Imagine you are an astronaut going outside the International Space Station (ISS) to do regular maintenance and repairs. Space is a dangerous environment. You will face extreme temperatures, exposure to the Sun’s radiation, and could even be hurt by small rocks or debris hurtling through Space.
How will you protect yourself?
Your Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) is like a mini-spacecraft. It has 14 layers, and contains all the equipment and protection you need. But it is not very easy to move around in.
What do you think it would feel like to wear and work in an EMU for six to eight hours?
- Read the Spacesuit Hero poster closely.
- Read the additional information about the EMU suit, and watch the video links.
- Take notes, and organize them using a graphic organizer such as a mind map.
- Imagine how wearing a spacesuit might feel. Have you ever worn anything large and bulky and hard to move in (e.g., hockey equipment; a Hallowe’en costume)? Do you think you would find it uncomfortable? Do you think it would bother you? Add any new thoughts to your graphic organizer.
Think of adjectives you could use to describe being inside the suit, and add these to your graphic organizer. Here are some suggestions:- Stuffy
- Sweaty
- Awkward
- Claustrophobic
- Bulky
- Stiff
- Smelly
- Scary
- Safe
- Comforting
- Cool
- Uncomfortable
- Review your graphic organizer and choose the final information you want to use.
- Think of an audience for your poster: who are you communicating with, and why? What information do you think the Museum wanted you to get from its own poster? What do you want your poster to do?
- Decide on a “voice” for your poster. Re-read the Space Suit Hero poster text — what tone does the astronaut use? Funny? Factual? What will your character be like? How will they speak?
- Draft your poster and text, then edit carefully, checking spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, and so forth.
- Publish your finished piece, including its visuals (draw, paint, make a collage from magazine images, or pictures from the web, etc.)
- Feel like sharing? The Museum would love to see your work! Ask a parent/guardian for permission to post it on the Museum’s Facebook page (Canada Aviation and Space Museum) or to its Twitter account (@avspacemuseum)
Ontario Curriculum Links
Grade 6
Language — Reading
Overall Expectations
- read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning;
- recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning;
- use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently;
- reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading.
Language — Writing
Overall Expectations
- generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience;
- draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational, literary, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience;
- use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively;
- reflect on and identify their strengths as writers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful at different stages in the writing process.
Quebec Curriculum Links
Elementary Cycle Three
English Language Arts
Competencies
- To read and listen to literary, popular and information-based texts
- To write self-expressive, narrative and information-based texts
- To represent his/her literacy in different media
- To use language to communicate and learn