Jewels of the Night The Jewels of the Night is a hands-on, teacher-tested activity for middle school and older students. Students measure the color and brightness of stars in the Jewelbox Cluster from a color image. They determine the age of the cluster by plotting their measurements in a color-brightness diagram. The activity develops classification and graphing skills and fosters observation, communication, and cooperative learning skills. The activity is designed to be printed for use in the classroom. The Jewels of the Night activity was developed by NOAO astronomers working together with Tucson teachers. National Optical Astronomy Observatories, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O.
Why Should We Care About Exploding Stars? Why Should We Care About Exploding Stars? Activity Corner Astronomy in the Marketplace by Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science Center The allure of astronomy is so strong that many companies have named products after astronomical objects. Objectives 1. Projects 1. Automobiles: Ford Taurus, Mercury Comet, Dodge Aries, Ford Galaxie, GM Astrovan, Nissan Pulsar, Toyota Corona, Chevy Nova, and Subaru (which means Pleiades in Japanese; the Subaru logo at the front of each car actually shows a number of the stars in the Pleiades star cluster.) Other Products: Comet cleanser, Milky Way and Mars candy bars, Pulsar watches, Quasar televisions, and Galaxy carpets (with a spiral galaxy as a logo). 2. 3. 4. You might note that astronomers themselves have chuckled about these product names over the years. (c) 1987 Dennis Schatz Dennis Schatz is the Associate Director of the Pacific Science Center in Seattle and is the leader of the A.S.P.' Resource Corner Supernovae For more background information on supernovae, see:
Exercises Using the SalsaJ software (download here), students and teachers can make the Universe their laboratory. The hands-on exercises below are designed to allow students to use real astronomical data to find a new planet, explore volcanos on the moons of Jupiter, classify stars, or weigh a galaxy! Each exercise comes complete with real astronomical data and detailed instructions for how to display, analyze, and interpret the data using the SalsaJ software. This software is free, and is multi-platform and multi-lingual (languages supported include English, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Greek, Portuguese, Swedish, Northern Sami, Arabic, and Chinese). At your convenience, a single package containing all the data and files (but not the guides!) Simply download the software, choose an exercise and you are ready to explore the Universe!
Birthday Moons Students become familiar with lunar phases by locating and then graphing the Moon phase of their own birthdays. After listening and discussing lunar myths and legends they create their own Birthday Moon Stories. The learner will: generate a birthday moon for his/her birth date this year and the previous year using various web sites. National Mathematics Education Standards Materials and Technology Scientific Background Activity 1: Cut and paste the eight phases of the Moon. Activity 2: Use "moon cards" to enable students to become familiar with lunar phase sequences and patterns. Activity 3: Find out what the Moon looked like on each student's birthday. Activity 4: Students each draw a picture of their birthday moons on a blank card along with their birth date, year, and name of lunar phase. Activity 5: Students classify their pictures according to the Phases of the Moon. Activity 7: Students write a story about their birthday moon. 1. 2. 3. 5. 6. How many pictures are in each phase? 9.
STEM Lesson Plans | Mars Education The Mars Education lesson plans section is here to serve as a resource for educators, grades K-12 to download and utilize in formal classroom settings. These lessons are free and made to be fully accessible and downloadable PDF documents that can be saved or printed. All of the Mars Education Program lesson plans include elements of inquiry-based learning that are aligned to the National Science Education Standards, Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards as well as problem-based learning and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5-E instructional model. The STEM lessons included in this section of the website are the very lessons that we apply throughout our educator conferences and professional development training sessions. For questions on the Mars Education Lessons please contact us.
Paul Elliott's WebQuest | Introduction | Task | Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Notes to Teachers | Introduction Even with the best of planning structural failures can occur. Check out the video clip and photos of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster. Click for Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse Task Have you wondered why this WebQuest is called "Spaghetti EarthQuake? Process Select an individual from your team to fulfill each of the following roles: Architect (responsible for making an architectural drawing of structure) Treasurer (responsible for financial matters for the team) Technology Director (responsible for collecting / presenting internet research data) Project Manager (responsible for obtaining / managing building materials and clean - up.) Special Note: Taking on any of the roles above does not mean that you do all of the work. 2. Special Note: You must provide the name(s) or URL's of the websites that you visited in your final presentation. 3. 4. Insurance Restrictions: 5. 6. Resources 3. 1.
Stargazers The Universe at Your Fingertips 2.0 DVD-ROM: AstroShop A Collection of Activities and Resources for Teaching Astronomy (on a DVD-ROM) Edited by Andrew FraknoiPublished by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Wholesale and international orders please contact service {at} astrosociety.org or call customer service at 1-800-335-2624. This DVD-ROM is the most comprehensive resource and activity guide for teaching basic concepts and activities in space science ever published. 133 field-tested hands-on activities, from programs and projects around the US,17 topical guides to to the best sources of information in print and on the web,52 background articles on astronomy and education,12 short videos with instructions for doing some of the most often-used activities, and10 recommended sequences of activities to help students learn some of the topics most often found in the K-12 curriculum. Themes and topics include: Click here for the full table of contents (pdf file).
Lesson Plan: Global Warming . NOW Is human activity bringing about alarming global warming scenarios and related catastrophes? Or is such thinking a myth brought about by flawed or incomplete science? Finding the answers to these questions has turned global warming into a highly politicized and contentious issue. Use the NOW Classroom standards-linked lesson on global warming to help students research and form credible opinions. This lesson is designed for social studies, debate, language arts, government/citizenship, and current events classes, grades 9-12. » View the full lesson plan [pdf] Also feel free to show NOW on PBS programs related to global warming to inspire discussion, critical thinking, and debate. Visit NOW Classroom for more skill-based teaching materials that allow you to choose your own NOW programs. Other NOW resources Quiz: Energy Efficiency Take our quiz to find out what you can do to make your life more energy efficient.
Science Teaching Junkie: Clearest Way to Teach Moon Phases...EVER! This moon phase board was fairly easy to make. After making a run to the Dollar Tree and rummaging through our science storeroom to collect the needed supplies to make this, it was pretty inexpensive and so worth every penny! Essentially, this Moon Phase board allows students to visualize and better understand the cause of moon phases and comprehend the 2 different views that are often given on a diagram (view from space and view from the Earth). Up to this point, I've done a Lunar Lollipop Investigation, which I thought was great, but this beats it by a long shot! A large majority of my students don't really understand why the lit part of the moon doesn't face the sun on part of the view as seen from Earth on every moon phase diagram (see below). Even though I give many different examples and explanations, I still see a puzzled look on several of the students' faces. Followed by the waxing crescent. The first quarter. Then waxing gibbous. Full moon Waning gibbous And finally, waning crescent.
Astrobiobound | Mars Education Astrobiobound! NEW - NGSS and CCSS Designed and Aligned! Students learn systems engineering by engaging in a mission planning simulation that mirrors the search for life in our solar system. Students create a mission that has to balance the return of science data with mission limitations such as power, mass and budget. In this advanced and exciting activity, students in grades 3-12 will become NASA project managers and have the opportunity to plan their own NASA mission.