Language is an important tool in the classroom. One must not take for granted the knowledge base and experiences of the students. Many students have not experienced the night sky as a canvas of wonder with the most spectacular lights. Therefore, I plan ahead the language I will be using for this unit. Students must be able to comprehend and form an understanding of the terminology being used. The vocabulary in science is used to define very specific concepts and must be specifically taught.
A vocabulary list is also essential to the teacher when nonverbal students are being taught. Communication boards must be designed in preparation of the varied lessons to give the students the opportunity to respond to the lessons being presented. The communication board is tailor-made to the needs of each individual student. The choice of pictures or symbols to represent words, ideas, etc. is carefully considered. For example, some children respond better to black and white drawings versus colored pictures or photographs. In addition, the size of the symbol or picture is important. A student with visual impairment will require larger pictures than a student with no significant visual impairment. Also, the number of picture choices needs to be considered. Some students do not do well with many choices for answers. They may only be able to handle three or four choices at a time. The carefully designed communication board allows the student to respond to questions by pointing to answers that they would be unable to state aloud.
When teaching vocabulary, photo-language cards prove to be an invaluable tool for the teacher. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and spatial concepts have been taught using these cards. They are especially useful in this unit as one cannot bring students face-to-face with the heavenly bodies and scientific terminology discussed in BEYOND PLANET EARTH. Photo-language cards are purchased through speech and language catalogues or special needs catalogues. Or the creative teacher can collect varied images off the internet and laminate them for continued use. In addition, photos can be found in various astronomy magazines and books. Also, the teacher can write to NASA for information and photographs related to the solar system and space travel. If the teacher prepares for the unit ahead of time, s/he will be able to collect a variety of photos inexpensively for use in language lessons.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND STRATEGIES
Our universe has been studied for centuries. The earliest models placed the Earth in the center of the universe. This model continued until Copernicus' revolutionary idea was put forth that the Earth and the other planets revolved around the sun. The experiments of Galileo and the observations of Kepler provided evidence to support Copernicus' theory. Kepler's laws of planetary motion succeed in supporting all known planetary motions in our solar system. The first law states that the orbits of the planets are elliptical with the sun at one focus. The orbits of the planets are not circular as previously believed. The second law states that the speed of the planet's orbit changes depending on its proximity to the Sun. The closer it is to the sun the faster the orbital speed. The third law relates the size of the planet's orbit to the time needed for a planet to complete one revolution around the sun. Kepler's third law provided the justification for the popular use of the astronomical unit to compare distance, diameter, and volume between the Earth and other planetary models.
Our solar system is located in a galaxy called The Milky Way. Our solar system has nine planets that orbit the sun, our closest star. To familiarize the students with the names of the planets, I will write the planet names on oak tag cards which I will laminate for repeated use in the classroom. Each planet name will be written in a different color. I will have the students sort the planets by the first letter of their names. I will make a second set of cards with the addition of the number of its ordinal placement in our solar system using the same "planet colors" I had chosen for the first set. (For example, Mercury 1, Venus 2, Earth 3, etc.) I would then have each of the students take turns sequencing the planets in the order they are found in the solar system. I would then combine both sets of cards and have the students match the planet names in a game of concentration, a memory game. The cards are mixed up as they are placed face down on the table. Then the students take turns turning over two cards and seeing if they match. If the names do not match, the cards are turned over and another student takes a turn. The student with the most matches wins.
In an effort to reinforce the sequence of planets, and gain a visual representation of our solar system, the class will create a large scale model utilizing our school hallway. At this point, the teacher will determine the equatorial diameter of the planets and their distances from the sun as they relate to the planet Earth. Any measurement such as size, volume, or distance is only as meaningful as it relates to the planet Earth. Therefore, the teacher can determine the equatorial diameter of the planets by dividing planet X's diameter by the Earth's diameter. The teacher can determine distance from the sun by dividing Planet X's distance from the sun by the Earth's distance from the sun. The resulting answers are meaningful in that they relate to Earth and help us to create a relevant model of our solar system. To assist the teacher, I have included the equatorial diameters and distances from the sun in the following charts.
RELATIVE EQUATORIAL DIAMETER
PLANET EQUATORIAL DIAMETER AS
IT RELATES TO EARTH
Venus .95
Earth 1.00
Mars .53
Jupiter 11.20
Saturn 9.40
Uranus 4.00
Neptune 3.90
Pluto .18
RELATIVE DISTANCE FROM THE SUN
PLANET DISTANCE AS IT RELATES TO EARTH
Mercury 0.4 AU
Venus 0.7 AU
Earth 1.0 AU
Mars 1.5 AU
Jupiter 5.2 AU
Saturn 9.6 AU
Uranus 19.3 AU
Neptune 30.3 AU
Pluto 39.7 AU
Please note that the distance chart uses the abbreviation AU which represents astronomical unit. The term astronomical unit is the mean distance between the Sun and the Earth. The other planetary distances from the Sun are related to the Earth's distance so that we are able to make meaningful comparisons. For example, Mars is 1.5AU from the Sun or Mars is one and one half times farther from the Sun than the Earth.
Using the information in the chart, the teacher can create scaled representations of the planets from construction paper. I would multiply the relative diameter of each planet by 10 cm. This larger scale would create planets that could be easily seen and colored by my students. I would show them pictures of the planets and then assign each student a planet to color. As a math activity, I would have the students sort their planets by size and ask them guided observation questions such as: Which planet is the biggest?; Which planet is the smallest?; Which planets are about the same size? I would then convert the relative distances of the planets to meters and tape the planets in order from the sun according to their scaled relative distance. I would use our longest hallway for this part of the activity. In this manner, the students have created a scaled model of the solar system.
To reinforce the concept of orbiting the sun, I would reuse the scaled relative distance information from the scaled model of the solar system. I would cut string to the relative distance in meters for each planet. I would then take my class outside and assign each of them to be a planet or sun. I would have each of the "planets" hold on to their distance string and have the "sun" hold on to all the ends of the string. Then the class will march around the sun like a maypole and experience the concept of orbiting the sun. Then, I would place hats with propellers on their heads with a "moon" attached to the propeller. Then I would have the propellers spin as they march around the sun. The class will experience the concept of moons orbiting the planets as the planets orbit the sun. This activity will lead us to the next section of our unit, the moon.
The moon has been observed and studied for centuries. It has long been used as a means for determining the passage of time. The moon orbits around the earth in 27.3 days. Twenty-seven point three days is also the amount of time the moon takes to rotate on its axis. This is called a synchronous orbit. Because of this type of orbit, the moon always shows us the same side. Until space travel, we had no idea what the other side of the moon looked like. While the moon appears to have a crust, mantle, and core, it lacks a hydrosphere, an atmosphere, and a magnetosphere. When observing the moon, one can see craters and plains of varying sizes. The plains, called maria, resulted from the spread of lava during an earlier volcanic period on the moon. The craters resulted from the impact of some past meteoroids.
After discussing the moon and its surface using photos from magazines, the Internet, and NASA, we will read the book entitled WHAT THE MOON IS LIKE by Franklyn M. Branley. This children's book gives us information on what "life" is like on the moon. It discusses land formations, temperature, gravity, and what the astronauts found on their moon walks. After reading the book to the class, I will have the students create their own models of the moon surface. We will collect shoe boxes, sand, and rocks to form a lunar surface. We will then add footprints for the astronauts and a small American Flag to represent our presence on the moon. We will then display our lunar models in our science center.
Our next topic for study will be the phases of the moon. I will use the book entitled THE MOON SEEMS TO CHANGE by Franklyn M. Branley. This children's book discusses the phases of the moon and offers an activity that the class can experiment with to visually illustrate this concept. The moon undergoes a series of predictable changes or phases that takes about 29 days to complete. The cycle begins with the new moon which is invisible in the sky. Then the moon appears to grow a little each night forming a crescent which gets bigger and bigger. Half of the moon can be seen about one week after the new moon. This phase is called the quarter moon. During the following week, the moon continues to grow until the full moon is visible. Then the moon seems to get smaller, shrinking to a quarter moon, then a crescent moon, and then back to a new moon.
The moon does not actually grow and shrink in size. It is always the same size. What changes is the amount of light that is available for us to view the moon. The moon does not emit its own light. It reflects light from the sun. Half of the moon is always in the sunlight, however because of the moon's orbit and rotation, we cannot always see all of the moon that is in the sunlight. For example, when the moon is between the sun and the earth, it is a new moon with its lunar disk facing us being devoid of sunlight. When the earth is between the sun and the moon, it is a full moon with its lunar disk facing us brightly reflecting the light from the sun.
The students will create their own record of the phases of the moon by creating book which we will call THE PHASES OF THE MOON. The teacher will pass out pages where the phases of the moon have been drawn and labeled for them. The teacher will encourage the students to say something about the pictures which s/he will write down for them. The students will color their moons and lace the pictures together with yarn to create a book with a front and back cover.
Another activity for the class is to have a moon watch for a month. Because the moon is visible during the daytime, the class will track the phases of the moon during the school day and for homework. During the school day, we will use a telescope and observe the moon and its phases from the parking lot or school field. ( It is important for the teacher to note that one SHOULD NOT DIRECTLY OBSERVE THE SUN WITH A TELESCOPE. Damage to the eyes will result from looking at the sun. Teachers should be sure to warn their students of the danger and closely monitor the use of the telescope.) For homework, the students will take home a worksheet with the phases of the moon drawn on the paper. The instructions will be for the student to circle the correct phase of the moon as it is directly observed.
There are times when the sun, earth, and moon line up precisely and we can observe a lunar eclipse. When the sun and the moon are exactly opposite each other, the shadow of the earth blankets the moon, temporarily blocking the sunlight and causing an eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly in front of the sun, temporarily blocking the sunlight during the day time. It is much more difficult for us to observe these eclipses. The solar eclipse can only be observed from a small part of the earth. The lunar eclipse can be observed from the entire planet but only during the night. Therefore, as a class activity, observing eclipses is not likely.
Next, we will discuss the difference between day and night. First we will discuss the characteristics of the day sky. For example, it is light out and we have the sun in the sky. We will read the book entitled THE SUN OUR NEAREST STAR by Franklyn M. Branley. The sun has been shining down on us for millions of years. The sun is our source for light and heat in order for life to be maintained on our planet. The sun is a star which means that it is a ball of gas that glows. The gas is held together by the gravity of the sun as is powered by nuclear fusion in the center of the sun. The sun rotates on its axis. We can determine the amount of time the sun takes to rotate by observing the sun spots and timing their apparent movements. At its equator, the sun rotates every 24.9 days. The sun is made up of gases that absorb and transmit radiation. It does not have a hard surface. The surface temperature of the sun is hot enough to melt any known material at 5780 K. The radius of the sun is more than 100 Earth radii. The sun is very different from the planets and moons in our solar system. Scientists have a great opportunity to study a star in action by observing the sun and its properties.
Now, we will discuss the characteristics of the night sky. For example, the sky is black; it has stars; we see the moon. We will then read the book entitled THE SKY IS FULL OF STARS by Franklyn M. Branley. This book talks about being a stargazer and directly observing the stars and lights of the night sky. Some stars are brighter than others. This may be due to the distance of the stars from us or the temperature and/or size of the stars. In addition, this book discusses how groups of stars form pictures in the night sky. These pictures are called constellations. We have 88 constellations in our galaxy. Depending on our position in the earth's orbit, there are different stars and constellations in our view. Constellations can also be compared to a connect-the-dots worksheet, a familiar item in the student's lives. Another children's book that reinforces this concept is entitled THE BIG DIPPER by Franklyn M. Branley.
After discussing the differences between day and night, we will experiment by using plants to illustrate the importance of light to our planet by observing the growth of two plants. One plant will be devoid of all light, while the other will receive all the light that is required. The students will directly observe the effects of a light-free environment as they observe a plant die from not having any light. In addition, we will use another experiment to determine the cause of day and night. The teacher will require a globe, yellow sticker, and a bright light. The teacher will place the yellow sticker where we are located on the globe. Then the teacher will turn off the light and shine the bright light on the globe. Then the teacher will rotate the globe to illustrate that part of the globe is dark and part of the globe is light. Class will discuss that the times when part of the globe is light is daytime and the times when part of the globe is dark is nighttime. The class will locate themselves on the globe by finding the yellow sticker and observe its location as the globe rotates. The students will then answer the questions, "Is it daytime or nighttime? How do you know?"
At this point in the unit, I plan to take my class on a field trip to the planetarium at Southern Connecticut State University. Dr. James Fullmer has an astronomy program for primary to intermediate age students in New Haven, CT. Having observed him at the planetarium, I found him informative and entertaining as he taught on the solar system using a variety of techniques. He seemed adept at knowing his audience and teaching to the level necessary for the students to understand the information. After spending a significant amount of time studying the solar system, my class should be able to understand and enjoy this highly educational field trip.
At the end of this unit, I will read THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS LOST IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM by Joanna Cole. This book is about a class trip to the solar system. We will then discuss how people travel in space and visit the moon. The Earth sends highly educated people to space who are called astronauts. They have studied a long time to be able to travel in space. These men and women must know how to use and fix many complicated computers and machines on the space shuttle and rockets. Twelve of these people have actually set foot on the moon. Astronauts wear special space suits and masks because space is extremely cold and does not have any air to breathe. The astronauts must bring their own food, air, water, heat and fuel with them on any given trip off the planet. Most trips to space are only for a few days. Sometimes a couple of astronauts will spend a few months in space by living on the Russian Space Station Mir. The space station must have plenty of supplies to support life for months on end. Occassionally, a ship may travel to space to bring extra supplies for the astronauts or cosmonauts living on the space station. In addition, scientists conduct experiments in space and businesses and governments send satellites in space for mass communication and observation purposes. At this time, I will show the class a video entitled I WANT TO BE AN ASTRONAUT which demonstrates the training and study involved in becoming an astronaut. It also shows astronauts living and working in space. The students will see astronauts floating in space, eating special foods, wearing special clothes, and using complicated instruments and computers.
As a class project, we will write our own story about our trip to space. We will decide where we want to go and what we will need for our trip. We will need to bring air and special food for our trip. We will wear special clothing and ride in a special vehicle for space. I will ask the students if there is anything special to each of them that they would like to bring on the trip. Perhaps, they may want to bring a picture of their family or a special toy. Using magazines, students will find and cut out pictures of items that they would pack for their trip and create a collage to represent their story. Then, we will talk about what they will find in the solar system when we get there. This culminating activity will provide a means of assessing what the students have learned and remembered from the lessons and activities in class.