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Grade Level: 8-12
Content Area: Earth Science
Available as a pdf also.
Introduction and Purpose
Astronomy is a fascinating subject to study and is more than looking at lots
of really beautiful images. Astronomy is really about piecing together the
information coming back from the various telescopes and space missions. Outer
space is still the uncharted frontier, though every day more and more of it
is known. We are drawn to search the universe in order to answer questions
such as: Are We Alone?, Where did we come from?, How is the universe changing?,
Where does the light come from? Etc. As astronomers search for answers, they
are making many new discoveries into how the universe came to be and how it
is changing. Astronomers have to rely on observations to test their theories
because they cannot duplicate experiments as grand as the formation of a star.
Ninety to ninety-five percent of the information that astronomers use to study
the universe comes from analysis of light spectra.
In this unit students will study electromagnetic radiation (light) and learn
how astronomers use it in combination with a few of the other tools such as
parallax, images, and the inverse square law. Students will also learn about
some of the many objects that make up the universe. During this learning process,
students will conduct a hands-on experiment to understand light, explore several
inter-active on-line computer activities dealing with light, life cycle of
stars, and galaxy comparisons and keep a journal about what they are learning.
At the completion of this unit students will create a model of the universe
and write an essay telling about how their understanding of the universe has
changed by incorporating what they have learned about Earth’s place
in the Universe, stars, galaxies and the tools of astronomy. Most of the activities
will be done in cooperative groups, helping students to understand that many
of the discoveries that astronomers make are done by a team approach and that
the discoveries are scrutinized by their peers.
Objectives:
1. Given an assortment of everyday objects, students will construct a model
of the universe and identify the model’s main features (young and old
stars and galaxies, solar system objects and our place in the universe) to
demonstrate their understanding of the structure and composition of the universe.
Any one section of the model must be to scale.
2. Given the pre-study and post study student created universe models, students
will write an essay comparing their pre-study model to their post-study model
of the universe explaining how their understanding about the structure and
composition of the universe has changed.
CA Earth Science Standards
Grade 8
Earth in the Solar System (Earth Sciences)
4 The structure and composition of the universe can be learned from studying
stars and galaxies and their evolution. As a basis for understanding this
concept:
a Students know galaxies are clusters of billions of stars and may have different
shapes.
b Students know that the Sun is one of many stars in the Milky Way galaxy
and that stars may differ in size, temperature, and color.
c Students know how to use astronomical units and light years as measures
of distances between the Sun, stars, and Earth.
d Students know that stars are the source of light for all bright objects
in outer space and that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight,
not by their own light.
e Students know the appearance, general composition, relative position and
size, and motion of objects in the solar system, including planets, planetary
satellites, comets, and asteroids.
Grade 9-12
1. Astronomy and planetary exploration reveal the solar system's structure,
scale, and change over time. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a Students know how the differences and similarities among the sun, the terrestrial
planets, and the gas planets may have been established during the formation
of the solar system.
b Students know the evidence from Earth and moon rocks indicates that the
solar system was formed from a nebular cloud of dust and gas approximately
4.6 billion years ago.
c Students know the evidence from geological studies of Earth and other planets
suggest that the early Earth was very different from Earth today.
d Students know the evidence indicating that the planets are much closer to
Earth than the stars are.
e Students know the Sun is a typical star and is powered by nuclear reactions,
primarily the fusion of hydrogen to form helium.
f Students know the evidence for the dramatic effects that asteroid impacts
have had in shaping the surface of planets and their moons and in mass extinctions
of life on Earth.
g * Students know the evidence for the existence of planets orbiting other
stars.
2. Earth-based and space-based astronomy reveal the structure, scale, and
changes in stars, galaxies, and the universe over time. As a basis for understanding
this concept:
a Students know the solar system is located in an outer edge of the disc-shaped
Milky Way galaxy, which spans 100,000 light years.
b Students know galaxies are made of billions of stars and comprise most of
the visible mass of the universe.
c Students know the evidence indicating that all elements with an atomic number
greater than that of lithium have been formed by nuclear fusion in stars.
d Students know that stars differ in their life cycles and that visual, radio,
and X-ray telescopes may be used to collect data that reveal those differences.
f * Students know the evidence indicating that the color, brightness, and
evolution of a star are determined by a balance between gravitational collapse
and nuclear fusion.
9-12 grade Investigation & Experimentation
1. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting
careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing
the content in the other four strands, students should develop their own questions
and perform investigations. Students will:
a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (such as computer-linked
probes, spreadsheets, and graphing calculators) to perform tests, collect
data, analyze relationships, and display data.
b. Formulate explanations by using logic and evidence.
English Language Arts
8th grade
Writing 1.4, 2.3,
Written and Oral Language Conventions 1.1-1.6
9th-10th grade
Writing 1.3, 1.4, 1.6,1.7, 2.3c,d,e,f
Written and Oral Language Conventions 1.1-1.5
Technology Standards (NETS)
7. Routinely and efficiently use online information resources to meet needs
for collaboration, research, publication, communication, and productivity.
8. Select and apply technology tools for research, information analysis, problem
solving, and decision making in content learning.
Hardware/Software needs:
Internet accessible computers (at least one per group of 3 students)
Web browser: Netscape Navigator 3.0/Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
Plug-ins: QuickTime Player, Shockwave, and Adobe Acrobat Reader
Printer (color optional)
Inspiration (optional)
Word processing software
Handheld computer-Palm (optional)
Notes: Have the students to keep a journal/notebook (electronic or
traditional) throughout this unit. At the end of each lesson or day’s
activities, have the students reflect on what they have learned and how it
has changed how they understand the universe. You may have them respond to
direct questions relating to the activities. In the notebook they can keep
the worksheets for the activities they have completed, keep their KWL chart,
the picture of their universe model from the first lesson and any other notes
they take.
Lesson 1: Modeling the Universe
(~ 2 days)
(Lesson modified on September 20, 2005, from Modeling the Universe Introductory
Activity, http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/seuforum/mtu/)
Objectives:
• Given various everyday objects, students will construct a model of
the universe to demonstrate their preconceived understanding and misconceptions
of the structure and composition of the universe.
• After a brainstorming activity about the astronomy and the universe,
students will organize the brainstorming ideas/topics into a graphic organizer
and then build a KWL chart.
Note to teacher: There is no formal assessment for this lesson. The
students are constructing tools to help guide their learning through the unit.
Activity 1: Discussion (~10 min.)
1. As a class, use Inspiration’s rapid-fire option to brainstorm everything
students know about astronomy and the universe. Because the study of astronomy
is such a broad topic, break down the brainstorming into sub-topics: stars,
galaxies, solar system, tools of astronomy, and space in general. Ask questions
like How far away are (objects-stars, galaxies, planets, sun)? Can they be
seen without the aid of a telescope? Can they be seen with a telescope? What
do they look like? How big is the universe? This will help to bring out some
of the misconceptions that students have about the universe, the objects in
it and how astronomers know. Any ideas that create discussions amongst the
students, mark for follow-up and tell the students that you will get back
to it at a later time. (One of the culminating activities is about disproving
misconceptions.) Print out a copy of the brainstorm for each student group
(3 students to form a cooperative group), or if technology permits, have groups
access the brainstorm on the student computers or handheld computers (PDA).
Try to eliminate as much paper as possible.
2. (~15 min.) Assign each group the task of organizing the brainstorm into
a logical format.
3. (~ 5 min) Discuss what a scientific model is, how it is used and what its
value is. Ask students to name some familiar models: globe, doll house, map…
Remember models some times don’t show the entire picture and can misrepresent
some features of the real thing.
Activity 2: Making a model of the universe (30 min. or less)
1. Challenge students, in groups of three, to create a model of the universe
in 30 minutes or less. This activity can be messy and involved or not depending
on what kind of supplies you give the groups to use. Non-messy: Black construction
paper and colored chalk. Messy: as many things you can gather to represent
objects in the universe. For instance: construction paper, scissors, cotton
balls, balloons, buttons, confetti, toothpicks, play dough, pompoms, slinky,
bows, markers, glue, glitter, colored pipe cleaners, old CDs, ribbons, etc.
For the messy models that are too big to keep around, take a picture of it.
At the end of the unit students will create new models and compare them to
their old models. The model will help reveal misconceptions that students
have about the universe.
2. Each student takes on one role: artist-creates the model with input and
assistance from other members; recorder-records model features (use the worksheet
as a guide); speaker-explains the model to other groups. [The worksheet can
be downloaded from the last page of the Modeling the Universe Activity pdf
found here]
3. (~15 min.) Now have groups meet with two other groups (3 of the small groups
to make one large group) and compare their models. Students must address the
following: what features does the model represent, what features are misrepresented,
what features are omitted, what questions did you have while making the model.
Students will review each of the models. Students will need to ask questions
and provide helpful suggestions with explanations (constructive criticism)
to the other groups about organization, clarity of questions and ideas, and
be willing to listen, defend their idea and incorporate changes.
(Homework assignment)
• Construct a KWL chart about the universe.
• Prepare 3 direct questions about what they want to know about: the
solar system, stars, galaxies, and Earth’s place in space. Note: Provide
the students with the Earth Science standards that pertain to Astronomy for
their grade level and the requirements for their portfolio (see below). The
students can use these as a guide to help them refine their questions and
prepare for their upcoming trip to the planetarium.
Taking a trip to the Planetarium: The planetarium
field trip can come at any time between lesson 1 and the culminating activities.
Before students arrive, they should be familiar with the questions that need
answers. Refer students to their KWL chart. They will not be able to write
anything while in the planetarium as it will be very dark. They will have
to wait until after the show to write down information that they learned in
the show. Enjoy the show and then ask your questions that didn’t get
answered in the show. After leaving the planetarium and before boarding the
bus back to school, if there is time, have the cooperative groups meet to
debrief and share what they learned, what they liked/didn’t like, and
what questions still remain to be answered. Back at school debrief as a class
with each group contributing to the discussion. You may want to use one group’s
graphic organizer or KWL chart to check off items that students heard about
and saw in the show.
Lesson 2: Earth’s Geologic Evolution
(~ 3 days)
CA standards: 8th grade Earth Science 4a,b,c,d,e; 9-12 grade Earth Science
1a,b,c,f
Objectives:
1. After viewing the movie “Origins: Earth is Born”, students
will diagram 5 major evolutionary events of Earth’s birth into a flow
chart format.
2. After viewing the movie “Origins: Earth is Born”, students
will describe with supporting detail at least 3 new things they learned about
Earth’s evolutionary history and one question that the movie didn’t
answer for them.
Activity 1: Movie and worksheet
To begin the study of Space related Earth Science start with the movie Origins:
Earth is Born, a Nova program on Earth’s geologic evolution.
(The movie is 1 hour long) The link will take you to the Teacher resource
page and program overview. There is also a link on this page for buying the
DVD of this movie. Use the suggested viewing ideas that are listed and/or
use the attached movie question guide worksheet, one per student. Allow time
for students to complete the worksheet and discuss what they learned. Assessment
option: group members check each other’s work for completeness and accuracy.
Activity 2: Flow chart
• Create a flow chart, using Inspiration or other software that can
generate graphical organizers, depicting the major evolutionary events of
Earth’s birth shown in the movie using their worksheet/notes.
• Share the flow chart with at least one other group and obtain feedback
about how to modify it for clarity, organization, details, and accuracy.
• Transfer flow chart elements onto individual index cards (descriptions
and/or drawings of elements like primordial Earth, Meteor bombardment, creation
of Moon, volcanism, etc.). Student groups pair with another group and try
sorting each other's cards into the correct order.
Wrap Up: Groups should now review their
KWL chart and make any additions and/or changes. Also students should write
a reflective journal entry describing at least 3 new things they learned about
Earth’s evolutionary history and one question that the movie didn’t
answer for them then share their reflection with one other person.
Lesson 3: Exploring Stars
(~ 5 days)
CA Standards: 8th grade Earth Science 4a,b; 9-12 grade Earth Science 2b,d,f
Objectives:
• Given a set of 5 cards with star properties, students will be able
to correctly order the stars by color, temperature or age.
• Given the temperature and peak color of emitted light of 5 stars,
students will be able to correctly plot them on a graph.
• Given the HR diagram and two properties for each of 3 stars, students
will be able to predict which phase of the life cycle the star is in, its
class and type.
• In the Jeopardy Stars Game, students will correctly identify at least
3 question/answers in one or more of the categories: star properties, light,
HR diagram, life cycle of stars, astronomical tools.
Warm-up: Discussion and demonstration (~ 10 min.)
• Students will now begin to study light and how it’s spectra
is used by astronomers to learn about what is out in the universe. To introduce
the topic ask students questions like “What color is light? How do we
see colors? Is there more than one type of light? Where does light come from?”
During this discussion use the think, pair, share form of cooperative learning.
• Shine a light through a prism to show a rainbow. Ask, “Where
did the rainbow come from?” The Star Light, Star Bright activity (below)
will explain how light is really made up of lots of different types of electromagnetic
radiation.
Activity 1: On-line Activities: Star
Light Star Bright
The Teaching Tips link on the Star Light, Star Bright page is an excellent
resource and guide to the activities.
• Do the first activity: Catch the Waves (~40 min.) of the Star
Light Star Bright on-line activities, found on the Amazing Space website,
will help the students explore the electromagnetic spectrum. I suggest doing
this activity together as a class to show the students how to navigate the
site. Be sure to explore the Light Facts button whenever it comes up on the
page and also the Brain Teasers button. Have students pair up to answer the
Brain Teasers and then ask one or two groups to share their answers. You may
wish to type up a list of all of the brainteasers and print it out for the
students to read and answer. This way you have a record of their participation
and thinking.
• Skip the second activity: Making Waves. Do the third activity, Heating
Up (~40 min.), with students in their cooperative group. Heating Up will have
students make the connection between color and temperature of objects and
then apply this knowledge by plotting wavelengths of stars and then determine
their temperature.
• Do the fourth activity (~40 min) Stellar Encounters. It has students
order stars from hottest to coolest based on their colors. Again this should
be done in groups.
Note: As the student groups (same groups as before) go through the
activities, have one of the students from each group take notes, one operate
the computer and the other be supervisor/reader. The roles should rotate for
each of the activities. At the end of each activity there is a section called
“What Do You Know?” and “Beats Me, You Explain It.”
Have students complete these as a group. Monitor groups to be sure all are
participating. You may wish to collect the groups’ notes and activity
answers at the end of each activity for a quick assessment and then return
it to be included in their unit portfolio. At the end of each on-line activity
be sure to de-brief about the activity as a class. Have students make an entry
in their journal too.
Activity 2: Life
cycle of stars (~ 1-2 days)
• Use Imagine the Universe: Life
Cycle of Stars. There is both a K-8 version and a 9-12 version but do
the 9-12 version. Students read through the online information and then complete
the activities “Those
A-maze-ing Stars” an 8th grade activity but also appropriate for
high school and “These
Stars are Classified” (found at the bottom of the linked page) a
high school activity but 8th grade can do it if they read the 9-12 version
of the text. “These Stars are Classified” activity asks a series
of questions about star types, and has students use the HR diagram to determine
star properties. Print out the activities for students to use as they view
the website. Answer keys: “Those
A-maze-ing Stars”; “These
Stars are Classified”
• Teachers, if you go to the index on the Life Cycle of Stars pages
for the different grade levels, you can find the national science and math
standards that the activities meet.
After this activity the students should answer the following questions in
their journal:
How do astronomers use electromagnetic radiation to probe the universe?
Answer: They can observe how different objects reflect and absorb electromagnetic
radiation in its different wavelengths. This can be used to take images of
the object, time different kinds of events (pulses of energy from pulsar,
eclipses,) and observe and measure energy distributions.
Where are telescopes located? Why in these locations?
Answer: There are lots of kinds of telescopes that measure different wavelengths
in the electromagnetic spectrum. Some telescopes are ground based and they
measure in the visible and radio range, where as space based telescopes can
measure in x-ray, gamma ray, infrared and ultraviolet ranges. Ground based
scopes cannot measure these ranges because our atmosphere blocks these wavelengths.
How are white dwarfs detected?
Answer: By soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet because these objects are
slowly cooling thus giving of low amounts of energy.
How are Neutron stars detected?
Answer: They give of X-rays and gamma rays, sometimes in pulses that are
periodic which we then call pulsars.
How are Black Holes detected?
Answer: Smaller Black Holes are detected by observing nearby stars and
other material. Super massive Black Holes have been detected using radio astronomy.
Assessment: Activities to summarize and apply what students
have learned about stars.
Suggestion: do the question generation part of option 1, option 2, option
3 and option 4 as centers where groups will rotate through the centers. Give
students about 8 to 10 min. per center. If students complete the task early
then have them start working on their poster, option 5, or write in their
journal about the on-line activities they have done if they haven’t
done so already.
1. Jeopardy Stars game format: [categories: Light, Star Life, HR diagram,
Astronomical Tools, Miscellaneous] Each student group must generate 5 questions
for each category, ranging from easy to more difficult. To play: you need
a host (teacher or student), a timekeeper, two referees and three teams. Use
a team format instead of individual players. Three teams play at a time, while
the remaining teams are the audience and referee. The audience teams questions
are used for the player teams and vice versa. Roll a die to determine who
goes first. That team must confer and choose a category, the game show host
reads the question, teams confers and first team with a hand raised or dings
a bell (what ever devise you use to alert the host) gets a chance to answer.
Team will have 30 seconds to answer. If the question is answered correctly
award “game points” and select another category. If the question
is missed, then it passes on to the team on the right. No points are taken
away. Continue the game for until each team has had a chance to answer at
least three questions and then start a new game where the audience becomes
the players.
(worksheets and activities link for options 2-4: star
data)
2. Given a stack of star cards with some star properties, arrange the cards
in order of temperature/color; using the Star Life set of cards, arrange the
star life cycle.
3. Given the HR diagram and two pieces of information about each of five stars,
classify the type of stars they are.
4. Graph the temperature and peak wavelength of emitted light of 5 stars,
and determine the colors of stars based on their temperature.
5. Create a poster depicting the different star types, their characteristics
and their life cycle. Before students make their poster have them create the
rubric on which their poster would be graded. This could be done as a class.
Extension activity: “How
to Build a Star”or A
Star is Born
Navigator/supervisor: one who uses the mouse to go from page to page, reads
the upcoming question on the worksheet and helps the recorders find the answers
to the questions; enters information for interactive worksheets; assists recorder
2 in creating the graphic organizer; makes sure to keep everyone on task so
the assignments are completed on time.
Recorder 1/Speaker: one who records the information onto the paper copy of
the worksheet; assists in the creation of the graphic organizer; speaks for
the group when presenting the graphic organizer.
Recorder 2: writes down descriptions of each category of galaxy and some brief
information about the sub categories; assists recorder 1 in how to answer
the worksheet questions; uses the computer to create the graphic organizer.
Notes about the lesson:
It is self-guided. Tell the students that when they see the “Galaxy
man” that you should click on him because he has important information
to share. Be sure to visit all but the last two links of the links provided
in the lesson. As they go through the lesson, recorder 1 should fill out one
worksheet for the group. The other students will have time to fill out the
worksheet as the group shares their information with another group. Teachers,
print out a copy of the worksheet for each student. The worksheet and answers
can be found on the teacher’s page of the lesson (see the teacher's
page link at the bottom of the overview
page).Student access to the lesson is also found at the bottom of the
overview page.
Lesson: Classifying Galaxies
(~ 20-30 min)
After completing the lesson, have the students meet with another group to
share their experiences, and to check their worksheet answers. (Each student
should now have their own copy of the worksheet for study purposes and fill
it out during this group time.) This would also be a good time for students
to compare the descriptions of each of the galaxy types and subtypes in preparation
for putting it together in a graphical organizer. If they don’t have
all of the information yet, Day 2’s activity will help to complete the
descriptions. (~5-10 min)
Wrap-up: As a whole class ask each group to give a report about one
thing that they found interesting and learned about. (~ 5-10 min)
For the remaining class time have student groups get started on assembling
their graphical organizer to classify the different types of galaxies. (If
time is short, assign for homework, sketch out a layout for their group’s
graphical organizer that would have the basic information from the worksheet).
The following day or day 3, each group member shares their layouts and as
a group decide on the best one or combine features of each.
Graphical Organizer information:
There should be a drawing or image of each of the type of galaxy: spiral with
all of the sub types, elliptical, and irregular. They should include: kinds
of stars present in each type, the basic composition of the type, does the
type contain a bulge, description of its shape, what holds it all together.
Inspiration is a good software program for this activity. This page
shows one method for classifying the galaxies but doesn’t include the
sub-types of spiral galaxies.
Activity 2: Day 1
Tie to previous day: Review the main types of galaxies seen so far:
Spiral, Bared Spiral, and Elliptical. Use the galaxy
flash cards (Pattern for galaxies) to review the shapes and types.
Motivational set: show the movie Looking
Deep. This movie explains the Hubble Deep Field, an image of which will
be used in today’s lesson. View the QuickTime movie and preview it first
to make sure it downloads OK.
Notes: Students should be grouped the same as the previous day but
switch roles. Hubble
Deep Field Academy has four lessons. For time's sake, Students will do
the 2nd and 4th lessons but the other two lessons are also worth going through
if there is time. Provide the students a copy of the lesson worksheet found
at the top of the Cosmic Classifier page. View the Teaching Tips page for
extra tips on this lesson.
Lesson: Cosmic
Classifier is about identifying and classifying selected objects in the
Hubble Deep Field image. The lesson is self-guided and interactive. The student
will be required to input information onto charts on the computer screen,
answer questions and record data results onto their worksheet. The students
can access the lesson from the above link; just click on Cosmic Classifier
and you will be taken to the student page.
After completing the Cosmic Classifier lesson, each group should meet with
one other group and discuss their answers to the worksheet questions and how
their ideas differed from the astronomers. (~ 30-40 min. total for lesson
and discussion)
Next, go on to Universal
Graduate lesson and do review questions: 1,2,3,5 on the first page and
all questions on the second page. The students in the group should come to
a consensus about their answer before writing it down. Again print out the
worksheet, one per group.
Day 2
Tie to previous day: As a review of the previous days’ lessons,
use the questions from the Universal Graduate lesson (above). Also have student
groups report on the challenges that astronomers face when classifying galaxies.
Why are there disagreements?
For the remaining class time, the students should spend it completing their
classification graphical organizer and presenting it to the class. Ideally
it should be presented electronically rather than in a printed form and the
speaker from each group should share highlights of their graphic organizer.
Assessment (individual):
Show two large images of two types of galaxies side by side. Pick them from
the lessons viewed or download Galaxy
Trading cards. Ask students to create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast
the two galaxies. See this link for an example.
Venn Diagram components: identify the type of galaxy (spiral, bared spiral,
elliptical, or irregular) and at least four characteristics (color, shape,
kinds of stars, composition-gas and dust, other descriptions)Students should
be assessed individually for their group work contribution and for their Venn
diagram comparing and contrasting two galaxies. The group should also be assessed
for their galaxy classification graphic organizer. See attached rubrics.
Rubric for group work, Venn diagram, and Galaxy Classification
Graphical Organizer
| Excellent | Improving | Needs more work | |
| Contributions | Routinely provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. A definite leader who contributes a lot of effort. | Sometimes provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. A satisfactory group member who does what is required. |
Rarely provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. May refuse to participate. |
Working with others |
Almost always listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. Tries to keep people working well together. | Often listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others, but sometimes is not a good team member. | Rarely listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. Often is not a good team player. |
| Focus on the task |
Consistently stays focused on the task and what needs to be done. Very self-directed. | Focuses on the task and what needs to be done some of the time. Other group members must sometimes nag, prod, and remind to keep this person on-task. | Rarely focuses on the task and what needs to be done. Lets others do the work. |
| Venn Diagram | Describes 4 or more characteristics of the galaxies; correctly names the type of galaxy. |
Describes 3 characteristics of the galaxies; may misname the type of galaxy. | Describes less than 3 characteristics and may misname the galaxy type. |
Graphical Organizer & Galaxy Classification |
Organization is clear and logical; all parts are included. | Organization is somewhat clear and logical; or 1-2 parts are missing. | Organization may not be clear and logical; or more than 2 parts are missing. |
Resources:
Hubble Images: http://informal-sci.stsci.edu/sources/illustrations/
Hubble Deep Field Academy: Day 2 lesson http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/hdf/
Capture the Cosmos: Galaxies. Here you can find the links to online adventures,
pictures, graphical organizers, trading cards, and more. The Galaxies Galore,
Games and more site has a similar activity to day 1 but at a lower level.
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/capture/galaxies/
Looking Deep: a short movie about the Hubble Deep Field Image
http://informal-sci.stsci.edu/exhibits/videos/kiosk/
Classifying Galaxies: Day 1 lesson; both the teacher and student pages can
be accessed from here.
http://www.smv.org/hastings/galaxy.htm
Galaxy Flash cards: pattern for galaxies a pdf http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/galex_make2.shtml
Lesson 5: Tools Astronomers Use
Use the activities found in “A
Teacher’s Guide to the Universe” by Lindsay Clark
• For scale models see Size of the Universe parts 1-6 on the table of
Contents page.
• For distances start at Basis for Distance Measurement and do the following
parts 13, 14, and 18-21. If you don’t have enough time to spend on these
activities, then discuss the background information on parallax, Doppler shift,
red shift, and galactic brightness.
This activity for Parallax
that may be easier for the students to do. This is the html version but at
the top of the page is a .doc file of the same page. It is well worth downloading
the .doc file since it has diagrams for the set-up of the activity.
Lesson 6: Common Misconceptions in Astronomy
Activity: Before studying this unit students may have had some misconceptions
about one of the topics you now have studied. However, students have since
learned a great deal about stars, galaxies, origin of Earth and some of the
tools astronomers use to make their discoveries. Hopefully their misconceptions
have been cleared up. In this activity students will visit this website
and pick two misconceptions from each of the following categories: Stars,
Solar System, Galaxies, Cosmology (except for those that discuss God), Astronomers
(found under History and Philosophy of Astronomy) and explain why they are
misconceptions by sighting evidence to reveal the misconception. This would
be another activity where students could create the grading rubric for the
assignment. Below is a list of some common misconceptions cited on the Star
Light Star Bright teacher page
Some common misconceptions are:
• Space is empty between planets, stars, and other objects.
• All radiation is harmful.
• The spectrum of electromagnetic radiation consists of only visible
light.
• The Sun is not a star.
• We view all space objects with only an optical telescope.
• The Hubble Space Telescope can view all objects in space by traveling
there to get a better image.
• Stars are on fire and can burn out.
• "Red hot" is hotter than "white hot".
Extension activity: make a list of astronomy facts and concepts mixed
with some misconceptions and ask the students to pick out the misconceptions
and then explain why they are misconceptions.
Activity 2: (To be done individually) In an essay, the student
is to compare their first model with this revised model. The essay should
address the following points/questions.
1. What are the differences?
2. Expand upon the following: (The quoted portions below are taken from Modeling
the Universe Journal)
• "(The) revisions are based on the following new insights, data
and or understanding…"
3. How has your understanding of the tools of astronomy affected they way
you designed your new model? (Use of light, measurements of distances, etc.)
• “My Model now helps to explain…”
4. “Features of the universe this new model misrepresent”
• Why are these features misrepresented?
5. “Features omitted from this new model”
• Why are these features omitted?
Assessment: you may wish to create a checklist of the necessary
components of the essay and follow the school’s writing rubric. Or,
have students brainstorm what the science content of the rubric should be
instead of using the checklist.
last updated: October 8, 2005
Webpage contact: Nick Strobel
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