Lesson Plan - At Work in Outer Space

Watch the Video
Play the video “At Work in Outer Space,” then have students pair with a partner to discuss what they think are the hardest and coolest parts of living on the International Space Station.

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• disoriented
• immune system

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them identify what they think would be the hardest part of living in space.

1. Why do astronauts on the International Space Station often do experiments on themselves? How might their findings help people in the future?
Astronauts on the International Space Station often do experiments on themselves to better understand how living in microgravity affects human beings. Their findings could help people stay healthy on future space missions to the moon or even Mars.
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2. Summarize what happens during a spacewalk.
During a spacewalk, astronauts go outside the ISS to work in space. They wear spacesuits to protect themselves from dangers like the sun’s rays as they install equipment or make repairs to the station. 
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3. In what ways might working on the space station be considered an “extreme job”?
Sample response: Working on the space station can be considered an extreme job because it is 250 miles above Earth, because astronauts stay on the station for months at a time, and because astronauts on the station must deal with the effects of microgravity.
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FEATURED SKILL: Problem and Solution
Use the skill builder “Space Station Challenges” to have students record problems and solutions from the article and video and describe their own solution to a space station challenge.
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