Objects in the sky:
- 1)
Sky Paths
- Study the movement of celestial objects.
- Telescopes
- Other stars too
- Changes in the sky over a day
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Sky Paths
- Activity 1 has the students record their observations of the daytime sky.
- Some are brighter
- Too many to count and not scattered evenly
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Star Count
- Students will count the stars by using a toilet paper role, and make an estimate of how many stars can be counted in the area they are at.
Earth and moon are round:
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Spinning Does More Then Make You Dizzy
- Teaches how "spinning" explains the orbital plain and why planets are round.
- Planets too, and include size scale
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Learning Planet Sizes
- Students will use the concepts of greater than, less than, and equal to, in order to classify planet size.
- So are stars and planets
Rotation:
- 1)
The Earth's Rotation
- Have students trace the path of the sun during the day.
- 2)
Changing Faces
- Study solar and planetary rates.
- 3)
The Solar System
- This unit is a study of the structure of the solar system, the characteristics of the members of that system, and a more detailed look at the rotations and revolutions of the Earth and the Moon.
Revolution:
- 1)
Chapter two; The Earth's Orbit
- This site has many activities to show the sun changing its height in the sky over the year.
Sun Properties:
- 1)
Solar Week,
Scavenger Hunt
- Solar week is the front page to the site--it has links to useful stuff. The scavenger hunt is an activity where kids will use solar week to answer questions about the sun.
- Night/day
-
Eye on The Sky
- Teaches how night and day is because of the earth's rotation.
- Only in daytime
-
Making a Shadow Plot
- Student will understand that day and night occur because of the Earth's rotation.
- Observable
- Making a Shadow Plot
- This can help explain that the sun moves up or down if done over several weeks.
- Source of energy
- Warms things
- Gravitational forces
Sun "moves" in the sky:
- 1)
Making a Shadow Plot
- This can help explain that the sun moves up or down if done over several weeks.
- Moon also
- Night and day
- Eye on The Sky
- Teaches how night and day is because of the earth's rotation.
Sun, moon, stars appear to move east to west:
- 1)
Studying the Movement of Celestial Objects
- This activity will have children record what they see during the day and night.
Sun/Moon/Earth's Orbits/History of System and Make-Up/Age:
- 1)
Planet Paths: Studying Planetary Orbital Paths
- Teaches students about orbits, and how planetary motion obeys Kepler's and Newton's law.
- 2)
Orbit and Spin
- This a PDF file that explores relative sizes, distance, orbits, and rotation of the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon.
Earth's tilt and seasons:
-
1)
The Seasons
- Uses models or simulations to show that the Earth's tilt is what causes the seasons.
-
2)
Module 3: The Earth and the Moon
- A site that has a flash animation to show the Earth's tilt in relation to the sun. Students are given a question sheet to answer.
- In depth
-
BNSC
- Worksheet A-F covers allot of areas. Part A talks about shadow tracking, and part E talks about summer and winter.
- Amount of sunlight that hits the earth
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BNSC: Part E
- Part E talks about how light doesn't reach the North Pole at certain times.
Earth-sun distance/solstice:
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The Seasons
- Uses models or simulations to show that the Earth's tilt is what causes the seasons. This site also has a section about the solstice.
Earth's orbit properties:
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Earth's Orbit Around the Sun
- This site has students use an orange to demonstrate the properties of Earth's orbit.
Moon phases:
- 1)
Lunar Lollipops
- Teaches how the moon's phases depend on the position relative to the Sun and Earth.
- 2)
Birthday Moons
- Students become familiar with lunar phases then they will graph what the moon will look like on their birthdays.
- 3)
Worksheet D--The Shape of the Moon
- This will have the students record the phases of the moon they see each night.
- In depth
-
Lunar Lollipops
- Teaches how the moon's phases depend on the position relative to the Sun and Earth.
- Observable
-
BNSC: part D
- Part D, The Shape of the Moon, has students draw out the moon phase.
Moon properties:
- 1)
The Earth's Moon
- Topic 2: Origin of the Moon, Explains some theories of how the moon was created.
- 2)
Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon
- Uses a cardboard with a pinhole to make an image of a candle, the sun, or the moon. With some simple math, the diameter of the sun or moon will be calculated.
- See in day and night
- Observable
Solar/lunar eclipse:
-
1)
Moon Glow
- This site will help students identify Earth-Moon relationship, phases of the Moon; and Earth, Sun, and Moon alignments.
Moon/tides:
-
1)
Eyes on the Sky
- Topic 3 talks about the tides. The activity has students collect tide reports from newspapers and records the phases of the moon that day too. They will compare the tides with phases of the Moon.
Planets/solar system:
- 1)
Planet-tac-toe
- It is like tic-tac-toe.
- 2)
Solar System Search
- Teachers will give a description of a planet and the students will point to the planet that fits the description.
- 3)
The Solar System
- This site talks about many things on planets and the solar system. At the end of each section is an activity.
- Composition
-
Great Planetary Debate
- This will have students research a given planet. After they have finished their research, they will debate on which is the coolest of all.
- Planets moves against star background
- Orbit
- Orbit of planets
- Motion of objects
Inner/outer planet characteristics (including earth):
- 1)
Please Ex-planet
- A research activity.
- 2)
Learning Planet Sizes
- Uses concepts of greater than, less than, or equal to, to build scale models.
- 3)
The Solar System
- Topic 3: exploring the Planets talk about environments on the other planets.
- Orbits as well
- Size comparison
Earth's position in solar system:
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The Thousand-yard Model
- This activity uses an 8 inch ball to represent the sun and small peaces to represent a planet. These peaces are spread out across a large field.
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Star maps and constellations:
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1) The constellations and their stories.
- This site has many stories about the constellations and it also has a link to an interactive star chart.
Star map
2)
Star Science in the Autumn Sky
This site has a lot of information on star charts.
Constellations
- 3)
Tasty Constellations
- On a large black sheet of paper students will glue mini-marshmallows to the paper to make constellations.
- 4)
Map the Constellations
- Students will use coke cans and a pin to poke holes in the cans then they will look through the can and see what the constellation should look like.
- Orion, Cassiopeia, Scorpio, Cygnus, Ursa Major
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Map the Constellations
- Students will use coke cans and a pin to poke holes in the cans then they will look through the can and see what the constellation should look like.
- How earth's orbit allows us to see different constellations
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Zodiac Track
- This shows why the North Star is seen at all times through out the year. It also shows that the other stars appear to circle around Polaris.
- How stars "move" in the sky
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Polaris
- Over a weekend the students will use a transparency to record the stars position around Polaris at different times during the night.
North Star:
- 1)
Polaris
- Over a weekend the students will use a transparency to record the stars position around Polaris at different times during the night.
Culture relation to objects in the night sky:
- 1)
Moon Quest
- Students will research myths about the moon, and put together a story from what they learned.
- 2)
Windows to the Universe
- This has stories about each planet. Including the sun and the moon.
Star cycle/properties:
- 1)
Imagine the Universe: The life Cycles of Stars
- This is a PDF file that has a lot of activities on star cycles.
- 2)
Star Child: The Life Cycles of Stars
- This site is the web version. There is also the PDF link. This has other types of activities for students.
- Includes nebula, etc
- Size, similarities to our sun
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How Big Is That Star?
- Students will compare radius and mass of stars to gain an idea of how big they are in relation to each other.
- Cycle
- Like the sun, but larger and smaller
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How Big Is That Star?
- Students will compare radius and mass of stars to gain an idea of how big they are in relation to each other.
H-R diagram
- 1)
Jewels of the Night
- Students will measure the color and brightness of stars, and plot them on a chart that will look similar to a H-R diagram
Fusion (star)/energy source:
-
Primary/Elementary activity: Active Energy Sources
- An active game that kids can play. It uses words like solar and has the kids perform an action. This is a PDF file.
Distance of stars/brightness:
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Space Squared
- Has students break numbers into smaller perfect squares.
Aurora:
- 1)
The Northern Lights
- This website has two PDF documents (one in color) that has a lot of activities with the auroras.
Spectroscopy of stars (elements):
- 1)
The Guest Investigator Puzzle
- Comparing spectra samples to known spectra.
- 2)
Spectra; Fingerprints for Light Sources
- Students will make a device that will show them the spectrum of light.
Distance in space:
- 1)
Just How Big is this Place?
- Students will break large astronomical numbers and try and break them down in to smaller units. Example, if we have a car traveling at a 100mph it will take 10 hours to finish a 1000-mile trip.
- 2)
The thousand-Yard Model
- With small things to represent planets, students will place them at the right distance to gain an idea for how far away planets are away from each other.
Light year:
- Light Years Away
- This site has students do math to figure out how long it takes light to travel for certain times then goes on to ask how many years would it take to travel X miles.
Asteroids, comets, meteoroids, meteors, meteorites:
- 1)
Masking a Comet in the Classroom
- The teacher will make a comet with dry ice and other materials. The students can watch the comet melt and sublimate through out the day.
- 2)
Meteoroids and the Craters They Make
- With some pebbles, students will drop them into a box of dirt to see how creators are made.
- 3)
Chapter 5, topic 4 Planetesimals
- Topic 4 is about planetesimals, and it comes with some activities: Watch a meteor shower or collect micrometeorites
Earth-asteroid history:
- 1)
Chapter 5, topic 4 Planetesimals
- Topic 4 is about planetesimals, and it comes with some activities: Watch a meteor shower or collect micrometeorites
- 2)To the Moon and Beyond (Puppet Show)
- This site has the students put together a puppet show that'll explain how the moon was created from an asteroid impact.
Deep sky objects:
- Deep Sky Astronomy
- This is a in-depth research project. This topic was a hard one to find on the web. Not all teachers are going to have access to astrophotography equipment. However, a search on the web may be sufficient, or using freeware programs like Celestia or Stellarium can also work. This is a PDF file.
Galaxies:
- 1)Glitter Galaxy Craft
- Make a picture of a galaxy with glitter and glue.
- 2)Galaxies Galore
- This is a computer activity. Students will go to Galaxies Galore, Games and More and build their own galaxy.
Solar system location within galaxy:
- Our Position in the Milky Way
- This PDF has students form a circle with strings that all go to one student in the center. The center student will move off-center and should notice that the strings are more concentrated on the side that is closes to other students. From this activity, students should make a connection to how globular clusters help scientist determine the solar system's location within the galaxy.
Origin and evolution of universe and solar system:
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Universe at your Fingertips Activity: Cosmic Calendar
- Students will but together a timeline starting with the Big Bang on January 1st through the last night of December.
Organization of known universe:
under research
- Models to represent solar system, galaxies, and universe
- 1)
The Thousand-Yard Model
- This will give an idea of how big the solar system is. An 8-inch ball will represent the sun and a peppercorn will represent the earth.
Universe motion/expansion/Doppler effect:
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The Expanding Universe
- This site has 6 activities aimed to teach and understand how the universe is expanding and how it relates to the Big Bang theory.
Gravitational attraction/orbit/Newton’s laws:
- 1)
Planet Paths: Studying Planetary Orbital paths
- This site has 4 activities on orbits and Newton's Laws
- 2)
Round and Round They Go!
- With a straw, strings, and washers, students will understand how an object that is closer to center orbits faster than an object further away.
- 3)Planet Impact!
- A computer game simulation that will have students test out different speeds, size, and angle of a comet to see if it'll hit or miss Jupiter.
Space exploration/telescopes/live in space:
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Liftoff Into Space
- Students learn about the history of the space race, and create a time line of significant dates.
Technology resulting from space exploration-history:
- 1)
Make your own Satellite
- This site has some lessons on what a satellite is. Then it has a link to make satellite from paper.
- 2)
People and Space
- This site shows what type of food astronauts get to eat in space.
Current technology/careers:
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Make your Own Satellite
- This site talks about what people do with satellites.
Types of data collecting telescopes and how they are used (x-ray, infra)
- under
- research
Evidence for big bang-cosmic background, red shift:
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The Expanding Universe
- This site has 6 activities on how the universe is expanding.
History of astronomy (geocentric vs. heliocentric):
- 1)History of Astronomy Scanvenger Hunt.
- This is a scavenger hunt to learn more about the differences between the geocentric and heliocentric models.
- 2)Ptolemy, Copernicus, & the Church
- This gets more into the history of how the heliocentric model came about. There are activities on retrograde motion that explains how both models work, and how people will get different conclusions on the same subject.
Orbital velocity/orbital diameter relations:
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Planet Paths: Studying Planetary
- This site has students learn about Kepler's laws to explain the relationship between velocity and orbital diameter.
-
Round and Round the go!
- A simple activity to show how a smaller orbit has a faster velocity.
Time from sky/time zones reasoning (big dipper clock/sundial):
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Ch.3 Time and the Calendar
- This site has many topic and activities on time.
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Making a Sun Clock
- This site has students make a sun clock.
Radiating vs. reflecting bodies:
- under
- research
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