TitleIII Technology Literacy Challenge Grant

Learning Unit

Overview | Content Knowledge | Essential Questions | Connection To Standards | Initiating Activity | Learning Experiences | Culminating Performance | Pre-Requisite Skills | Modifications | Schedule/Time Plan | Technology Use

OVERVIEW

People have observed the stars for thousands of years, using them to find direction, to note the passage of time, and to express their values and traditions. As our technology progresses, so does our understanding of the objects which make up the celestial heavens.

This unit attempts to trace the history and development of our understanding of the movement of celestial objects. Our beliefs stemmed from an apparent stationary earth with all motion occurring around us to our more modern understanding that Earth is one of nine planets orbiting a stationary sun. The content of this unit should be scheduled for approximately four weeks. This time frame does not include review, quiz, test or post test analysis.

Attention: This learning unit is intended to be a teacher tool. Consider this unit a portal into the Internet. I have used hypertext links (shown in blue) to guide the user of this unit into areas of the Internet that specifically address the declarative and procedural content knowledge shown below. You as the creative element in this learning process will find a varied number of excellent potential activities to incorporate into your particular situation. Once you have begun to explore the various resources it will be up to you to decide on which activities meet the needs of your particular situation. Please do not consider the sites chosen by me to be the only options. You will soon see the vast number of possibilities that may find their way into your own personal curriculum.

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• How can we explain the apparent motions of celestial objects?
• How does our modern model of the solar system explain the observed motions of celestial objects.
• How do the real motions of Earth affect the living conditions of its inhabitants.
• Why are there seasons?
• In what ways can Earth be considered unique in our solar system?

CONNECTIONS TO NYS LEARNING STANDARDS
List Standard # and Key Idea #: Write out related Performance Indicator(s) or Benchmark(s)

Math, Science and Technology

Standard 2: Students will access, generate, process and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

Standard 4: Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

Performance Indicator 1.1 Explain Complex phenomena, such as tides, variations in day length, solar insolation, apparent motion of the planets, and annual traverse of the constellations.

Key Idea 1: The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective.

l.la Most objects in the solar system are in regular and predictable motion.

l. lb Nine planets move around the Sun in nearly circular orbits.

l.ld Earth rotates on an imaginary axis at a rate of 15 degrees per hour. To people on Earth, this turning of the planet makes it seem as though the Sun, the moon, and the stars are moving around Earth once a day.

1.lf Earth’s changing position with regard to the Sun and the moon has noticeable effects.

1.lg Seasonal changes in the apparent positions of constellations provide evidence of Earth's revolution.

1.lh The Sun's apparent path through the sky varies with latitude and season.

English Language Arts

Standard 1:Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

INITIATING ACTIVITY-Charting Constellations

Objectives
The students will:
1. Describe constellations and their mythological stories.
2. Recognize patterns of constellations.
3. Use graph paper to chart the constellations.
4. Draw and illustrate their own version of a constellation character using a star pattern.
5. Share a finished product with an audience.

Teacher Materials
graph paper; material on constellations; graph paper transparency; blank transparencies; computer; printer; paper; word processing program; overhead projector

Student Materials
paper; pencil; graph paper; white drawing paper; map pencils

Procedures
(Include extensions and reinforcements if necessary)
1. As an introduction to the study of constellations, illustrate one of the major constellations on the chalk board or overhead showing both the major stars and the design or picture the star pattern was seen as (Ursa Major- Big Bear). Read myths that correspond to that constellation (Greek, Native American) Repeat this procedure for Ursa Minor, Draco, Cepheus and Cassiopeia
2. Nightly observations, at the some time each evening, encourage students to note characteristics of the stars, and their relative positions. Initial homework assignments should include keeping a journal on observations of color, brightness, and patterns. Use the Internet site http://www.earthsky.com to tune in to a daily broadcast on the night sky.
3. After familiarizing students with the North Polar
Constellations, use graph paper and coordinates to make the star patterns of each constellation
Ursa Major: (M,37); (Q,34); (R,34); (U,33); (W,35);(Z,32); (X,30)
Ursa Minor: (R,17); (0,18); (N,20); (M,22); (K,22); (L,25);(N,25)
Draco : (B,33); (C,30); (E,32); (D,34); (B,24); (C,22); (F,24); (G,22); (G,28); (G,30); (I,31); (N,30); (R,27); (U,27)
Cepheus: (G,6); (E,10); (I,12); (J,8); (O,11)
Cassiopeia: (L,1); (K,4); (O,4);(S,5); (R,2)
4. Have the students transfer the star patterns onto white drawing paper and draw their own version of the North Polar Constellations
5. Students will draw and illustrate their own version of a constellation using on e of the graphed star patterns. They should use map colors to accentuate their drawing.
6. Have students create a new adventure story to go with their constellation illustration. final drafts should be placed on the computer using a word processing program.
7. Final products should be completed and presented to an audience. if a scanner is available students should scan their illustrations and place them on the same document as their story. A class book could be the final result which may be published as a class project on a web page.

Resources
(Include student handouts, internet sites, and library resources)
Internet

Mythology: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/hist_astr/ha_items_astrology.html
Earth and Sky http://www.earthsky.com
Stars: http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/usr/jas/stars.html
The Constellations and Their Stars: http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/

Created by

LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Please notice the hypertext links I have used in this unit. In writing this unit it became clear, early on, that astronomy is an area there is no shortage of material. As the creative element in lesson design I wanted you to have the same latitude to review and select the types of activities you would incorporate in your lessons. Typically a hypertext link will take you to a specific activity you can use as is or to a list of activities from which you can select what works best in your situation.

Geocentric VS Heliocentric Models of the Solar System

There are two basic opposing views of the universe the earth-centered, geocentric, and the sun-centered, heliocentric; also the planets move in an oscillatory or retrograde fashion. Oscillatory motion is seen when we are viewing a planet inside our orbit (that is between us and the sun) and it is only visible just before sunrise or just after sunset in the east and west portions of the sky. Retrograde motion is seen when we are viewing a planet outside our orbit (viewing a planet farther away from the sun than we are) and the planet over a number of days appears to go forward (eastward in relation to stars), back up, and then resume its eastward direction.

What happened to discredit the Geocentric Theory? A seemingly simple question with a seemingly simple answer. Galileo made one of the most significant observations ever in the discipline of astronomy when he viewed the planet Venus with his newly constructed telescope. He observed that, like the moon, Venus went through a complete set of phase changes from "new" to full" and this provided very strong evidence for the Heliocentric Theory of the solar system. In the Geocentric vs. Heliocentric lab, two overlays, a pegboard, and planetary models, will allow observance of Venus in a Geocentric or Ptolemaic world and a Heliocentric or Copernican world. The Geocentric Theory was the "truth" for 1,400 years. The Heliocentric Theory was proposed in 1543 by Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, when he was near death. Almost 70 years later, Galileo proved it with observations from his telescope.

Earth Motions Activities

Teacher Note: The hypertext links EARTH MOTIONS will take you to a web page of activities that reinforce the concepts of relative motions of the Sun and Earth. Look for " Astronomy of the Earth's motion in space:"

Following this heading are 12 individual activities produced by NASA for your use. The activities trace the history of astronomy through modern space flight. You may wish to take parts of activities to create your own lessons.

Changing Pattern of Daylight and Darkness on Earth Activity

Teacher Note: The "Daylight and Darkness" hypertext link will take you to an interactive web page where the student can see the whole earth divided into it daylight and darkness portions. By altering the values of date, time or latitude, the student can observe the division of daylight and darkness for any time of year. The "ancient celebrations" hypertext link will take you to a selection of stories about the various rites and celebrations of astronomical events. Some of these stories are quite graphic and should be reviewed before use.

The changing path of the sun through the sky is not a new observation. Mankind has been aware of this event for thousands of years. Many ancient celebrations are based on this cyclic pattern of daylight and darkness.

A truly interactive series of activities dealing with the Earth's changing pattern of daylight and darkness can be found at the Earth Moon Viewer.

Constellations, the Celestial Sphere and Simulated Observations.

Teacher Note: "Constellations" is a wonderful link to a series of "Your Sky" activities where students can participate in making observation of many different types of celestial objects. Teacher developed activity sheets can be pre-printed to allow for a little more guidance in using these activities.

CULMINATING PERFORMANCE
Include rubric(s)

 Teacher Note: The " activities" hypertext link provides a listing of traditional science laboratory type activities the student can select from to either do as a traditional pencil and paper lab write up or as a foundation for a Power Point presentation.

Students are to select and complete one of the activities found within this link. I would expect a complete laboratory write-up using a formal write up or a power point presentation. For a write-up I suggest the scoring rubric shown below. Each formal write-up should include the elements of the scientific inquiry method. Problem; Hypothesis; Materials; Procedure; Data Collection; Analysis and Conclusion. Students wishing to attain the highest ranking in their rubric scoring may wish to make power point presentations of their chosen activity. In the case of a power point presentation, I have included a suggested scoring rubric.

Scoring Rubric-Power Point Presentation^*

^*Having an unsatisfactory evaluation in two areas will result in an overall unsatisfactory evaluation.

Scoring Rubric-Traditional Laboratory Report^*

^*You may adjust these point values.

PRE-REQUISITE SKILLS

Prior to work on this unit:

• Students must be proficient at using a classroom computer.
• They should know their user name, password and be able to log on with little assistance help.
• Students should recognize the significance of hypertext links within a document.
• Students should be able to navigate the web using their browser commands.
• Students may be asked to cut-and-paste or download images to a word processor document.
• Students should know how to cut and paste from a web page into a word-processing application.
• Students should know how to format and print documents.

MODIFICATIONS

• Buddy-up students with special needs into a group of regular education students.
• Make use of a teacher aid or assistant in the classroom.
• Work with small groups of students in a self-contained special education room with an appropriately trained teacher.
• Reduce the number and kinds of activity required by special needs students.
• Work one on one.

UNIT SCHEDULE/TIME PLAN

This learning unit should be given a time budget of 16 clock hours. Each of the four areas investigated can be accomplished in 3 to 4 hours under normal circumstances. Additional time may be necessary. Below is a sample schedule. A teacher wishing to add emphasis to any of the areas should feel free to flex the time as they see fit to accomplish the objectives. There is much variation in the amount of time teachers have in the laboratory environment. I also attempted to keep the activities open ended and varied. Therefore teachers using this information should pre-test the activities to make modifications for their special circumstances. New York State teachers of the "Physical Setting" should keep a log to meet the minimum time requirements for lab.

Suggested schedule:

WEEK 1

• Models of the Solar System
• Significant Scientists involved with the development of our modern model of the solar system
• Individualized study of the members of our solar system.
• Student spotlight on a member of our solar system.

WEEK 2

• Sun's Path Activities- Teacher Discretion
• Earth's Orbit Activities- Teacher Discretion

WEEK 3

• Ancient Celebrations of the Winter Solstice
• Exploration of Daylight and Darkness
• The Earth-Moon Viewer

WEEK 4

• Early and Modern Astronomers
• Constellations in the local sky
• "Your Sky" cluster of activities- Teacher discretion.

 TECHNOLOGY USE

One of my goals in designing this unit was to expose the teacher as creative element in lesson design, to the vast amount of information available on the Internet. To prepare a "cookbook" style unit would in my opinion would have undermined the creative essence of being a teacher. This learning unit relies on the use of the Internet. The premise being the traditional printed word is static, expensive and outdated almost as it comes off the presses. The Internet is a marvelous gateway to the information mankind discovers. I encourage teachers to explore. To go much deeper than I have.

This unit must have an adequate number of computers for every two to three students. Alternatively a program such as "Webwhacker" may be used in districts that are lacking in computer stations. There should be ample numbers of Internet sites in each classroom to accommodate the potential demand this unit could produce. I have only exposed the "tip of the iceberg" for any teacher using this unit.