Libguide to Planets: A Concise Look at the Solar System and Its Constituent Elements
This libguide provides a comprehensive listing of peer-reviewed, scholarly and non-reference material including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, folklore, audio, video, and other teacher resources.
INTENDED AUDIENCE:
The intended audience for this libguide is educators, but parents and older students will find the content useful as well.
SCOPE:
The scope of this libguide is limited to the known solar system.
A GUIDE TO THE PLANETS:
Peer-Reviewed and Scholarly References
Bennett, J. (2011). Beyond UFOs: The search for extraterrestrial life and its astonishing implications for our future. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
This book contains a useful description of the inner and outer planets and how they are believed to have been formed. An entertaining discussion concerning life on Earth and the potential for life elsewhere in the solar system is followed by a discussion of potential learning opportunities concerning the search for life. Several outside resources for the study of the planets are also provided.
Burgasser, A. (2011, December). A brown dwarf as cool as Earth. The Science Teacher,
78(9), 18.
The author is an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University who emphasizes the need to make learning about the solar system fun for young students and recommends using computer animation techniques to help illustrate the movement of the planets.
Coskie, T.L. & Davis, K.J. (2008, November). Encouraging visual literacy: When someone asks you about the solar system or the water cycle, what pops into your mind? Science and Children, 46(3), 56.
The authors are professor of elementary education at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington and a high school science teacher in the Bellingham School District in Washington State, respectively. They point out that the relative distances between the planets are enormous, and that young learners may have trouble conceptualizing these distances unless they are provided with the diagramming tools they need for this purpose. They also provide a relevant lesson plan for grades 4 through 6 with learning goals and measures.
Davies, M., Landis, L., & Landis, A. (2009, April-May). Solar system in the hallway.
Science Scope, 32(8), 56.
The authors are assistant professor and associate professor in the Departments of Physical Sciences, and director of the Science and Mathematics Education Center, all at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, respectively. Citing the immense distances involved between the planets, they recommend using a school hallway for a scale model of the solar system to help young learners better understand the relative distances between the planets. They report positive learning experiences in their own schools using this method.
Jenkins, D.B. & Heidorn, B. (2009, April-May). Space moves: Adding movement to solar system lessons. Science Scope, 32(8), 44.
The authors are professor of curriculum and instruction and assistant professor of health and physical education at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia, respectively. In an effort to make learning about the solar system more interesting and fun for students, they emphasize the need for incorporating movement in scale models of the solar system so that young learners can better visualize interplanetary physics.
Langmuir, C.H. & Broecker, W. (2012). How to build a habitable planet: The story of Earth
from the Big Bang to humankind. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
This scholarly text also includes several valuable classroom learning activities as well as outside resources that teachers can use to help interest students in the planets. A comprehensive discussion of the solar system's constituent elements is supplemented by descriptions of relevant terms used in astronomical observations and analyses, including mass, densities and planetary composition.
Pallant, A., Damelin, D., & Pryputniewicz, S. (2013, February). Searching for planets suitable for life. The Science Teacher, 80(2), 45-47.
Working under a grant from the National Science Foundation, the authors report several viewing opportunities for Venus and provide a concise description concerning how students can calculate various aspects of planetary movements.
Riddle, B. (2008, September). Between the planets. Science Scope, 80.
This journal article describes exciting viewing opportunities for young astronomers in the coming years and provides a useful description of the asteroid belt of the solar system that can serve as a dividing line between the two distinct groups of inner and outer planets. The author also describes the potential for near-Earth objects to impact the Earth in the future.
Ristvey, J. (2009, Summer). NASA's Dawn Mission: Helping define planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids. Science Scope, 54.
The author is a principal consultant in the Education and Public Outreach department at Mid-continent for Education and Learning in Denver,...
As they pushed engineers to continually test the limits when it came to the launches. This is because, the leadership inside NASA and at the different subcontractors created an atmosphere that made this possible. (Gross 1997) (Space Shuttle Challenger Case Study n.d.) The Influence of the Media Given the high profile nature of the program, meant that there were considerable pressures to be ready for the next shuttle launch. This is
This report is the first of four parts when it comes to a broader proposal. The proposal is for a mobile application for smartphones and tablets that is going to be called Pocket Chef. That application will allow someone to input various foods that are in the refrigerator or pantry of a homeowner. Those base ingredients are then synthesized and analyzed. The recipes that can be crafted using those ingredients
The article that was written by Conley (2011) discusses the impact that collateralized debt obligations (CDO's) would have upon the subprime loans. These were created in 1987, by the Wall Street firm Drexel Burnham. In this product, the investment bankers would take a number of different articles and combine them together as one investment. The various assets that were used included: junk bonds, mortgages and other high yielding investments from
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