Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa
What’s Inside?
- A rhyming, illustrated story that covers fun scientific facts about Jupiter and its four largest moons.
- Short summaries about Galileo Galilei and how the moons got their names.
- A look at the Apollo 15 hammer-feather drop that replicated one of Galileo’s famous experiments.
- How to make a homemade refractor telescope.
- A brief overview of NASA missions to Jupiter.
Who the book is for
Exploring Jupiter’s Moons with Galileo is written for grades 3 to 5 (or lower with an adult).
Companion Lesson: Exploring Jupiter’s Moons
Students will…
- Record one fact and one drawing for each of Jupiter’s four largest moons.
- Name habits that helped Galileo make discoveries.
- Plan a spacecraft mission to Jupiter and say what they hope to find.
Who the lesson is for
Students in grades 3 to 5 can complete the assignment in one class period or at home with parental supervision. The homemade telescope activity should be considered a separate lesson.
How it maps to school standards
Most schools will map this to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core English Language Arts (ELA). Science is the lead.
Science
- Asking questions: students name what they would hope to discover at Jupiter
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information: students take facts from the book and share their mission
- Scale and proportion: students compare moons and planets from the story
- Systems: students treat Jupiter and its moons as one system
- ETS1.A / 3-5-ETS1-1: students define a simple mission (where it goes and what it should find)
ELA
- RI.3-5.1: facts drawn from the book
- RI.3-5.4: domain words in context (e.g., telescope, craters, spacecraft)
- RI.3-5.7: using illustrations with words to draw each moon
- W.3-5.8: recalling information from the book
- SL.3-5.1: read-aloud talk and sharing missions
What’s Covered and What’s Not
Covers: Jupiter, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa, important aspects of experimental science, and bonus Europa Clipper activities from NASA.
Does not cover: The official scientific method, the full solar system, or how rockets and orbits actually work.