New Planet



Have you ever wondered what it would be like to discover something that no one has ever seen before? Perhaps you wish you could discover a new planet. If so, you might have felt like Clyde Tombaugh, a young American astronomer, who was certain there was a ninth planet in our solar system. For many years he had searched and searched the heavens for a sign of this mysterious planet. Then in 1930 he discovered Pluto, a planet less than two-thirds the size of our Earth.

For Language Arts this week you are going to pretend that you, like Clyde Tombaugh, have discovered a new planet. You will be writing a description of this planet. You may need more than one paragraph this week. You should include the following things in your writing:

* name of the planet
* description of the terrain
* length of average day/year
* diameter and surface temperature
* atmospheric makeup
* life forms (if any)
* distance from Earth
* interesting facts

On a separate sheet of paper, create a web to brainstorm your ideas and organize your thoughts. Use your web to help you focus your writing. Refer to it as you write your rough draft. Your draft needs to be completed by Wednesday of this week. It is going to be checked in class, and then you will participate in peer conferencing prior to completing your final copy. In addition, you will be developing a visual aid to accompany your writing. This will completed in class later this week.

REMEMBER:

  1. ___ 5-8 sentences for each paragraph, including a topic and concluding sentence
  2. ___ five elements of good writing; focus on PURPOSE and DIRECTION
  3. ___ clearly REWORKED rough draft
  4. ___ final is neat and written in ink
  5. ___ signature of adult who helped you proofread your work for IDEAS and PRESENTATION
  6. ___ all three papers stapled together with final on top


Return to the Paragraph a Week Index.