Where Did the Matter in the Universe Come From?

Summary

Students use various articles about how atoms are made and spread throughout the universe starting with the Big Bang. They will study the articles as groups and will then present their information to the class.

Materials

• articles for handout (attached)
• Whiteboards or poster board and markers for the presentation.

Background for Teachers

Time Needed:
One 85 minute period. The time can be varied depending on how much time the students are given to prepare their presentations.

Student Prior Knowledge

None, this is an introduction. Each group might need help with vocabulary or parts of the articles.

Instructional Procedures

1. Put the students in to groups. Assignments will be made to each group such as leader, writer, creator, reader, and ideas (this may or may not be used depending on the number in the class). Assignments are helpful in one of the first group assignments to make sure that everyone participates. It might be helpful to pass out actual cards with the different roles.
2. Hand out articles to the class on The Big Bang Theory, birth of stars, fusion in stars, death of stars, supernovas, planets etc. There are 14 articles on the next pages that can be used.
3. List on the board the question that students are answering. Where did the matter in the universe come from?
4. Have the students put their presentations on a large whiteboard (shower board) with dry erase markers. They can put items on the whiteboards such as important vocabulary, pictures, or important facts.

Assessment Plan

Scoring Guide:
Students receive five points for contributing to the whiteboard. The other five points comes from the actual presentation to the class. To make sure everyone participates in the groups, I tell them in the beginning of class that they do not know who will present to the class. I randomly assign numbers to each group and I draw the numbers just before they present. The students that understand explain to the others because they want to get a good grade and the others don't want to let their peers down.

Bibliography

Lesson Design by Jordan School District Teachers and Staff.