OpenSciEd Unit 8.4 · Lesson 13 · 13.B
Look for: Both Mercury and Venus transits of the Sun ha…
From Teacher Edition
Facilitation guidance from the lesson plan — what to notice in student thinking and how to respond while teaching.
Building towards
13.B Construct an explanation of the patterns in the apparent size and shape (scale properties) of Venus from Earth as it orbits the Sun.
What to look / listen for
See Key
Explaining Venus-Related Patterns for specific guidance on what to look for in each of the small responses for the 4 different phenomena on Explaining Venus-Related Patterns. For slide T individual responses (next section) that students write on the back of their handouts, look for additional ideas:
- Both Mercury and Venus transits of the Sun have noticeable phases and are never visible at midnight. Both Mars and Jupiter do not match this pattern in any of these categories.
- Mercury’s orbit must be similar to Venus, as it orbits the Sun in a path interior to the orbit of Earth.
Optional
If Mars and Jupiter orbit the Sun, they must follow a path not interior to the orbit of Earth.
What to do
If students struggle to document models similar to those shown in Key: Explaining Venus-Related Patterns, ask them to demonstrate the locations of Venus and the Earth related to a light source (e.g., bulb or flashlight) in the room for each of the 4 related phenomena. If students do not identify that Mercury’s orbit must be similar to Venus, ask them to demonstrate (with manipulatives) the relative location of Mercury, Earth, and the Sun when Mercury transits the Sun. Ask them what this tells us about how far Mercury must be from the Sun compared to Earth.
Universal Design for Learning
Allowing student choice in what manipulatives they wish to use for a physical model gives students options in how they want to represent the parts and interactions in the system.