The Sun and Solar Sytem
Lesson 4- Order of the Planets
Lesson-Students will listen to a Screencast that shows and discusses the order of the planets in relation to the Sun. The Screencast will provide them with a mnemonic to help remember the order of the planets. The mnemonic is as follows:
My- Mercury
Very- Venus
Educated- Earth
Mother- Mars
Just- Jupiter
Served- Saturn
Us- Uranus
Noodles- Neptune
Once students have finished watched the Screencast they will create a Voki character that includes either the mnemonic that they heard in the Screencast or they can create their own to remember the order of the planets in relation to the Sun. Students will be able to refer back to the Screencast to rewatch as necessary, while creating their Voki character.
Time Estimation- 70 Minutes
20 minutes to view video and create their own mnemonic.
30 minutes to create their Voki.
20 miuntes to do a gallery walk and view Voki's.
Screencast- Click the Screencast below to view.
Activity- Students will create a Voki character that will present their mnemonic for remembering the order of the planets. Students will use my login information to enter the website. They will have 15 minutes to create their actual character and an additional 15 minutes to add their recorded voice.
Advantages- Screen-O-Matic allows for a variety of learning styles to be met. It provides a visual along with audio. Students are able to listen to a familiar voice while also having a visual that goes along with the audio to assit them in making connections. When students are making their Voki character, it allows them to be creative in a new way. Instead of creating their own mnenomic using pencil and paper, it provides them a way to display their mnemonic while doing so in a way that will hold their interest. They'll remember the order of the planets because of the involvement that they had in creating it. Voki also allows ELL students as well as students who are reluctant about speaking in front of the class to have more practice with speaking and to become more comfortable with their own voice.
Disadvantages: Having the whole class record their Voki character may be a challenge because of the noise. Having student use the text-to-speech function may be the solution. Also, the time that students will want to spend creating their Voki character could become extensive. In order to minimize this, students could write out what they are going to say before they begin creating their Voki character. Teachers may also want to put a time limit on how long students get to create their character. Also, in order to create a Voki, students must create an account with an email address- this could be an issue. Teachers may want to create an account and allow students to use their login information.