Rockets : an educator's guide with activities in science, mathematics, and technology.

Book excerpt: This guide provides teachers and students many opportunities. Chapters within the guide present the history of rocketry, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) 21st Century Space Exploration Policy, rocketry principles, and practical rocketry. These topics lay the foundation for what follows--a wealth of dynamic rocket science classroom activities that work. The activities focus on Sir Isaac Newton's laws of motion and how they apply to rockets. They incorporate cooperative learning, problem solving, critical thinking, and hands-on involvement. They support national and state standards for science, mathematics, and technology across many grade levels. All of the activities are designed with the classroom in mind. They include clear descriptions, background information for the teacher and student, detailed procedures and tips, lists of readily available materials, assessments, questions for discussion, and extensions. The activities are designed to foster excitement and a passion for learning. It has been created as a two to six week classroom unit depending upon the grade level of the students but individual activities can be extracted and used as stand-alone classroom experiences. Teachers will find activity objectives and principles clearly stated along with the vocabulary terms necessary for understanding the principles involved. [The original "Rockets Teacher Guide" was published by NASA's Education Division in the mid-1990s.].