Monday:
Introduction of
Flight and space exploration. Discussion
of the major scientific contributors of flight.
Tuesday- Wednesday:
October Sky
Lesson Plans
Directions:
Lesson will take
2 days to complete
During the video
that students will fill-in the answers to the questions for during the video.
The movie will:
- To
enhance students' understanding of historical periods other than their own
- To
encourage scientific inquiry and promote interest in the history of space
technology
Objective:
Students will be able to evaluate
and apply the concepts of both the importance of math and science and the
relationship in creating a rocket by viewing visual media to gather data and
draw conclusions.
Before Watching the
Movie:
Discuss the following with the class
The following will greatly enhance a child's understanding and
appreciation of this movie:
From
1946 to 1991, the U.S. was locked in a Cold War with Russian Communism. The
Soviets claimed that Communism was the wave of the future and that it would
bury capitalism, democracy, and the United States. Russia and Communism were a
serious threat to the U.S. and the Western democracies.
In the 1950s, the United States believed that its technology was the best in
the world. We had more cars than any country in the world. We had the best
televisions, refrigerators, record players and a host of other consumer goods.
At that time U.S. factories were building these products. Japan was still
recovering from WW II and China was still undeveloped. We had been first with
the atomic bomb and first with the hydrogen bomb. Our airplanes and jet
fighters were the best in the world. We thought that our military equipment was
better than the Russians'. Americans took comfort in the belief that we had the
best scientists and engineers that ever lived.
The belief in American technical superiority changed in 1958. Sputnik was the
first man-made satellite to orbit the earth. It was sent up, not by the
Americans, but by the Russians. Americans looked up to see a Communist star traversing
the heavens and realized that in the important arena of space, our technology
was inferior to that of the Russians. People worried about what would happen if
the Russians put an atomic bomb on one of their satellites. This insecurity
deepened as the first several U.S. efforts to orbit a satellite failed
miserably. Rockets exploded on the launch pads or they crashed soon after
lift-off. All of this occurred live on world-wide television. It was more than
embarrassing. It was frightening.
For years, the Soviets led the space race, hoisting larger payloads into space
than the U.S., including the first animal in space and the first man in space.
All of this occurred during one of the most distrustful and competitive periods
of the Cold War. The launch of Sputnik shook the United States to its roots.
"October Sky" shows one boy's reaction to this event. The story told
by this movie is pretty much true.
The movie takes place in a coal town in West Virginia. Coal towns existed for
the sole purpose of mining coal. Everything in the town was owned by the coal
company: the stores, the church, the schools and the houses in which the miners
lived. If a miner was incapacitated and could no longer work, his family was
forced to move out of their company owned house, which meant leaving town.
Often, when the father was injured, the children had to work in the mines to
pay the rent and remain eligible to live in company owned housing. If a miner
died in the mines, his family had a very short time (usually two weeks) to
move. The coal company didn't want the grim reminders of the dangers of the
mine to be around too long. Coalwood, where Homer lived, was one of the better
company towns, but it was still subject to harsh practices by the mine owners.
In a mine, coal dust pollutes the air and literally covers everything. A common
ailment among miners is black lung disease (pneumoconiosis) caused by inhaling
coal dust. Homer's father was suffering from this disease. The mine owners
refused to compensate miners for this occupational hazard, so the Federal
Government stepped in and set up a health and worker's compensation plan for
the miners.
Thursday-Friday:
Students
will research “What comes next?” in the arena of space technology. They will put together a powerpoint
indicating 2 new technologies they have discovered, and who or what is putting
together space travel.
During
the Movie: Name: _______________________________ Session #___
1. What country launched the world's first
man-made satellite, Sputnik, into Earth orbit on October 4, 1957?
2. Because Sputnik travels at 18,000 mph,
it can make an orbit of Earth every ___ minutes.
3. Satellites passing overhead are visible
in a clear dark sky one hour after ________ and one hour before ________.
4. Sputnik travels at a height of ______
miles above the Earth.
5. Describe what Sputnik looked like
passing through the sky:
6. What did Homer use as the fuel for his
first rocket?
7. What happened to the Vanguard rocket
launched by Dr. Werhner Von Braun?
8. Rocketry was invented by the
____________, as early as 1000 AD.
9. Homer learns about potassium chlorate
and sulfur to use as ________ for his rockets.
10.
What is Homer’s motivation for building these rockets?
11. The purpose of the nozzle in a rocket
is to direct the flow of _____________.
12. Miss Riley says, "Science
requires __________."
13. What do the boys build at Cape
Coalwood to use for launching rockets?
14. When potassium chlorate and sugar are
combined with heat, oxygen and expanding gases are produced, making an
effective rocket ____________.
15. What lab safety equipment do the
students use in the classroom?
16. When the rockets exploded, heat from
the exhaust was melting the ___________.
17. When rocket fuel combusts, the nozzle
directs a hot river of gas that reaches the speed of ____________.
18. If the mass of the propellant compared
to the mass of the rocket is too little, increase the ____________ of the
rocket.
19. The properties of alcohol are that it
is stable and dilutes ____________.
20. What measurement do the rocket boys
make during the rocket flights to calculate the height of the rocket?
21. Who told Homer at the national science
fair "Congratulations and good luck"?
22. What happened to Miss Riley during the
science fair?
23. What career did Homer end up having?
During
the Movie: Name: _______________________________ Session #___
1. What country launched the world's first
man-made satellite, Sputnik, into Earth orbit on October 4, 1957?
2. Because Sputnik travels at 18,000 mph,
it can make an orbit of Earth every ___ minutes.
3. Satellites passing overhead are visible
in a clear dark sky one hour after ________ and one hour before ________.
4. Sputnik travels at a height of ______
miles above the Earth.
5. Describe what Sputnik looked like
passing through the sky:
6. What did Homer use as the fuel for his
first rocket?
7. What happened to the Vanguard rocket
launched by Dr. Werhner Von Braun?
8. Rocketry was invented by the
____________, as early as 1000 AD.
9. Homer learns about potassium chlorate
and sulfur to use as ________ for his rockets.
10.
What is Homer’s motivation for building these rockets?
11. The purpose of the nozzle in a rocket
is to direct the flow of _____________.
12. Miss Riley says, "Science
requires __________."
13. What do the boys build at Cape
Coalwood to use for launching rockets?
14. When potassium chlorate and sugar are
combined with heat, oxygen and expanding gases are produced, making an
effective rocket ____________.
15. What lab safety equipment do the
students use in the classroom?
16. When the rockets exploded, heat from
the exhaust was melting the ___________.
17. When rocket fuel combusts, the nozzle
directs a hot river of gas that reaches the speed of ____________.
18. If the mass of the propellant compared
to the mass of the rocket is too little, increase the ____________ of the
rocket.
19. The properties of alcohol are that it
is stable and dilutes ____________.
20. What measurement do the rocket boys
make during the rocket flights to calculate the height of the rocket?
21. Who told Homer at the national science
fair "Congratulations and good luck"?
22. What happened to Miss Riley during the
science fair?
23. What career did Homer end up having?
After
Watching the Movie:
Discussion questions
- Which
of the characters did you relate to the most? Which characters did you
like? Which characters did you not like? Why?
- Homer's
friends, the "rocket boys," were at first skeptical of Homer's
interest in rockets. However, they quickly came to encourage his dream. Do
we tend to encourage or discourage the dreams of our friends and peers?
Why?
- In
the 1950s, Homer's dream was considered far-fetched. Space exploration was
only a thing of comic books and a few movies. Do you know anyone who has a
"far fetched" dream today? Maybe it is you! What is your dream,
your vision for your future?
- Homer's
dad is well respected by the miners. At one point, his father says to
Homer, "I was born for this (working in the mines)." Do you
believe that? Does God call us to certain occupations by giving us certain
gifts and talents that we are "born with" and which lead to
certain careers? Do you have friends who have certain talents and gifts,
which make you say that they would be good teachers, mathematicians,
social workers, lawyers, doctors, or whatever? What gifts have people
identified in you?
- At
the end of the movie, Homer and the rocket boys launch one final rocket in
honor of the mentors in their lives. If you were firing a rocket in honor
of the mentors in your life, who would those mentors be? Why? How could
you be a mentor to your siblings or your friends?
