Hubble Telescope Discussion Prompts and Pause Points

Before the Movie

What do you know about the Hubble Telescope? (Tap prior knowledge)

What do you hope to learn about the Hubble Telescope? (Set goals)

During the Movie (Pause Points)

Stop at the following times in the movie and ask questions or prompt a discussion to keep students focused and to assess their understanding before moving on:

Timecode 0:30: What has Hubble accomplished over its 30 years? (Recall)

Timecode 1:51: In what way is the Hubble like a time machine? And why is understanding what the universe was like billions of years ago important?  (Compare; Make inferences

Timecode 5:42: Why do scientists think that the Sun used to look like the Carina Nebula? (Make inferences, Compare/contrast)  

After the Movie

Look at the four related movies at the bottom of the page. Explain how each is connected to the Hubble Telescope topic. (Make connections)

What is the difference between how an engineer and an astrophysicist work with the Hubble? (Compare/contrast)

BrainPOP recommends reading the movie description that appears on the Hubble Telescope Topic Page to your class or have students read independently. Then have them watch the movie once through without pausing. Then, watch it again as class, this time using the discussion prompts.

*BrainPOP’s Discussion Questions and Prompts align to CCSS Speaking and Listening Standards