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TEACHER’S GUIDE
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Follow-up Discussion
Internet Resources
Research indicates that students will retain their previous misconceptions about a topic, in preference to new information, until they
actively recognize and correct their own errors. Therefore, it is important to have your students re-examine the facts/beliefs they put on
their “Everything We Think We Know About…” list. It might also be
helpful to review the list by marking each entry with a “+” or “-” to
show which facts were correct and which were incorrect.
Discussions that ensue from thought-provoking questions provide a
good way to assess the overall depth of student understanding. The
following are some suggested discussion questions.
1. Why are there different theories about the future of the universe?
• windows.engin.umich.edu/windows.html
“Windows to the Universe” is a first-rate, graphics-intensive, easy-to-comprehend site that is an excellent resource for learning about mysterious
space objects like quasars and gamma-ray blasts. It contains details on
galaxies, the possible fate of our solar system and the people involved
in studying the universe.
• kids.msfc.nasa.gov/News/News-HubbleConstant.asp
This site describes the discovery by Edwin Hubble of the expanding
universe and talks about the ways by which scientists can measure how
fast galaxies are moving.
• imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/homepage.html
Ideal for upper middle school and high school students, this site contains a great deal of information about the structures in the universe
and how the universe has evolved.
2. How is it possible to study invisible objects that are billions of
miles away?
3. Some say that astronomers are looking into the past when they
view distant objects in space.What do they mean by this?
4. Based on what they know about the universe, discuss with students the likelihood of the existence of other life forms.
• Have students create a bulletin board depicting a timeline of the
development of tools used to discover information about the universe as well as the most popular universe theories of the past and
present. Have students invent possible tools and theories that may be
plausible in the future.
• Students can create a small-scale model of the universe, beginning
with the placement of the sun in the classroom or schoolyard. Have
students use a scale that will keep the Earth’s relative distance within
sight (perhaps 1 ft = 10 million miles). Using this scale, have students
compute the relative distance to the edge of our solar system, to the
nearest star and to the edge of our galaxy.Assign physical landmarks
that the students are familiar with to the distances computed.
• Assign groups of students various celestial topics to research, discuss
and give presentations on. Possible topics include quasars, cartwheel
galaxies, cosmic rays and black holes.
• Demonstrate the effects of a black hole with a latex balloon, a coffee
cup, a one-inch steel ball bearing and some small round beads. Cut the
balloon into a flat sheet and tape it to the top of the coffee cup.The
cup and latex represent space-time.Then place some small round
beads on the surface, making sure to spread them over the entire
surface. The beads represent planets and other objects in space.
Gently place the heavy ball bearing (the black hole) on the latex and
observe what happens to the rest of the matter in space-time. Have
students repeat the experiment using ball bearings of different mass
and size. Then have them present their data in a table or graph and
any conclusions in a written or oral report.
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Universe
Grades 5–8
Suggested Print Resources
• Couper, Heather. Big Bang. DK Publishing, New York, NY; 1996.
• Couper, Heather. Black Holes. DK Publishing, New York, NY; 1996.
Follow-up Activities
TEACHER’S GUIDE
• Couper, Heather. How the Universe Works. Reader’s Digest
Association, Pleasantville, NY; 1994.
• Simon, Seymour. The Universe. Morrow Junior Books, New York, NY;
1998.
TEACHER’S GUIDE CONSULTANT
Conrad M. Follmer
25 years as a K–5 Science & Math Coordinator for a Pennsylvania public
school system, currently an independent consultant to elementary schools.
TITLES
• ASTRONOMY
• EARTH
• EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
• MOON
• PLANETS & THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
• SPACE EXPLORATION
• STARS
• SUN
• UNIVERSE
800-843-3620
Copyright 1999 by Schlessinger Media, a division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580, Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
Executive Producers: Andrew Schlessinger & Tracy Mitchell
Programs produced and directed by JWM Productions, LLC
All rights reserved
S
tudents in grade 5–8 classrooms possess a wide range of
background knowledge. Student response to this video
program is sure to be varied, so the teachers for these
grades need all the help they can get! This guide has been
designed to help science teachers in grades 5–8 by providing a brief synopsis of the program, pre-viewing and followup questions, activities, vocabulary and additional resources.
Before Viewing: Extensive research tells how important
it is for the teacher to discover what the students know —
or think they know — about a topic, before actually starting a new unit.Therefore, after prompting discussion with
the pre-viewing questions, lead your class to create a
“Everything We Think We Know About…” list.You may also
wish to preview key vocabulary words and have students
raise additional questions that they hope will be answered.
After Viewing: Have your students share information that
fascinated or surprised them, then challenge your students
to prove or disprove the accuracy of the facts that they put
on their “Everything We Think We Know About…” list.
Discuss what else they learned and use the follow-up questions and activities to inspire further discussion. Encourage
students to research the topic further with the Internet and
reading resources provided.
Program Summary
Just when it looks like they’ll never get that “call from NASA,” Malcolm
and Stanley — a comical pair of aspiring astronauts — find themselves
the recipients of a strange package that implores them to learn all they
can about the universe.Wasting no time, they first focus on just how big
the universe is, discussing the billions of stars and galaxies separated by
distances that scientists measure in light-years.They also examine the
darkness of space, black holes, electromagnetic waves and the Big Bang
Theory, a scientific explanation of how the universe formed some 15 to
20 billion years ago.Two theories behind the growth of our universe are
also explored: the Open Universe Theory explains that our universe will
continue to expand outward, while the Closed Universe Theory suggests
that gravitational forces will eventually pull everything back to the center,
collapsing the universe with a “big crunch!” In addition, Dr. John Horack, a
gamma-ray astronomer, offers insight into the BATSE project, which monitors powerful explosions throughout the universe.
Vocabulary
The following words are included for teacher reference or for use
with students. They are listed in the order in which they appear in
the video.
universe — The vast expanse of space which contains all of the matter
and energy in existence.
light-year — The distance that light can travel in one year in a vacuum,
which is about 5.8 trillion miles or 9.5 trillion kilometers.
Polaris — The bright star in the constellation Ursa Minor that is over the
North Pole and appears not to move in the night sky; also known as the
North Star.
galaxy — A group of hundreds of millions of stars, gas, dust and other
objects that is held together in space by gravity. Telescopes have revealed
billions of galaxies other than our own.
solar system — A group of planets, moons, asteroids and comets that orbit
around a sun. In our solar system, nine planets, at least 61 moons and other
objects orbit around our sun.
Milky Way — The spiral galaxy to which our solar system belongs; the
Milky Way contains billions of stars.
elliptical galaxy — A galaxy like the Milky Way that is formed with a
central dense area and spiraling arms like a pinwheel.
irregular galaxy — A galaxy with no symmetrical shape.
Big Bang Theory — A theory that states the universe began to expand
after an extremely powerful explosion of concentrated matter and energy
15 to 20 billion years ago.
Open Universe Theory — The theory that states the universe will continue to expand and eventually all the stars will die, leaving an empty universe.
(Continued)
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Closed Universe Theory — The theory that states galaxies will reach a
point when the gravitational pull between them will cause the galaxies to
stop expanding and start moving inward, ending in the collapse of the
universe termed the “Big Crunch.”
Copernicus — (1473–1543 CE) A Polish astronomer who discovered
that the sun was the center of the solar system.
heliocentric theory — Cosmological model in which the Sun is
assumed to be at the center (e.g., of the solar system or of the universe)
while the Earth and other bodies revolve around it.
Galileo Galilei — (1564–1642 CE) An Italian astronomer and physicist
who studied the skies with one of the first telescopes.
Edwin Powell Hubble — (1889–1953 CE) An American astronomer
who discovered the existence of other galaxies moving away from one
another in 1924, leading to the conclusion that the universe is expanding.
Andromeda Galaxy — A spiral galaxy that can be seen in the constellation Andromeda, discovered by Edwin Hubble and found to be the closest
galaxy to our own.
black hole — The leftover core of a super massive star after a supernova.
Black holes exert a tremendous gravitational pull that nothing can escape.
electromagnetic spectrum — The entire range of energy waves, or
electromagnetic radiation, from long wave, low frequency radio waves
through infrared, visible light and ultraviolet waves to the very short, high
frequency waves of X-rays and gamma rays.
Very Large Array — A cluster of 27 radio telescopes located in New
Mexico, used to track distant objects in space.
quasar — Short for “quasi-stellar (starlike) radio source.” A distant energy
source that gives off vast amounts of radiation, including radio waves and
X-rays. Studying these objects gives scientists insight into the formation
and evolution of the universe.
BATSE — Burst And Transient Source Experiment. An instrument that
orbits the Earth in order to study and collect gamma rays (an invisible electromagnetic energy), which come from powerful explosions billions of
light years away.
Pre-viewing Discussion
Before students generate their list of “Everything We Think We Know
About…” for this topic, stimulate and focus their thinking by raising these
questions so that their list will better reflect the key ideas in this show:
1. What do we know about the universe?
2. How do we know about the universe?
3. What are some mysteries of the universe?
Focus Questions
1. What makes up the universe?
2. About how many stars are in the universe?
3. What is a light-year? Why do astronomers measure distance in
light-years?
4. What is a galaxy? How can they be shaped?
5. About how many galaxies are in the universe?
6. Why do we call our galaxy the “Milky Way?”
7. What shape is the Milky Way?
8. Where is the Earth located within the Milky Way?
9. How does the lack of an atmosphere in space affect the reflection
of starlight?
10. What is the Big Bang Theory?
11. What are the two most common elements in the universe?
12. How long ago was our solar system formed?
13. How long have humans been in existence?
14. What are the principles behind the Open Universe Theory?
15. How does the Closed Universe Theory explain the effects of
gravity on the expanding universe?
16. What is the “Big Crunch”?
17. What did Copernicus’ Heliocentric Theory propose as the center
of the universe in 1507? Was he correct?
18. What did Galileo contribute to our understanding of the universe
in the 1600’s?
19. What did Edwin Hubble discover in 1924? What significance did
this have on our understanding of the universe?
20. What is a black hole?
21. Drawing on the demonstration with the balloon and foil, explain
how two objects of unequal size can have the same mass.
22. How can scientists detect invisible energy waves?
23. What types of energy waves are detected by the Very Large Array?
24. Why is the study of quasars important for learning about the
origins of the universe?
25. What is Dr. John Horack, a gamma-ray astronomer, hoping to learn
from using the BATSE to study deep space?
After the class has completed their “Everything We Think We Know
About…” list, ask them what other questions they have that they hope
will be answered during this program. Have students listen closely to
learn if everything on their class list is accurate and to hear if any of their
own questions are answered.
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