My Life as an Astronaut

Purpose: To research astronauts and identify interests, skills, and education needed to perform their job

Materials

• computer with Internet access
• construction paper or poster board
• markers
• colored pencils

Teacher Prep

Access the following web site and either read the article, All About Astronauts, to the class or have students read it silently.
http://www.nasaexplores.com/search_nav_k_4.php?id=02-062&gl=k4
Provide books or other resources for students to use as they conduct research.

The following web sites may be helpful:

NASA Space Flight—Astronaut Fact Book (Teacher Resource)
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/factsheets/pdfs/astro.pdf

Spacelink—Astronauts (Teacher Resource)
http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.Projects/Human.Exploration.and.Development.of.Space/Astronauts/
NASA Johnson Space Center—Astronaut Biographies
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/astrobio.html

NASA Liftoff—So You Want to be an Astronaut
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/astronauts/wannabe.html

Procedure

1. Listen or read the article, All About Astronauts.
2. Choose an astronaut to research from a list of astronauts provided by your teacher or from the web site for Astronaut Biographies.
3. Obtain the following criteria:
   a. name
   b. date of birth
   c. place of birth
   d. height and weight
   e. academic degrees and schools attended
   f. awards and recognitions
   g. prior work experience
   h. hobbies
   i. missions he/she has flown
4. Create a poster that profiles your astronaut. Be sure to include a drawing or picture of your astronaut. Draw an outline of his/her home state and mark the capital of the state and the city where he/she was born.
5. Write a paper explaining what you think it takes to become an astronaut.
6. Share your paper and your poster with the class.