Astronomy and Space Sciences

Lesson Plans

Lesson 1: Important Astronomers: from the Ancient to the Modern

Objective

Students learn about astronomers, from the most ancient to present. They will learn what the astronomers discovered before and after the invention of the telescope and how the most recent adaptations are being used today.

Materials

Suggested list of names of astronomers, and those whose discoveries changed the face of our Solar System: Aristotle, Democritus, Erastothenes, Hipparchus, Abd Al-Rahman al Sufi, Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Giovanni Cassini, Edmond Halley, Sir William Herschel, Christian Huygnes, Sir Issac Newton, Albert Einstein, Willamina Fleming, Edwin Powell Hubble, Stephen Hawking, and Clyde Tombaugh.

Vocabulary

Observations, nature, reasoning, models, telescope, planets, asteroids, stars, ancient, renaissance, age of enlightenment, modern. Add vocabulary as the students do their research and bring questions to the class.

Teacher Preparation

Gather resource material for students to research the lives of astronomers. Use internet and resources from the library.

Web sites :

• www.chldrensmuseum.org/cosmicquest/fieldguide/astronomers/html
• http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/ask_an_astornomer.html
• (underscore after ask and an)
• www.csd.uch.gr/~vsiris/ancient_greeks.htm.
• http://es.rice.edu/ES/hunsoc/Galileo/People/tycho_brahe.html

Procedure

This lesson is designed for 2 or 3 days for research, three days for the writing, editing, and publishing, and one day for presentations.

Students will be divided into their study groups and given the list of ancient astronomers. Each group can have the same list but must report on a different astronomer or have each draw the name of astronomer out of a "hat". Distribute a list of expectations and discuss the information that needs to be included in the reports. The reports need to include pertinent discoveries for each, time they lived, where they were from, and how their discoveries revolutionized astronomy.

Each student will document the results of their group's results in their own personal science journal as soon as their group is ready for the group presentation.

The group will choose one person to present the report to the class. If charts, graphs, or pictures are used more than one person can implement the presentation.

Student Evaluation

Each student will take part in the writing of the presentation and the group will get a group grade. Each student will be given a grade for their science journal entry.

Enrichment

Independent research: Students can choose one invention that the ancient astronomers would find important to their research. Another topic that they can use is how modern travelers can use the findings of the ancient astronomers to find their way today without modern inventions. The student can choose to demonstrate how the invention was made, if possible, and how it is still being used. Enrichment can be an assignment that is completed during class after other work is completed or as a project completed at home.

Lesson 2: The Planets and Their Place in Space

Objective

The students will learn what planets are in our Solar System, their distance from the Sun, and how their diameter compares to the diameter of Earth.

Materials

Library books, map of the Solar System, NASA materials, measuring tape, meter stick, various art supplies: paper, markers, pie tins, baggie ties or strips of wire.

Vocabulary

Sun, Solar System, Universe, Milky Way Galaxy, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Moon, comets, asteroids, rotate, revolve, orbit, axis

Teacher Preparation

Arrange library books in display for students. Gather materials for lesson

Procedure

This lesson is designed for five to six days, including presentations.

During this lesson students will use an assortment of resources to construct maps, graphs, dioramas, mobiles of our Solar System. They may use any available materials from the art supplies or bring materials from home.

When they complete their individual project, the class will use the astronomical unit, which is the average distance from Earth to the Sun. (Freedman, 2002) as measurements for distance from the Sun to each planet. These measurements will be used to mark the placements of the planets along the school perimeter. Pie tins will be decorated and used to represent the planets and they will be fixed to the fence at the pre-measured points.

Student Evaluation

Students will display their completed projects in a prearranged area in the room and in the library. The class project will be available for any other class to use during their study of the Solar System.

Once their independent project and the class projects are completed the results of their research will be documented in their science journal.

Lesson 3: Follow the Sun

Objectives

Students will make a record of the Sun's motion during one day to show how the Sun moves across the sky.

Materials

White material, a piece of plastic from a shower curtain or laminated paper, approximately 36 inches long and 18 inches wide, permanent marker, perpendicular stick (a round dowel or a yardstick or scrap piece of 1x1) at least 3 feet long, black yarn, compass.

Vocabulary

Rotate, revolve, perpendicular, movement, axis, orbit, am, pm, noon, east, west, north, south, tilt, Sun dial

Teacher Preparation

This experiment has to take place on a sunny day. Before school, secure the water proof material onto an area that will remain in the sunlight all day. Align the paper to point east-west. This is where use of the compass comes in if you don't already know the directions and even if you do let the students check the directions. Tape the paper so it will not blow away. Place the stick perpendicular to the ground on the south edge, halfway across the paper. Mark the end of the shadow with the marker and date the mark.

Procedure

This lesson is designed for 3 days, one day to track the movement and two days for class discussion about seasonal changes and journal writing.

Explain that the activity will be hands-on and review the behavior that is expected.

Review the vocabulary and explain that they are going to track the movement of the Sun's motion, using a shadow of a stick as astronomers did thousands of years ago. As the activity begins, one student will mark the tip of the shadow and write the time next to the new dot. Another student will measure the distance from the first dot to the second dot and everyone will record this information in their journals.

Every hour two students will be chosen to mark the dot, write the time, and measure the distance from the dot from the previous hour. They will return to class and report the information to the class and it will be recorded in their journals. When the last mark has been recorded the students will go to their study groups and discuss the results. They will then come to a group conclusion as to what happened.

The class recorder will then gather all the group results and the class will then discuss the data and come to a class conclusion as to why the length of the shadow changed.

Wrap up

At this time introduce the term "Sun Dial" and explain how the movement of the Earth can be used to tell time. Explain that some people can tell time by the position of the Sun in the sky and do not have to depend on the clock or a watch.

The teacher needs to explain that it is impossible to feel the Earth move. We are actually rotating at about 1,000 miles per hour at the equator and slower as you move north or south from the equator. As the Earth spins from west to east it makes the sky appear to moving us east to west. Demonstrate this by having the students stand in one spot and pretend they are rotating slowly in a counterclockwise motion. Have the students watch one object to see what direction the object appears to be moving. During this demonstration they will see it move in the opposite direction. If needed use further demonstrations to show how later astronomers proved that the Sun was in the center of the Solar System.

Enrichment

Make a record of the Sun's motion on approximately the same date each month for the entire school year. Use a piece of 8 ½"x11" waterproof paper mounted on a cardboard. Place a T pin through one edge of the cardboard and tape it in a perpendicular position. Place the paper over the pin and tape it at the corners. Label the paper with the compass directions and the date. Again mark and record the shadow of the pin with a dot every hour. Make sure to put it in the same place each month. We have a table in our outdoor classroom that can be used for this project. Once the data has been collected, post the results in the classroom for the students to analyze. As they compare the pattern of shadows each month they can record their findings in their journals.

Lead a discussion near the end of the year to help the students understand why the shadows appear longer and shorter at different times of the year.

Students can use this to integrate seasonal changes, weather patterns, migration, seasonal planting and harvesting. For further enrichment bring in an Old Farmer's Almanac to use as reference.

Lesson 4: How Long is a Year?

Objective

Learn how the length of the orbit determines how long a year is on a planet.

Remind students this is not a race that they are determining who takes the most steps.

Once the procedure is over the questions will be asked: Why did it take more steps on each ring? How would that transfer to time to complete an orbit? The process of being able to translate the number of steps into the time it takes is then translated into why a year on Mercury is 88 days, Venus 225 days, Earth 365 days, Mars 687 days, and Jupiter twelve Earth years (12 X 365 +3 leap year days) will be more difficult for the younger students but can be explained in terms of how long it takes for them to travel from Houston to downtown compared to traveling to Austin as the same speed. Explain the difference in distances and they will understand the difference in travel time.

You will not have to bring in the speed of travel for the planets at this time, but do explain that the length of year varies for two reasons: 1. Orbit is larger as you go away from the Sun. 2. The velocity decreases as you go out from the Sun. There is a formula to find out how long a year is on each planet as well as charts that tell you the answer. For lower elementary the charts will be sufficient. Upper grades may want to teach the mathematical formulas and give the students a challenge as to how the answers are found for the charts.

Materials

Cone markers, pieces of paper and rocks, or wooden stakes to mark the orbital paths.

The paint stirring sticks at Home Depot (or similar paint store) would work very well if the ground is soft enough for students to push them into the ground, if not just lay them on the ground at designated points. Five of the markers need to be marked for beginning

points for the orbits. I would estimate that the first ring will need at 6 markers, the second 8, the third 12, the fourth 16, and the fifth 24 (total of 50). The marking of the rings will take a big part of the lesson time so if time is limited you may have to make the rings smaller or use fewer markers.

Vocabulary

Orbit, rotate, revolve

Teacher Preparation

The teacher and students can mark off the orbits the planets will take or the teacher can do it before class. Personally, I believe the students can help with the preparation.

Procedure

This lesson is designed for two to three days depending on the number of questions that students need answered and their understanding of the subject.

1. Divide the class into five groups. Each group chooses a name for their new planet and then chooses one from their group to act as the planet. One student will monitor each planet, and will be considered as a "moon" for that planet. They will help keep count of the number of steps the planet takes.
2. Begin with the first group and mark off an oval ring at least one meter from the center circle, which should be at least two meters in diameter. Using the material chosen to mark the rings, each group marks off their orbit in the same fashion, one meter from the outer ring, until five rings have been marked. We have a large area to use and should have plenty of room. I just have to make sure that we have plenty of markers.
3. The "planet" from each group goes to the start marker and their "moon" tags along to help the planet stay in their ring and to keep count of the steps.
4. All the rest of the class enters the center ring, facing out. They will be the Sun and will do the counting of steps.
5. As the Sun counts the planets step off their orbit. Remind students that this is not a race. Once the first planet reaches its start marker everyone stops to see how far they have traveled. Once a planet reaches its beginning marker another student from their group rotates with that student. Continue counting until the second, third, fourth, and finally the fifth planet have reached the starting marker. Each "moon" needs to keep track of how many times its planet has passed the beginning marker. Knowing how many different students have been planets on each ring will help keep track for the times the planets go around the Sun.
6. Once the demonstration is completed have the students answer these questions: Why did the planet in ring one go around more times? How did the distance planet 1 traveled compare to the distance planet 2 traveled? Why did planet 5 seem to be going the slowest? Why did planet 1 seem to be going the fastest? Was any planet traveling any faster than the other ones? If you lived on planet 1 would you be older than those living on planet 5?

Lesson 5: Solar System, Solar System. What is in our Solar System?

Objective

Develop a game the students make themselves. Write complete sentence clues to identify different planets, stars, constellations, asteroids, moons or comets. Write answers on a separate sheet of paper.

Materials

5x8 cards or half sheets of writing paper, pencils, books or other source materials from previous lessons

Vocabulary

Use prior vocabulary that has been added to the science journal

Teacher preparation

Students will need 5x8 cards or half sheets of writing paper. Have enough so that every student can use as many as they want.

Procedure

Each student is to write one fact about any planet, or any thing in our Galaxy, on each 5x8 card or half sheet of paper. This fact is to be written as a statement followed by the question: Who am I? or What am I? Do not write the answer on the card of paper.

Examples:

• I have liquid water. Who am I? (Earth)
• I have the most moons. Who am I? ( Jupiter)
• I have an icy tail. What am I? ( a comet)
• I may have caused the dinosaurs to disappear. What am I? (a comet or meteor)

Points can be given for each correct answer.

I plan on using this lesson as an enrichment activity. Students will have to retrieve the facts from materials already studied and from their science journal notes as they write their questions and answers. Once they complete the lesson their questions and answers can be printed on 5x8 index cards and used as study guides later in the semester. We can also use this game in a class discovery center.

Lesson 6: Twinkle, Twinkle, Every Star

Objectives

This is a three part lesson that goes along with stories in Reading and Social Studies

Identify specific constellations

Explain how specific stars and the Sun are used for navigation

Vocabulary

Constellation, Big Dipper, Underground Railroad, navigation, north, south, east, west, compass rose, sextant

Materials

Black paper, straight pins, chalk, Styrofoam blocks, shoe boxes with lids, toothpicks, chopsticks or wooden sticks, glue, stars of different colors and sizes, flashlights

Procedure

The first part of this lesson is to read the story about Harriet Tubman and discuss the story. Once the students understand that the people traveling North had to travel at night begin questioning why and how they knew which direction to go. Explain that the constellation is easy to see if you look toward the North once it gets dark.

The second story to read is the true story about Lewis and Clark. A story about Christopher Columbus and The Mayflower can be read at this time too. The discussions at this time will include navigation by using stars and the Sun.

Activity

Using black paper and a straight pin make tiny holes that match the shape of the Big Dipper. This can be drawn on the back side with white crayon or chalk. The placement of the stars can be marked with an X. Continue the lesson having each student make the constellation on black paper, pushing the pins through the paper to make the holes. Cut the end out of a shoe box. Glue the black paper with the holes to the open end. Cut a tiny hole in the other end of the box and look through this hole as someone shines a flashlight on the black paper (from the outside of the box). The constellation will appear on the black paper. If your students are adept enough to glue the black paper three inches from the end of the shoe box a hole can be cut in the bottom of the box. They can shine the flashlight up through the hole in the bottom and see the light through the holes they have punched in the black paper. They can get the same effect by attaching the black paper to the end of a paper tube and looking through the tube toward a light.

Lesson 7: NASA and The Space Industry

Objectives

Since we live just north of NASA I feel that it is very important that our students learn as much as possible about the space industry and specifically about NASA. Students will learn the history of NASA, deal with the economics of space travel, the importance of space flight, and jobs related to the space industry. During this lesson a trip to NASA as well as visits from an astronomer, engineer, or astronaut will be planned.

Materials

Classroom library, computers, writing paper, pencils, drawing materials for illustrations

Procedure

This lesson is designed to take four to five days for the research and another three days for the writing, editing and publishing of their story.

Using the computer and class library, students will begin their research on the space industry and the history of rockets and space flight. Each group will be given a specific area, person, or time frame to use during their research. Topics will include beginning rocketry, flight to the moon, Sputnik, astronauts, space food, space ships, and space suits.

After their research project has been completed they will then use the information gathered to write a fictional story about a trip to another planet. This writing will include why they are going, how long they must travel (in light years), what they have to take, and what they might see. Remember, it is fiction and I expect their imaginations to soar.