Is Galileo a Heretic?

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Cassandra Torrez, Suzanne Evans, Lynn Dillon


Lesson Focus and Instructional Purpose


Cross Disciplinary Themes Addressed

A team of middle school teachers developed an integrated unit spanning math, social studies and ELA, and focused the unit centering on the life of Galileo, including some of his investigations, his beliefs based on evidence, and his conflicts with the Catholic church.

Unifying Essential Question(s)

The essential question is should Galileo have been considered a heretic for his scientific findings?

Subject Area Question(s)


Subject Supporting Questions
Math What were some of the scientific findings that Galileo made?
ELA When and why do people change their minds?
SS What is a heretic?







Collaborative Learning Objective(s)

Students will address whether or not Galileo should have been considered a heretic for his scientific discoveries that contradicted the beliefs of the Catholic Church and will support their position with numerous pieces of evidence from texts.

Subject Area Learning Objectives


Subject Learning Objective
ELA, SS, Math Students will get a better understand of the life of Galileo.
ELA, SS Students will be able to describe how Galileo’s discoveries conflicted with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
ELA, SS Students will be able to describe the struggles Galileo faced when confronted by the Catholic Church.
SS Students will be able to evaluate several primary sources to determine if the church was correct in calling Galileo a heretic.
Math Students will identify patterns in data from several of Galileo’s discoveries in order to express the relationship between variables.
ELA Students will be able to write an argumentative essay backing up their claims with evidence from the texts.







Standards Addressed


 Mathematics  ELA/Literacy  Social Studies
 CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.1
 CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2B  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.1  
 CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2C    



Close Reading Text Set


Anchor Text

Galileo's letters

Supporting Texts


Subject Title of Supporting Text URL of Supporting Text
ELA Painting of Galileo Facing the Roman Inquistion https://docs.google.com/a/staff.slzusd.org/document/d/1_wIF7arlxicDSJYhsfkb-8Nspbzup2swJHmEl7sw0uk/edit
ELA Who Was Galileo? http://www.target.com/p/who-was-galileo-paperback/-/A-16895966?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=16895966&CPNG=Entertainment&kpid=16895966&LID=24pgs&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=16895966&kpid=16895966&gclid=CMDqporz2sQCFcdgfgodcUAA1Q
Math Galileo: Father of the Scientific Method (page 40) https://drive.google.com/a/staff.slzusd.org/?tab=wo#folders/0B_24HGfKlguDT2phSXk2d1VIZFU
Math Galileo: Father of the Scientific Method (page 41) https://drive.google.com/a/staff.slzusd.org/?tab=wo#folders/0B_24HGfKlguDT2phSXk2d1VIZFU


Organized Text Set


Text Title Learning Objective
1. Math Lessons from AIMS Students will identify scientific discoveries made by Galileo.
2. ELA Text: Who is Galileo? Students will gain background knowledge on the life of Galileo.
3. SS Text: Stanford Primary Sources Students will learn about the conflict between Galileo and the Catholic Church.
4. ELA: Galileo Portraits Students will summarize and review their understandings about Galileo and the conflicts with the Catholic Church.


Student Activities and Tasks


Text-Dependent Questions

  1. Galileo said, “ In questions of science the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.” Do you believe this to be true?
  2. What are some of Galileo's scientific discoveries?
  3. What's the difference between heliocentric and geocentric points of views? Is the earth or the sun in the center of the solar system? How do we know?
  4. What is a heretic?
  5. How would someone be labeled a heretic?
  6. What reasons would people have not to believe Galileo's discoveries?
  7. When and Why do people change their minds?

Formative Assessment Strategies and Tasks

Students will complete a pro/con list.

  • Students will talk-to-the-text on primary sources.
  • Students will complete a note-taking guide with Who was Galileo?
  • Students will participate in partner and class discussions.
  • Students will identify linear relationships.
  • Students will write expressions to represent linear relationships.

Culminating Assessment

Having studied Galileo's life and scientific discoveries, and the belief of the Catholic Church through primary sources and mathematical findings, students will write a persuasive/argumentative essay exploring whether Galileo should be described as a heretic by completing the following tasks:
1. Respond to the unit's essential question; should Galileo have been considered a heretic?
2. Define a heretic.
3. Provide examples of Galileo's discoveries.
4. Use multiple pieces of evidence to support your side.
5. Describe a counter-argument and refute it.

Background Knowledge and Prerequisite Skills


Pre-requisite Learning

Students should understand what a primary source is, and why it is important to understand the context in which a primary source has been produced.

Students should be familiar with the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Reformation that followed before beginning this lesson.

Students must be skilled with identifying linear relationships.

Students should be somewhat skilled in using linear relationships to write equations.

Students should be introduced to background on the scientific revolution.

Pre-assessment of Readiness for Learning

Students will begin by recording what they think they know about Galileo and continue to add to their lists as they gain knowledge.

In each lesson, students are given an independent "Do Now" activity that can serve as a pre-assessment of subject-specific skills and knowledge.

In addition, the teacher can track the development of mathematical comprehension through the calculations within each lesson. The teacher can then modify instruction for the following lessons.

Students have had several previous opportunities to write persuasive essay in different subject areas. Students will be completing a pro/con graphic organizer and a structured outline.

Students will have opportunities to peer edit and make changes to their essay.

Organization of Instructional Activities

All Lessons are for a 50 minute period.

Day 1:
ELA: Galileo PowerPoint
SS: Galileo Children's Tale video
Math: Read/Talk-to-the-Text Galileo: Father of the Scientific Method (AIMS)
Show Drop the Ball Video (AIMS)
Have students collect data by dropping a ball from different heights to look for a pattern
Complete Galileo Drops the Ball Worksheet (AIMS)

Day 2:
ELA: Start Reading Who Was Galileo? and start notetaker
SS: Look at a timeline of Galileo's life and begin looking at a primary source
Math: Do Now: Review definition of proportional relationships
Review pattern from Galileo Drops the Ball Worksheet (from Day 1)
Complete Have Gravity: Must Travel Worksheet (AIMS)
Complete Heartbeats and Pendulums Worksheet (AIMS)

Day 3:
ELA: Continue reading Who Was Galileo?
SS: Continue looking at primary sources and evaluating primary sources through class discussions
Math: Do Now: Show examples of tables/graphs with proportional relationships
Review pattern from Have Gravity: Must Travel and Heartbeats and Pendulums Worksheet (from Day 2)
Complete How Fast Can You Throw? Worksheet (AIMS)
Complete How High Can You Throw? Worksheet (AIMS)

Day 4:
ELA: Continue reading Who was Galileo?
SS: Continue looking at primary sources and evaluating primary sources through class discussions
Math: Review pattern from How Fast Can You Throw? and How High Can You Throw? Worksheet (from Day 3)
Complete Drop the Ball Activity (AIMS)

Day 5-13:
ELA: Continue reading Who was Galileo? and filling out their note-taker
SS: Continue looking at primary sources and evaluating primary sources through class discussions and completing the chapter on the Scientific Revolution

Day 14-20:
ELA: Introduce prompt and gather evidence from text to complete essay


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