Third Grade Projects on Mars
If you are trying to teach third grade children about science, you know it can be difficult to hold their attention. For this reason, you might want to assign class projects related to an exciting subject like space travel. One of the best targets for such a project would be Mars, since so many probes have been sent there over the years.
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Map of Mars
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An engaging project for your third grade students is to have each child draw a map of Mars. This map can be based on maps created by NASA using the various satellites it has placed in orbit around Mars. These student-created maps don't have to be photo-realistic. You can have each child draw and color the major features of her map, like the volcano Olympus Mons and the huge canyon known as the Valles Marineris. The student should also label these features.
Diorama
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A group project you might have your class create is a diorama of the surface of Mars. Each child should create one of the items that will go in the diorama. The diorama could be based on an interesting location on Mars, such as one of the Viking lander sites. The children can shape rocks with clay and paint them red. They could also paint a muted pink sky on poster board for the background of the diorama.
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Photo Collage
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Another Mars project to consider for your class is to create a photo collage based on the images that have been returned from many probes over the years, including those from the early Mariner probes, the Viking landers, and the dual Rover missions. These images can be printed and pasted to poster board. Under each image, the children can add a caption identifying what the image is, when it was taken, and what probe captured the image.
Essay on Mars
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If you prefer to give a written assignment for a Mars project, have each child do a take-home essay about what he thinks it will be like for the first astronauts that live on Mars. The student can write about how he thinks astronauts will feel about being so far from home, and how the astronauts will look out for themselves if anything goes wrong. You can direct the students to some books they might use for information, such as "Max Goes to Mars: A Science Adventure with Max the Dog" (Science Adventures with Max the Dog series) by Jeffrey Bennett or "You Are the First Kid on Mars" by Patrick O'Brien.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Mars Background image by Dan Collier from Fotolia.com
