Download Educator Guide: Starlab (Grades 3-5)

Educator Guide: Starlab (Grades 3-5)
This document is a resource for teachers whose classes are participating in the Museum of Science’s Grade 3‐5 Starlab Traveling Program. The information in this document may be used as a classroom resource and/or as background information for the teacher concerning the subject of astronomy. Table of Contents:
Vocabulary List……………………………………………………………………………2
Further Background Reading………………………………………………...………....4
Suggested Classroom Materials………………………………………………………..5
Activity Descriptions……………………………………………………………………...6
Video Descriptions…………………………………………………………..…………...7
Powerpoint Description……………………………………………………………..……8
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Vocabulary List
This is a list of common astronomy terms that teachers may wish to be familiar with for the Starlab program. This list is also a suggestion of vocabulary for students participating in the Starlab program to learn, though prior study of these words is not required for student participation. Asteroid – small object of any shape in orbit around the sun, usually found in the Asteroid Belt Asteroid Belt – region between Mars and Jupiter where a large field of asteroids orbits the sun Astronomy – the study of space Comet – an object that travels around the solar system made up of dust and ice, which may burn off from it and leave a tail Constellation – a pattern made from the stars Dwarf Planet – a round object in orbit around the sun that has not cleared its orbit of other dust and debris Extrasolar Planet – a planet found outside of the solar system that is orbiting around another star; may also be referred to an “exoplanet”
Galaxy – a large system of stars held together by gravity Lunar Eclipse – when the sunlight which usually is reflected off the moon is blocked by Earth, causing a darkened moon Meteor – also known a shooting star, this is not a star but a small object from space that falls through Earth’s atmosphere Meteorite – a meteor that has hit the Earth Meteoroid – small object currently in space that has not yet fallen through Earth’s atmosphere 2
Moon – round object which orbits a planet Moon Phases – different appearances of the moon as it is in different parts of its orbit Nebula – birthplace of stars Orbit – circling a larger object; also known as revolution Planet – round object in orbit around the sun that has cleared its orbit of other dust and debris Rotation – spinning on an axis Solar Eclipse – when the moon moves directly between Earth and our sun, blocking the sun from view Solar System – the sun (our star) and everything in orbit around it Star – huge ball of plasma (a type of gas different from normal gasses) which produces light Supernova – explosive death of a massive star Universe – everything out there! 3
Further Background Reading
This is a suggested reading list for teachers looking to improve their understanding of astronomy. Books
Secrets of the Night Sky by Bob Berman. Harper Paperbacks. 1996.
The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H. A. Rey. HMH Books. 1976.
Bad Astronomy by Philip Plait. Wiley Publishers. 2002.
365 Starry Nights by Chet Raymo. Fireside Publishers. 1990.
Links
Age of the Universe: How Astronomers Know the Vast Scale of Time –
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/56/
NASA’s eclipse website –
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
Moon phases and misconceptions –
http://aer.noao.edu/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=138
Teaching “What is a planet?” –
http://aer.noao.edu/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=207
NASA’s webpage for educators –
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
Museum of Science planetarium’s monthly sky chart –
http://www.mos.org/web_media/MOS_Sky_Chart.pdf
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Classroom Materials
Below are some suggestions for books, videos, and websites to help students increase their understanding of astronomy. Books
The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H. A. Rey. HMH Books. 1976.
Kids to Space: A Space Traveler's Guide by Lonnie Jones Schorer. Collector's
Guide Publishing, Inc. 2006.
Astronomy (DK Eyewitness Books) by Kristen Lippincott. DK Children. 2008.
Space Exploration (DK Eyewitness Books) by Carole Stott. DK Children. 2004.
Videos
Bill Nye the Science Guy: The Planets Classroom Edition (Interactive DVD).
1995.
Links
The Space Place (fun site of games and activities, presented by NASA) –
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/
StarChild Learning Center (informative site created by NASA and GSFC) –
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html
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Activity Descriptions
See the “Documents” section on the website to download these activities. How Big is the Solar System?
Most people know that the solar system is “pretty big”, but still do not comprehend what “pretty big” means. This activity gives students an opportunity to truly get a feel for the expanse of our solar system by creating a model of the positions of the sun and planets. This model is made by using cards with images of the sun and planets, and placing them at scaled distances from one another, stretching for nearly half a mile! This activity is perfect for helping students appreciate just how spread out our solar system really is. Dipper Finders
In this activity, learn how to find the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, Cassiopeia, and the North Star (Polaris). By creating a Dipper Finder, students will have their very own chart of the Northern night sky, which they can spin and change to fit the exact date and time they are looking at the stars! 6
Video Descriptions
See the “Media” section on the website to download these videos. Big Dipper
This 45 second video shows that constellations do not look the same from every angle and helps students get a feel for the three‐dimensional aspect of outer space. When we look at the stars of the Big Dipper, we see a certain two‐
dimensional pattern. But if you were to fly far out into space past those stars and view it from an alternate direction, the Big Dipper pattern is demonstrated to be no longer visible. Moon
This 30 second video shows the phases of the moon over an entire month, beginning at the New Moon, then waxing into the Full Moon and waning back to the New Moon. 7
PowerPoint Description
See the “Documents” section of the website to download the PDF of this PowerPoint. History of the Planets
This PowerPoint PDF discusses how history has used the word “planet” to mean different things. Depending on the definition of planet and how advanced technology was to view outer space, there have been different numbers of objects called “planets” through time. Beginning with the ancient Greek definition of a planet being a “wanderer” (moving differently than the stars appeared to) and ending with today’s definition and the infamous exclusion of Pluto, this PowerPoint goes through each step history took to arrive at what the word “planet” means today. 8