LESSON: Student Programs

Title: Student Programs						Submitted: June 15, 2008
Author: Sandy Mills-Alford					School/Org: AliveTek, Inc.

Lesson Overview:  
This lesson aims to get students excited and acquainted with special NASA programs designed just for students. From educational resources to internships, students will learn that NASA is committed to providing opportunities at all educational levels.  

Suggested Classroom Time: 60-120 minutes			Grade Levels: 6-10

KLASS Module: 3-Career Exploration				Topic/Console: NASA Student Programs

Materials Needed:
Activity	Documents	Other Materials	
1	Background information:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/education
http://www.nasa.gov/education/INSPIRE	Demonstration computer with Internet connection	
2	ACT_Student-Programs.doc	Student computers with Internet connection and writing tools	

National Standards/Objectives:
Discipline	Standard	Objective	
Science	G. History and Nature of Science	Students explore science as a human endeavor.
	
Technology	Technology productivity tools	Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, preparing publications, and producing other creative works.	
Technology	Technology communications  tools	Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.	

Desired Results:
Students will be able to answer these essential questions
•	How can students get involved with NASA projects and activities?
•	How do the student programs at NASA help young people learn about and experience real-world science, math, and technology activities?

Students will know
•	How to discover the student resources and programs that NASA offers.
•	How to perform general research using the educational resources at NASA.

Students will be able to
•	Explore the plethora of information and activities that are available from www.nasa.gov and http://www.education.nasa.gov.
•	Use www.nasa.gov to pursue programs that go beyond the classroom and help prepare interested students for the world of work at NASA or similar scientific organizations.

Learning Plan/Activities:
1.	 Introducing the Lesson. 
Script: “Today, we are going to explore many exciting NASA programs that are designed specifically for you students! If you’ve ever dreamed about working for NASA and being part of that special team that makes history, become involved quickly because many student interns get hired right out of high school.  However, if you just like learning about space travel and scientific endeavors, than you should consider making http://www.nasa.gov one of your favorite websites to visit. It constantly is being updated with interesting information and new projects. 

Let’s learn more about how the student resources are organized today so you can spend time researching a program that is right for you. Also, talk to your parents about these opportunities if you want to participate, and, of course, ask me for any special help you need, because I will support your pursuit of scientific interests. My job is to get you excited about science, math, and technology. When one or many of you end up making great things happen with your NASA dream, I want to be on a television interview describing how awesome you were as a student, and how I knew you were going to do great things one day.”

2.	Exploring the Student Resources.
Depending on how many student computers you have, you will either navigate through the site with the class or put students into smaller groups to explore on their own. From the home page, you will select the For Students tab. Describe how resources are organized by grade clusters. While this is a good plan, also encourage the students to peruse games offered to the lower grades and the opportunities offered to higher grades.

3.	Evaluating and Sharing.
Review and modify the Student Programs activity (ACT_Student-Programs.doc) to best suit your goals for this lesson and to evaluate based on your teaching methods. This document suggests that students research the resources, collect information, and evaluate the target audience as a marketing preparation activity. If you want to control where they explore, simply add the URLs you want them to visit in the first column before printing the sheet to be used.
Assessment Evidence:
Performance Tasks
1.	Collect and evaluate the written summaries using your assigned strategy.
2.	Assign credit and provide group or individual feedback.
3.	If appropriate, have groups reflect on how they could do things differently next time they are asked to contribute via a small group.
4.	Give individual feedback regarding improvements made while working in a group and presenting to peers.

Other Evidence
1.	Perform daily classroom observation and assessment of progress and participation.
2.	Compare the abilities of the individuals to use the technology required to previously submitted samples.
3.	Make notes to self on improving the process for the next group project.

Extensions and Going Further Resources:
•	Have students compile their evaluations of the resource websites and submit them via the form at http://www.nasa.gov/help/contact/index.html. Be sure to offer kudos as well as suggestions for improvement.

•	For technology students, evaluate how well the website is advancing via Web 2.0 features such as myNASA, podcasting, popular content map and other interactive features. They can study how the NASA website is catering to special populations with the en Español versions of many sites and with ADA 508 compliance.

•	For students who truly have a strong interest, help them work through some of the processes to become officially involved with NASA using feasible student programs.

•	Be sure to check for student opportunities, additional educational resources and more at:
http://www.nasa.gov/education