Could You Live in a Dome for 365 Days? Bell Ringer

A new school year is beginning. My view is that teachers need to always have kids on task! Checking homework in the beginning of class,doing clerical stuff? Finish your lesson with a few minutes to spare? What to do?  I am not a believer in giving "free" time. That just encourages a " talk fest". Learning should be a continuous process. Classroom teachers should always have activities, such as Bell Ringers, to use during a class period. If you'd like to see all my ideas for when you have a few minutes of time left in your class period, please go to this link to read "Got a Minute, Two or Five?"
 

Here's a Bell Ringer to use in your classroom, using a news story.

August 28, 2015:
Six scientists have entered a dome, 36 ft. in diameter and 20 ft. tall, on the summit of Mauna Loa, Hawaii. They will stay inside the dome for 365 days!  Part of a NASA program(HI-SEAS or Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) to study the effects on a long mission to Mars, the location mimics the landscape found on the planet Mars. The dome has six bedrooms, a bathroom, exercise area, dining area, kitchen and a lab. At some times, the scientists will conduct experiments outside the habitat but only while wearing space suits.

Questions:

• Could you spend a year in a dome?
• What would be three things you’d take along with you?
• What would you miss the most?
• What might be some issues living in such a dome with five other people?
• What would be the first thing, you’d wish to do when you left the dome, 365 days later?

Activity:

• Write a diary entry about your first week in the dome.

Have a wonderful school year!

Gail

GailHennessey.com

Photograph from abc.net.au