Date of Lesson:
Time: 1:30 – 2:45
Length of Lesson:
60 minutes
Assessment Length: 20 minutes
Curriculum Area:
Science
Content Area: Earth Science
Title of Lesson (Identifying Concepts Taught):
The Constellations
Age/Grade Level:
6
Teacher’s Name:
Courtney Osborne
1.
April 20, 2009
Learning Objectives (taken from the essential questions):
a)
The students will be able explain what constellations are and name the
circumpolar constellations and where they are located in the night sky. The students will also be
able to explain where the following winter constellations are located: Canis Minor, Canis Major,
Orion and Taurus.
b)
The students will be able to explain why the Earth’s movements affect what you
see in the sky and why we cannot see every constellation in the sky on every night.
c)
The students will be able to explain the mythology surrounding the circumpolar
constellations.
2.
New York State Learning Standards:
Standard 4 – Science – The Physical Setting
Key Idea 1 - The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of
relative motion and perspective
3.
Materials:
Diagrams of the night sky, circumpolar constellations and winter constellations.
White string, white balls, different shapes and sizes.
Cardboard cut in various different shapes.
4.
Lesson Process:
A)
Engage/ Introduction - 10 minutes
Review of the solar system and the planets.
I will ask the following questions:
What is the sun?
A star
How many planets are there in our solar system?
9 planets
Can someone name the planets (perhaps here randomly call on students and see if they can
each name the next planet and go in order)
What is the largest thing object in the solar system?
The sun
What do real stars look like?
They are points of light
not star shaped objects – Stars are really hot, huge, spheres of hydrogen and helium gas which are
producing their own energy. Because they are so far away, they appear to be faint and very small. The
exception to this of course is the sun which is very close to the Earth.
Explore – 10 minutes
Before handing out the diagrams I will ask the students if they know any famous
constellations. The most common will be named however the Big and Little Dippers are not
constellations. They are asterisms, groups of stars as famous as constellations but not recognized
by the International Astronomical Union, a worldwide body of professional astronomers.
The students will be able to look at the diagram (handout and website) of the entire night
sky as they explore the night sky. The students will talk about constellations in groups, no more
than 4, and how most of them take a great deal of imagination to be seen correctly. There are 88
constellations total.
B)
http://content.telescope.com/rsc/img/catalog/lc/starcharts/04Apr09StarChart_clr.pdf
Explain – 30 minutes
The students will be given the diagrams of the circumpolar and the winter night sky
constellations.
We will discuss the reasons why you cannot see all of the constellations all of the time
because of the time of the year and the way the Earth is shifted.
We will discuss why constellations were used thousands of years ago and the mythology
surrounding them. Students will need to take notes on this as they will be tested. No handout is
provided.
Thousands of years ago constellations were a source of entertainment. These were pictures in
the sky which people could tell stories from. The position of some of the stars, thought to be
gods by some, were said to have influential powers on nations and human conditions. This belief
has lead to misconceptions of astrologers in today’s times. See attached mythology stories.
C)
D)
Extend, Expand, Elaborate – 25 minutes
Option A:
Students will be assigned one constellation and need to make that constellation
from string (to show pattern) white balls (to show stars) and placed (glued) on cardboard.
Students will need to show the size of the white balls in relation to all stars in the constellation.
Students will also need to know in what part of the sky their constellation is located and label it
correctly and also design their “sky” in an appropriate way.
Option B:
CONSTELLATIONS IN A CAN: Take the flip side of a soda can, pasting or
drawing the constellation of your choice onto its surface. With a hammer and different sized
nails (for the different brightness’s of the stars), punch out holes for your constellation. Add a
small flashlight shining into the can from the pop top side, and a dark room with a white ceiling
or screen, and presto, you've got some nifty constellation projectors. This probably would even
work better using soup cans, but watch out for those sharp edges. Large paper cups are also an
option.
E)
5.
Evaluation/ Assessment – 20 minute – done on a different day
Students complete 2 page constellation quiz.
Differentiation chart - attached
Assessment of Lesson – attached
6.
7.
Student work Attached
Learning Center – N/A
If a student gets done quickly with work a word search is provided along with a game on
the computer. (http://www.kidsastronomy.com/astroskymap/constellation_hunt.htm)
8.
References:
http://www.astronomy.org/programs/constellations.html
http://www.science –teachers.com
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/astroskymap/constellation_hunt.htm
http://content.telescope.com/rsc/img/catalog/lc/starcharts/04Apr09StarChart_clr.pdf
Title:
The Constellations
Size:
The learner will not need to
complete all of the constellations
completely; perhaps the learner
will need to complete 6
depending on the circumstances.
Time:
The learner will have extra time
to complete the constellation
notes.
Level of Support:
The learner will have an
increased level of support during
or after the lesson if needed
either by myself, an aide or by
another student.
Input:
The learner will be able to use a
personal computer in the
classroom so that they can
adjust the speed in which he/she
goes through the constellations
or perhaps even be able to print
out the information ahead of
time for the learner.
Difficulty:
Depending on the learner, taking
notes may be too difficult.
Output:
The learner may need to type
out the words.
Participation:
The learner may not be able to
participate in making the
individual models because that
may be too much stimulation for
him/her. Instead he/she will
need to find a quiet spot and do
a worksheet or the constellation
game on the computer.
Alternate Goals:
Instead of taking the quiz the
learner may need to be asked
the questions and have a
conversation with me about the
mythology. The learner may feel
more comfortable writing a story
about the information he/she
knows then taking a test on the
subject.
Substitute Curriculum:
Different instruction may need
to be provided to meet this
student’s goals. Information
given directly from me or from
the website may not work and
models may have to be used.
Ursa Major, The Great Bear
Artemis, the moon goddess and goddess of the hunt, always had hunting companions with her
when she went on the hunt. One such companion was Callisto, a beautiful young maiden. One day
Zeus passed by a woodland cove and spied the sleeping Callisto. Zeus disguised himself as Apollo
and made Callisto his lover. They had a child named Arcas. Of course Zeus knew that both Hera, his
wife, and Artemis would be angry with Callisto so to protect her he turned her into a bear to keep
her hidden from Artemis and Hera. One day, Arcas was hunting and he came across a great bear.
He was just about to shoot his arrow when Zeus intervened and changed him into a little bear so
that Arcas could know who the great bear really was. Zeus then transported the two bears to the
heavens so that they would be protected from the wrath of the angry goddesses. However, Hera
was unhappy that Callisto and her son were shining so brightly in the heavens so she asked the
ocean god to prevent them from ever bathing in the ocean waters. And so, according to this story,
that is why the two bears are forced to circle the heavens while the other constellations are allowed
to dip below the horizon and bathe in the immortal waters every night. Three important stars in
Ursa Major are Mizar, Dubhe and Merak. Dubhe and Merak are also known as the pointer stars
because they point to the North Star. Mizar was the first binary star that was ever discovered. A
binary star is a star that orbits another star. In 1650, an Italian astronomer named Riccioli using a
simple telescope discovered that there were indeed two stars orbiting each other, a fact which
could not be seen by the naked eye. Since then many binary stars have been discovered.
Ursa Minor, the Little Bear
Ursa Minor is much harder to find than Ursa Major. Usually, it’s easier to find Ursa major first and
follow the pointer stars to Polaris and then find the other stars of Ursa Minor. One important star is
Polaris, the Pole Star or the North Star. It is an important star for navigators because it stays
relatively fixed in the heavens while all of the other stars move in circular arcs throughout the night.
In the past, it has been called ‘the ship star’, ‘the leading star’, ‘star of the sea’ and the ‘steering
star’.
Draco, the Dragon
The titans were giants with serpentine feet. They were almost invincible. When they revolted
against the gods, they caused great destruction. During the battle, Athena grabbed the feet of one
of these dragon-like giants and flung it into the heavens where it got tangled among the stars.
One interesting star is Thuban. Around 2700 BC, at the height of the ancient Egyptian civilizations,
Thuban, not Polaris, was at the celestial north pole and was therefore the pole star. The pole star
changes slowly because the Earth’s rotational axis wobbles (spins around like a top).
The King and Queen, Cepheus and Cassiopeia
Cepheus and Cassiopeia were the king and queen of Joppa, a
city in the land of Ethiopia. They had many children including a
daughter named Andromeda. Andromeda was very beautiful
and when the sea nymphs overheard Cassiopeia boasting
about her beauty, they complained to Poseidon.
Poseidon got angry and sent a sea monster1 to destroy the city.
When the monster was coming, Cepheus consulted an oracle.
The oracle gave Cepheus a choice: Sacrifice his daughter
Andromeda, or face the destruction of the monster. Cepheus
agreed to sacrifice his daughter to save the people of his
kingdom and so he chained Andromeda to a cliff.
As it happened, Perseus was flying past on his flying horse Pegasus. Perseus agreed to save the
daughter in return for her hand in marriage. Perseus and Andromeda lived a long life. When
they died they were transformed into the stars as constellations along with the King and Queen,
Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia is sitting in her throne and Cepheus has his arms stretched
out. However, as punishment, Poseidon made sure that Cassiopeia’s throne was dumped upside
down every night (when the constellation forms and ‘M’ instead of a ‘W’.
The Winter Sky
In Greek mythology, Orion was a great hunter who eventually offended the gods, especially Apollo.
Apollo tricked Artemis, the Goddess of the hunt, into shooting Orion on a bet. When she discovered that
she had shot Orion, she quickly lifted him to the heavens and made him immortal, where he now hunts
eternally with his two dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. In front of him is his prey Taurus the Bull.