Big Ideas:
Goal:
Read the scenario and inquiry topics below. Choose three inquiry topics to investigate further. Your investigation may involve independent research, self-led learning and creative thinking. To show what you learned you may use any method that suits your topic. Some ideas for how to show learning are below.
Choices for How to Show Your Learning.
- Write a story
- Create pieces of art
- Take a series of photos
- Draw a cartoon strip
- Use a presentation tool (eg. powerpoint, prezi, explain everything)
- Make a series of blog posts
- Make a movie or a series of video clips
- Create a series of artifacts
- Create an animation (potentially using puppets, stop motion, claymation or brickfilm)
- Write a diary or journal
- Create a detailed map
- Draw a blueprint or design schematic
- Make a 3D model (digital or physical)
- Make a commercial or movie trailer
- Create a chart or diagram
- Create and narrate a documentary
- Interview yourself or be interviewed by a partner
- Create a TED talk
- Create a mock twitter feed, facebook page or instagram page
- Write a newspaper article
- Create a timeline
It is many years in the future and unfortunately, planet earth is in rough shape. Natural resources on earth have been mostly used up and the air, water and soil are very polluted. There is only one hope! An earth like planet has been found but it is very far away. Technology and resources are available so send sixty settlers on a ten year, one way trip to this new planet in a state of the art spaceship. You are the manager in charge of this project. For this assignment, your task is to think creatively about who and what to bring on this mission and how to plan for a better future on your new planet.
Inquiry Topics:
Cloning technology now allows you to bring back people from the past. Think about some famous leaders from history who would be able to help with your mission. Who would you bring and why?
The capacity of your spaceship is sixty people. How will these sixty people be chosen? Think about what skills your passengers would need to have. What professions would you need to bring along? What kind of personality traits would you look for in your passengers? How would you make sure that a variety of cultures is represented on your new planet?
An important consideration is making sure that your passengers survive the trip. Learn about the basic survival requirements for humans. Do the math to find out how much food, water and oxygen need to be brought and how much it might weigh. Design an exercise routine that your passenger can do to keep fit in a small amount of space.
If you had to spend 10 years on a spaceship you might get really bored. Design a ship that will keep your passengers happy, safe and healthy.
Can we make it to a distant planet. Learn about the current limitations for space travel and think about how to solve the problems presented by long term space flight.
Your new home planet might not be exactly like earth. Describe some of the survival challenges on your new planet and think about ways that humans might evolve and adapt to this new environment.
You are leaving earth, never to return. What are some of the most important cultural artifacts to share with future generations of humans. Make a list of songs, movies, books, TV shows and pieces of art that you would bring along. Think about what makes these things important or culturally significant.
Your new planet has very little gravity compared to earth meaning you can float around almost weightlessly. What are some factors you will need to consider when designing your new communities. Think about how buildings, structures and cities are influenced by gravity.