English/Language Arts
Explore word origins
Author Adkins begins this Minute with a word students have likely never hear before. There’s a good reason for that. The word Chimponaut was coined and used by Time, Inc. in an Life magazine article about the chimp’s space travels in February 1961. Use this Minute to explore word origins with your students. How do words make it into our daily language? Who decides when a word is actually a word - not to mention how it should be spelled! Teach your students about the ever-changing nature of language.
Social Studies
Explore the Space race
In the very first sentence, Author Adkins mentions the Space Race. Use this Minute to build your students’ schema about the definition of the Space Race, how the “race” began and continued, and what was at stake beyond the actual accomplishment of space travel.
Explore US Soviet relations
Use this Minute to explore the nature of the relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union during the 20th century. The Space Race was neither the beginning nor the end of this rivalry between two of the most powerful countries on the planet.
STEM
Explore animal use in science
Animals have long been used in scientific experiments (see Roxie Munro’s Animals in Space Minute). Think about using a Socratic approach to have your students discuss when, if ever, it is okay to use animals in science experimentation. Let them do a little researching about where and how animals are used, then sit down to ask the hard questions. Should we use animals in science? Are there certain guidelines or boundaries that should be put in place? Who should be in charge of determining a proper set of “rules”? Are there times when it is never okay to use animals this way? Does it depend on the animal? Have students generate their own set of questions and then do the hard work of looking for answers.
Research Skills
Explore archived magazines - LIFE
At the end of the Minute, Author Adkins shares a picture from the cover of Life Magazine (February 10, 1961). Use this Minute as an introduction to a tremendous historical resource, Life Magazine. Life was published weekly between November 1936 and December 1972, and chronicled American life and beyond through spectacular photos and first rate journalism. Life is now archived in its entirety through Google Books. Spend a class or two encouraging your students to explore Life. You will not be disappointed.
Explore word origins
Author Adkins begins this Minute with a word students have likely never hear before. There’s a good reason for that. The word Chimponaut was coined and used by Time, Inc. in an Life magazine article about the chimp’s space travels in February 1961. Use this Minute to explore word origins with your students. How do words make it into our daily language? Who decides when a word is actually a word - not to mention how it should be spelled! Teach your students about the ever-changing nature of language.
Social Studies
Explore the Space race
In the very first sentence, Author Adkins mentions the Space Race. Use this Minute to build your students’ schema about the definition of the Space Race, how the “race” began and continued, and what was at stake beyond the actual accomplishment of space travel.
Explore US Soviet relations
Use this Minute to explore the nature of the relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union during the 20th century. The Space Race was neither the beginning nor the end of this rivalry between two of the most powerful countries on the planet.
STEM
Explore animal use in science
Animals have long been used in scientific experiments (see Roxie Munro’s Animals in Space Minute). Think about using a Socratic approach to have your students discuss when, if ever, it is okay to use animals in science experimentation. Let them do a little researching about where and how animals are used, then sit down to ask the hard questions. Should we use animals in science? Are there certain guidelines or boundaries that should be put in place? Who should be in charge of determining a proper set of “rules”? Are there times when it is never okay to use animals this way? Does it depend on the animal? Have students generate their own set of questions and then do the hard work of looking for answers.
Research Skills
Explore archived magazines - LIFE
At the end of the Minute, Author Adkins shares a picture from the cover of Life Magazine (February 10, 1961). Use this Minute as an introduction to a tremendous historical resource, Life Magazine. Life was published weekly between November 1936 and December 1972, and chronicled American life and beyond through spectacular photos and first rate journalism. Life is now archived in its entirety through Google Books. Spend a class or two encouraging your students to explore Life. You will not be disappointed.
© Karen Sterling, 2017 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission