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Below
is a listing of the assignments
that you should do for each session
of the World Builder's Class.
Although your group will have
to make decisions together, the
actual doing part of the work
can be done by individuals, or
in any way that you wish. There
is a lot to do, but when you divide
the work by three or four, you
will see that it is manageable.
So long as you keep up, it will
not be difficult, and seeing your
planet coming together is exciting
work!
I
think of this as an open class.
By this I mean that you can invite
a friend to come to class with
you. You can go to any professor
on any campus (probably most productively
during his/her office hours) to
get help or advice. Search that
Internet! If you can't draw but
you know an artist, ask that friend
for help, with acknowledgement,
of course! World building is a
big job.
Human
beings have an amazing diversity
of talents. Cherish each other.
You will need that math person,
that artist, that wild creative
mind, that tirelessly persistent
researcher. Everything that you
know about the earth can be used
to think about your planet. Everything
that you can do, or dare, will
turn out to be valuable. Together,
you can make it happen: together,
you can build a world.
This
page provides a planning guide
for your in-class sessions and
a check list of completed work
that you need to bring to class
each week. Click on the number
of the session that you wish
to review.
Weekly
readings, how-to information, and
web resources are on the pages of
the individual lessons.
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Unit
One |
Astronomy
and Physics: Planet and Star |
Unit
One In Class Assignment
1. The first
thing that you need to do
is to form groups
to work on
your individual planets. Building
a planet (especially in ten
sessions!) is too much work
for one person. Your group
will need the diverse talents
of the individuals in it,
so share your areas of interest
and strength. Your group should
contain two or three individuals.
It will be helpful if at least
one has computer skills.
2.
Your group will need to decide
on
- who
is going to do which pages
- what
your files will be called
- the
structure of your planetary
system
- the
names of your planet and its
sun (and moon(s))
- decide
on the size,
mass, temperature and star
type of your sun(s)
- decide
on the masses and orbits
of your planets and moons
- the
length of your planet's
year and day
- When your group
will meet Dr Viau each
week on Yahoo
Messenger
3. What you need
to do right away.
- Decide on a time to
meet with your group
to create the Solar
System web page.
- Sign on to Yahoo
messenger and get your
account set up.
- Send Dr Viau an
email message with
your Yahoo Messenger
name.
Your group will work
together to do this
unit and make the
page for it.
Each person should
do these things:
Read the rubrics for
the Solar System page;
Read the science notes
for this page.
Download and use the
Universe Program (http://www.diardsoftware.com)
Check out the Helpful
Web pages (Links) for
this chapter and chose a
few images.
Unit
One Homework: Bring to Class
in Week Two
This page will have
- a
written description of your
solar system
- a
graphic or diagram of your
solar system: Use a graphics
program
or modify a picture from the
NASA site, or draw and scan
your picture. This will be
on your web page
- a
page showing that you have
worked out the math for your
system. (See Science
Notes)
- See
"How
to How to Design Your Solar
System" for some
ideas of how to do this chapter.
Due Week 3
Planets
that are Examples for You
to Look At
Loki
is a planet designed by a group
of World Builders at Montana
State University in the spring
of 1993. They have agreed to
share their planet with you.
Some material has been added
to give you a sense of how to
work with your planet.
Shalimar
is a planet that I have built
for you. It shows you
-
one
way to organize your information
-
examples
of what kind of diagrams,
pictures, etc. will form the
framework of your planetary
narrative.
|
Unit
Two |
Geology:
Forming the Rocky Surface |
*
Your group will work to
- decide
on the high and low places on
your planet
- draw
maps to show land and water
areas
- draw
relief maps of your planet,
showing mountains, lakes, rivers
- create
three dimensional models of
your planet
- write
a description of the geological
features of your planet
- draw
sketches of your planet's landscapes
*
Homework: Bring to class next
session:
|
Unit
Three |
Meteorology:
Air, Ocean, Weather |
*
Your group will work to
- decide
on the weather of your planet
- Sketch
out major air and ocean currents
- draw
maps to show the climate zones,
using your relief maps
- write
a description of your planet's
climate and weather.
*
Homework: Bring to class next
session:
- The
written description (in html
format) of your planet's climate
and weather. A template is provided.
- A
diagram of major climatic ocean
and air currents.
- Your
computer drawn maps of the climatic
zones, now modified to show
temperature and rainfall zones.
|
Unit
Four |
Microbiology:
Unicellular LIfe |
*
Your group will work
to
- discuss
your first life
forms and how they
live in your climates
- Sketch
your unicellular
organisms
- write
a description of
how life arose on
your planet.
- write
descriptions of
your planet's first
life forms.
*
Homework: Bring to
class next session:
- The
written description
(in html format)
of how life arose.
- The
written description
(in html format)
of your life forms.
A template is provided.
- Your
computer drawn,
or drawn and scanned,
pictures of your
first life forms.
|
Unit
Five |
Marine
Biology:
Seaweeds |
-
-
*
Your group will work to
- think
about your first life forms
and how they could be joined
together
- Sketch
out the joined cells, and
work towards forms that
can survive in your environments.
- draw
your life forms from stage
to stage as they progress
into aquatic plants.
- write
descriptions of your aquatic
plants.
*
Homework: Bring to class
next session:
- A
written description of how
your unicellular organisms
became multicellular.
- The
written description (in
html format) of your plants.
A template is provided.
- Scanned
or computer drawn pictures
of your plant varieties
- A
computer drawn diagram of
how the kinds of plants
are related to each other.
|
Unit
Six |
Marine
Zoology: Aquatic Animals |
* Your group will
work to
- discuss
how your animals came
into being, how they move,
and what they eat .
- sketch
the developmental phases
of your aquatic animals
- draw
a diagram to show how
the animals are related
to each other
- write
descriptions of the animals,
telling how they eat,
move, reproduce
*
Homework: Bring to class
next session:
- written
descriptions (in html
format) of how your animals
evolved. A template is
provided.
- written
descriptions (in html
format) of the individual
kinds of animals. A template
is provided.
- computer
drawn or scanned drawings
of your creatures evolving
in stages
- computer
drawn or scanned drawings
of your creatures.
- a
computer drawn diagram
of how the animals are
related
|
Unit
Seven |
Marine
Ecology: Aquatic Communities |
*
Your group will work to
-
- decide
how your plants and animals
fit together into communities
- diagram
the food chains
- write
a description of the community
- make
some sketches of the animals
and plants together
- add
additional plants and animals
as needed -- or as you are
inspired to do so
*
Homework: Bring to class
next session:
- The
written description (in
html format) of your aquatic
communities. A template
is provided.
- A
diagram of the food chain
- Your
sketches in GIF format called
into the html.
|
Unit
Eight |
Botany:
Land Plants |
*
Your group will work to
- decide
how your plants get out
onto the land. How do they
cope with dehydration? How
do they support themselves
physically? How do they
reproduce? write a
description of this process
- decide
which plants grow in which
climatic zones
- Sketch
out the plant forms with
evolutionary stages
- diagram
the plant evolution
- sketch
the plants and write descriptions
of them
*
Homework: Bring to class
next session:
- The
written description (in
html format) of how your
plants get onto the land.
A template is provided.
- Your
diagram of plant evolution.
- Your
drawings of the stages of
evolution of the plants.
- The
written description (in
html format) of different
kinds of plants (with sketches)
in the different climatic
zones
|
Unit
Nine |
Zoology:
Land Animals |
-
*
Your group will work to
- discuss
how your animals get out
of the ocean. How do they
breathe? Cope with dehydration?
Compensate for the loss
of the support of the water
for their body weight? Reproduce?
What do they eat?
- sketch
your land animals and show
the stages that they have
grown through
- decide
which animals will live
in the different climatic
zones. How do they adapt?
- write
descriptions of your planet's
land animals
- draw
a diagram to show how the
animal species are related
to each other
*
Homework: Bring to class
next session:
- The
written description (in
html format) of how your
animals emerge onto the
land and cope with its challenges.
A template is provided.
- sketches
of the stages of your animals'
evolution
- Sketches
and descriptions of your
animals in their different
climatic zones
- A
diagram showing how the
animal species are related
to each other.
|
Unit
Ten |
Ecology:
Communities on Land |
*
Your group will work to
- discuss
how your animal and plants
live together
- sketch
out predator and prey relationships
- draw
some pictures of your animals
and plants together
- add
other life forms as desired
-
*
Homework: Bring to class
next session:
- written
descriptions (in html) of
your planet's ecological
communities. A template
is provided.
- diagrams
of the food chains
- pictures
of your land animals and
plants together.
|
Unit
Eleven |
Share
the Newly Created Worlds |
This
week we will share our completed
planets in class.
*
Your group should meet before
class to prepare for this celebration.
Go through your planet's web pages
from start to finish as a new
explorer would. Consider the comments
that may have come to you in the
mail. Make any last minute changes
that seem necessary.
*
You will turn in your self-evaluations
at this session. You will
list
the contributions that you
made to your group's effort
each week, whether in research,
writing, drawing, model making,
creative thinking, computer
work, etc. Rough estimates
of
time spent will be helpful.
answer
the following questions
This
course has fallen naturally
into two parts: physical and
biological sciences. What
was the most interesting problem
that you came upon in each
area? Why was this problem
interesting to you?
If
you were given a chance to
build your planet over again,
what would you change? Why?
Which
assignment in this course
was most difficult for you?
Why?
What
risks did your group take
in your planet building? What
was your part in this?
How
would you evaluate your performance
in this class?
Return to
Resources Page
©
1997, 2003, 2004. Elizabeth Anne Viau.
All rights reserved. This material may
be used freely for instructional
purposes but not sold for a price
beyond the cost of reproduction. As a
courtesy, please inform the author if
you use it at
eviau@earthlink.net
Thank you!
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