All Modules 24-If i were an astronaut - Module 3 | Page 10

10 • Astronauts can go to the bathroom without taking their clothes off. The use extra absorbent diapers that they can keep on during many days. • To sleep in space, astronauts have to put their seat belts on. • Astronauts rest reading books, listening to music and talking to friends. This topic is one that can be explored during a lot of time. It allows for a lot of flexibility, but if it is not defined clearly, ¿what do we expect the boys and girls to understand?, can easily turn into a topic that may generate multiple fun activities but that don´t necessarily sponsor balanced and wise citizens with a purpose. The let´s begin asking: • What is the real value of this topic and why will it be important to turn it into a significant project for all? For VESS, this question represented an interesting challenge. Very quickly we were able to identify multiple reasons to explore it and we defined several objectives for comprehension that guided us along the project in each classroom. The issue of seeing myself as an astronaut exploring the cosmos is in itself provocative. The fact that knowledge about the universe is still very limited offers an authentic space to promote Socratic conversations where the teacher´s interest is not given by previous knowledge but by an authentic motivation for learning how the children imagine the universe, what possibilities exist, and how we can discover them.