Have Space Suit – Will Travel

Target Age Group
Middle School

Ojbective
Students will understand the connections between science fiction of the past and what we know about the Earth-Moon system today.

You will need
Have Space Suit –- Will Travel, the book by Robert A. Heinlein (Simon & Schuster, 1958), World Space Week Heinlein Teacher Guide, © 2005 Spaceweek
International Association. Permission has been given for unlimited reproduction for use by teachers. The Guide can be downloaded at no charge from www.spaceweek.org

Background
We highly recommend the World Space Week - Heinlein Teacher Guide developed for Spaceweek International Association by Space Education Initiatives and other leading curriculum developers. Funding for this project was provided by the Heinlein Prize Trust. The activities in the Guide are based on the book Have Spacesuit - Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein. Celebrated in 50 countries, World Space Week was declared by the United Nations as October 4-10 annually.

What to do
Space Suit Design: Electric Circuits. Students are introduced to series and parallel circuits in a problem-based activity.

Earth-Moon System. Students construct a simple scale model of the Earth, Moon and other Solar System objects that is accurate for size and distance.

Lunar Escape! Students are introduced to the concept of gravity and plan an escape from Wormface.

Humans on the Moon. Students investigate NASA’s Apollo program.

Space Suit Design: Solar System Diversity. Students design space suits for survival on different Solar System objects.

Making Observations. Students explore how we use multiple senses while making observations.

Imagery. Students use the text excerpt to identify the author’s use of imagery.

Descriptive Writing: A Lesson in Revision. Students create a monster and then write a description of it. Students exchange descriptions and attempt to draw the monster. Students then revise their original description.

Tone / Mood. Students use a text passage to explore the concepts of tone and mood. Students then write a passage to convey a specific tone or mood.

The Journey of a Hero: A Discussion. Students reflect on the entire novel to determine if the main character, Kip, fits the role of a classic hero.

Conflict. Students explore the concept of literary conflict.

Compare and Contrast. Students compare and contrast two aliens using a text excerpt.

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