Science Unit: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Transcription

1 Science Unit: Lessn 5: Space Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Schl year: 2006/2007 Develped fr: Develped by: Grade level: Duratin f lessn: Sexsmith Elementary Schl, Vancuver Schl District Luana Avila (scientist), Jeanette Mumfrd and Mary Ctrell (teachers) Presented t grades 2 and 3, apprpriate fr grades 2-6 with age apprpriate mdificatins. 1 hur and 20 minutes Objectives 1. Students will be able t recgnize the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Orin, Cassipeia and Suthern crss cnstellatins 2. Students will be able t explain why the cnstellatins we see vary depending n the bservers psitin n the glbe 3. Students will be able t explain why sme cnstellatins we see are seasnal Backgrund Infrmatin Human kind has been studying the stars fr millennia. The stars mvements acrss the sky and their brightness helped develp navigatin systems and t unravel the mvements f ther celestial bdies, like the planets f the slar system. Ancient stargazers bserved many f the same stars we d tday. The ancients named clusters f stars accrding t their mythlgy, and these names persisted thrugh the mdern ages. A cnstellatin is an identifiable cluster f stars that make a given shape. Cnstellatins are nt real, that is t say, the stars d nt really frm that shape. The first bservers f the sky thught that the stars in a cnstellatin when cnnected resembled a shape that was familiar t them, and s they named it. This allwed them t map the mvement f the stars thrughut the seasns, which helped the develpment f ncturnal navigatin. Tday stargazing is mstly a hbby. But stargazing can prve very useful if ne is lst. The stars are wnderful fr navigatin. By lking at the sky ne culd easily pinpint nrth r suth. Plaris, the Nrth Star, always pint nrth and lng arm f the Crux, the Suthern Crss, always pints suth. Stars mve acrss the night sky thrughut the night, they als mve ff the sky depending n the seasn, r might nt be visible at all frm a given lcatin. This might becme easier t understand if we remember that it is nt the stars that are mving, but the Earth. The mvement f the stars thrughut the night sky is easily explained by the Earth s rtatin arund its wn axis. Nw imagine Earth n its rbit arund sun and all arund it, but very far away, are many stars we see. Sme f these stars will be lcated directly underneath the planet, thus nly pssible t be viewed frm the suthern hemisphere; while thers will be hanging abve the planet, s nly viewed frm the nrthern hemisphere. In a way, we cannt see the stars underneath the Earth frm the nrth, because ur planet is in the way. T explain the seasnal appearance f different stars, imagine that during summer we can see stars A and B. As the Earth mves 180 arund the sun, ging frm summer t winter, stars A and B are nw lcated behind the sun, and therefre nly visible during the day when the Earth faces the sun. That is why they wuld disappear frm the night sky. Instead ther stars will be visible, and these are the stars that we culd nt see during the summer. Space_Lessn 5 1

2 The Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, Orin and Cassipeia are sme f the mst well knwn nrthern cnstellatins. The Nrth Star is part f the little dipper cnstellatin, and tw stars in the big dipper cnstellatin align with the Nrth Star. The Orin cnstellatin has a peculiar cluster f 3 stars in line, called Orin s belt, and tw f the brightest stars in the sky, Betelgeuse and Rigel, are part f Orin s right shulder and left ft. Cassipeia r the Lady in the chair is shaped like a w and is lcated right in frnt f Plaris. Vcabulary Cnstellatin: Asterism: Hemisphere: Mythlgy: A grup f stars that frm a given shape and appear t mve tgether in the sky The mst recgnizable part f a cnstellatin (eg. Big Dipper) Half f a sphere. Half f the planet when divided n the equatr, making nrthern and suthern hemispheres A cllectin f myths created by ancient civilizatins Materials fr this lessn Black film canisters Large psters f cnstellatins Glbe Cnstellatin patterns sheet Mysterius dts wrksheet Make yur cnstellatin wrksheet 1 balln Sheets f white card paper Cpies f Star Finder sheets Scissrs Glue Exactum knife In the Classrm Intrductry Discussin (Hk) 1. Review the material learned up t this lessn - have the students make charades fr the class 2. Ask the students if they knw the name f any cnstellatins D yu have a favurite ne? Lead them int a discussin f the names f different cnstellatins Intrduce the vcabulary and the difference between asterism and cnstellatin Science Activity/Experiment Activity Title: Cnstellatin in a canister (Canright, Shelley (NASA Editr) NASA Activities) Purpse f Activity: shws that the cnstellatins lines are imaginary and that the picture they frm are nt always in the rientatin we see drawn in a bk. Preparatin: 1. Make sets f cnstellatins using the black canisters and the cnstellatin patterns. The sheet has patterns fr many cnstellatins, when this lessn was delivered we nly used 5 cnstellatins: Big dipper (asterism), Little Dipper, Cassipeia, Orin and the Suthern Crss. 2. Use the sheet t make hles n the bttm f the canister, such that ne culd remve the canister lid and see light pking thrugh the hles. 3. Number the canisters s everyne will draw the different cnstellatins in the same rder Space_Lessn 5 2

3 Activity Instructins: 1. Give a set f 5 cnstellatins t a grup f students and 1 mysterius dts wrksheet per student. 2. Ask them t remve the lids, lk thrugh the pening and draw the dts n the bx number crrespnding t the canister number. 3. Ask them t cnnect the dts hw they wuld like t in pencil 4. Draw the cnstellatin dts, ne at a time. Give them the cnstellatin s name and shw them hw the dts are traditinally cnnected. It is useful t end with the Suthern Crss t get them thinking abut the why we dn t see it here in the nrthern hemisphere. 5. Discuss the differences between the traditinal drawing and the way they cnnected the dts. Explain abut mythlgy If yu had discvered this cnstellatin hw wuld yu cnnect the stars? What wuld yu name it? 6. Shw them the psters f the cnstellatins the just learned abut pint ut the large stars and ask them why thse stars might be drawn bigger 7. End with the Suthern Crss, but instead f shwing a pster f the cnstellatin, shw the flags f Australia, Papua New Guinea and Brazil. What is cmmn between all these flags? (they all have stars) Are these stars in particular pattern? (all these flags have the Suthern Crss n it) Which cuntries d these flags belng t? (tell them the nes they dn t knw pint their lcatin n a glbe) What is cmmn between these cuntries? Where are they in the glbe? (all in the suthern hemisphere) 8. Lead a discussin as t why we cannt see the Suthern Crss in Nrth America. Science Activity/Experiment Activity Title: A Circle f Stars Purpse f Activity: T shw hw the rtatin f the Earth makes the stars appear t mve acrss the sky, hw seasns affect the stars we can see, and why different cnstellatins can nly be seen in the suthern r nrthern hemisphere Activity Instructins: 1. Organize the students in a ring with the teacher in the centre. 2. Randmly pick sme students t stand up and sme t sit dwn. 3. Inflate a balln and tell them that the balln is Earth, yu (the teacher) is the sun and they are stars we see frm Earth 4. With a marker draw N fr nrth n the tp f the balln and S fr suth at the bttm. 5. Make a mark n the balln where the city yu are in (in ur case Vancuver) wuld be lcated, ne arund the equatr (maybe a mnkey in a jungle?), ne fr a plar bear in the Artic, and anther fr a penguin in Antarctica. Space_Lessn 5 3

4 6. Explain that the stars sitting dwn are stars that are flating bellw the Earth, and the stars standing up are stars flating abve the Earth. Which are stars nly the penguin wuld see? (sitting children) What abut the plar bear? (standing children) 7. Hld the balln in frnt f yu and slwly rtate arund the ring, and als rtate the balln arund its axis t simulate day and night. 8. Explain that ne full rtatin arund the ring represents an entire year In ne year, which stars did the plar bear see? What abut the penguin? Why? (the earth is in the way, s the sitting/ standing stars cannt see the plar bear/ penguin) Which stars did the mnkey see? (all) Why? (mnkey is in the equatr, s there is nthing in the way) 9. Remind them that a full rtatin arund the ring represents an entire year What happens n Earth that takes an entire year t repeat? (seasns) 10. Divide the circle int the fur seasns starting at summer mve twards winter. It s best t d ne hemisphere at a time. During the summer, which stars can the plar bear see? 1. Mve t winter psitin Which stars can the plar bear see? Can the bear see the summer stars (use the kid s names)? Why? (the sun is in the way) 2. Repeat the cycle t include all seasns, and then d the same with the suthern hemisphere. Science Activity/Experiment Activity Title: Making a Star Finder (Engaging Science, Pacific Space Centre) Purpse f Activity: Give the students an idea f cnstellatins can be seen in the nrthern hemisphere at different times f the night and during an entire year. Activity Instructins: 1. Give each student a blank card paper and ne star finder hlder sheet (best if cpied n card paper) ask them t match and hld the card tgether and cut arund the perimeter. 2. G arund the rm making a slit with an exactum knife s they can easily cut the val part 3. Staple the cut cards tgether 4. Give each student: a simple star wheel, a cmplex star wheel, and a blank sheet f card paper with a circle the same size as the star wheel drawn. Instruct them t cut each circle remind them nt t cut the mnths ff the star wheels. 5. Glue the ne star wheel t each side f the card paper circle and place it in star finder hlder. Scientific Reprt: write abut the cnstellatins n their space jurnal this was nt included in the time alltted. Space_Lessn 5 4

5 Clsure: Give the students the Make yur wn Cnstellatin Wrksheet. References 1. Jim Wilsn, NASA Editr. Hsted by NASA [Cnstellatins in a canister activity instructins] 2. Engaging Science, Pacific Space Centre. Making a Star Finder Activity. Science Wrld Activity Binder Legg Middle Schl Website. Activity adapted frm: Explring Space. New Yrk: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Schl Publishing C., [shebx planetarium instructins] Teacher Assessment f Learning 1. Are the students able t recgnize the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Orin, Cassipeia and the Suthern Crss? 2. D the students understand why we have cnstellatins? 3. D the students understand why we cannt see all the stars visible frm Earth in nly ne hemisphere? 4. Are the students able t explain why the cnstellatins we see vary depending n the seasn? Extensin f Lessn Plan 1. Make a shebx planetarium. Cut a slit alng ne small side f the shebx lid, and anther large rectangular hle (big enugh t fit the cnstellatin card) n the same small side f the shebx. Pke a small viewer n the ppsite side. Using black card paper, pke different size hles crrespnding t the stars in a cnstellatin. Place the lid n the shebx and fit the cnstellatin card thrugh the slit, such that it sits in frnt f the rectangular pening. View thrugh the viewfinder. 2. Build a planetarium hat Activity instructins in Make It Wrk Space, Haslam, (J520 H350) Space_Lessn 5 5

6 Cnstellatin in a Canister - Patterns Print this pattern page. Carefully cut arund each circle.

7 Name: Mysterius Dts Activity Can #1: Can #2: Can # 3: Can #4: Can #5:

8 Make yur wn cnstellatin and give it a name! My cnstellatin s name is: