Lesson 3: Design

Students watch a video of the Moon’s surface and set up the game.

As a class, watch a few minutes of this video of a Lunar rover vehicle on Moon from 1969. This will help them get an idea of what it would be like to actually explore the surface of the moon.

Refer to the Rover Infographic reproducible [AR model] [PDF] from Lesson 2. This will allow students to compare the lunar rover vehicle in the video to the lunar rover in this project.

Discussions

Discussion prompts may include:

• “What do you notice about the surface of the moon?”
• “Do you think this is a lunar rover? Why or why not?”
• “What is the main difference between this vehicle and the one from our project?”
• “Is this rover in the dark or light area of the moon?”

Before playing the game, ask students to restate the mission goal. They should say something like, “Take the measurements to collect the most science points, while exposing the rover to the least amount of risk.”

Next, have teams set out their game components, ensuring that all of the game pieces are present. Assist students in replacing any missing game pieces.

Idea

If students wish, re-watch the How to Play video as a class.

Student(s) who were away for Lesson 2 will need to join a group and watch the How to Play video.

Have each team look at the map and discuss where they think the rover should travel during the mission. While doing this, encourage students to think about what makes a good mission.

Idea

Post a teamwork infographic with some suggestions of good practices when working on a team. If you notice teams struggling, encourage them to use these strategies to help them work together.

Students play the game once. See the Lunar Rover Mission Rules for full details.

Important note for teams using full version: 

If the mission is not going the way students thought it would, or they have made a major error, students cannot backtrack, erase or undo part of the game. Backtracking will complicate record keeping. Students may choose to abandon the mission and start a new game.

After the first playthrough, each team will summarize the details of their mission on the Mission Summary sheets. This is slide nine of the Game Set.

Students will begin to understand the factors that make a good mission. They do this by thinking critically about their route and making decisions about locations to take measurements.

Each team will play the game a second time, using what they learned during their first mission. After the second mission, teams complete a second Mission Summary.

Have students compare the Mission Summary sheets from each game, as a group, then select the most successful mission to share with the class.

While students play the game the second time, teachers can use the Student Gameplay Assessment Checkbric reproducible [Google doc] [Word doc] [PDF] to assess student understanding of:

• the risks and benefits of choices made during the mission
• collaborative work skills

Discussions

Suggested questions to ask teams that seem to be stuck in the game:

1. Tell me about the instruments you chose.
2. Tell me about the route you chose.
3. How did you decide where to go and how to get there?

Answers may include: close to home, wanted to get the most science points, wanted to avoid risk along route, and chose the shorter path.

Idea

If some teams have only developed one viable mission, have them pair up with another team to compare their missions.

Clean up game pieces if using the printed version.

If students are not continuing on to complete a mission pitch (Lesson 4), the following options can be used for assessment:

1. Students complete an Exit Ticket to compare their two missions.
2. Teams present their best mission to the class, including its strengths and weaknesses. After each group has presented, ask the class to consider the following questions:
   1. Looking at the maps for each mission, what are some differences and similarities between the different routes?
   2. Did every group pick the same two instruments? Why or why not?
   3. Considering the risk and science points for each mission, is there an obvious best mission? Why or why not?

Note: Lesson 4 is entirely dedicated to the submission. Skip straight to Lesson 5 if students did not complete the full version of the game.

Idea

Gauge student interest in making a mission pitch. If some students really enjoyed the activity, but you don’t have time to do Lesson 4 as a class, suggest that they can continue outside of class time.