are some questions that will cover the science standard that the students should answer in their notes.  Other probing questions that the teacher may ask are how much food do you think a person could take with them to Mars? How long do you think plants, animals, or people are able to survive on Mars?

After students have explored the website and taken notes, the teacher may state that there are no known humans to live on Mars; however, that does not necessarily mean that life will not be able to sustain on Mars. Students will share their findings/opinions whole class and complete the KWL.

Students will write their opinion pieces in their journals or on a clean sheet of paper.  The title of their opinion pieces should be "Can Life be Sustained on Mars?" Students should argue in support of or against the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources on Mars.  They should include at least two pieces of evidence gathered from the website.

Assessment Strategies

Students will be assessed on their opinion pieces, "Can Life be Sustained on Mars?".  Students will argue in support of or against the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources on Mars.  Students will need to include at least two pieces of evidence gathered from the website.

Variation Tips

Instructors may read aloud the article https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/science/mars-methane-life.html by Kenneth Chang. This website may change periodically; view the site to check if the article on Mars is available. Other articles/books on Mars may be read aloud to students during the lesson.

Background / Preparation

Pull up the website https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/mars-2020/en or make sure there is an Internet connection if students will explore the site independently.

All students will need a sharpened pencil and a journal/or clean sheet of paper.

Students must have knowledge of how to write an opinion piece prior to this activity. Prior knowledge regarding what living things must have in order to survive is needed.

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