Third Grade - Science - Lesson 37 - Astronomy
Objectives
Demonstrate movement of Earth around the Sun.
Distinguish between rotation and orbit.
Identify position of Earth during summer and winter in Baltimore.
Create a different picture for the Big Dipper constellation.
Materials
Picture of constellations for transparency (attached)
Dark-colored umbrella, white chalk, white paper, tape (see Teacher
Note)
Adhesive label or tape marked "Baltimore"
Flashlight
Globe
Three-foot length of string with a roll of tape tied securely to one
end
Worksheet (attached)
Suggested Books
Barrett, N.S. Night Sky. New York: Franklin Watts, 1985. Contains
star charts and listings of constellations seen in the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres.
Branley, Franklyn. The Big Dipper. New York: HarperCollins,
1991. Illustrates how the constellation changes its position and which
stars make up the Big Dipper and its parent constellation, Ursa Major.
________. The Sky is Full of Stars. New York: HarperCollins,
1981. This Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science book explains where to look
for and how to identify constellations in the night sky. It also includes
directions for making a box planetarium to project constellations on the
wall of a darkened room.
Kerrod, Robin. The Children's Space Atlas. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook
Press, 1992. Pages 54 through 68 highlight constellations seen in each
hemisphere during different seasons of the year.
Krupp, E.C. The Big Dipper and You. New York: Morrow, 1989.
This excellent introduction to stargazing focuses on one constellation
and its importance to various cultures throughout history. The clever illustrations
are outstanding. Pages 26 and 27 contain a good explanation of what causes
the seasons.
Rey, H.A. The Stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1952. Rey
has taken the arrangements of stars in constellations and redrawn them
to more clearly show the sky pictures.
Stacy, Tom. Sun, Stars and Planets. New York: Random House,
1990. Pages 14 and 15 show the 12 constellations of the zodiac.
Stott, Carole. Night Sky. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1993.
Pages 18 through 27 show pictures of constellations and how to build a
model of Orion.
Teacher Note
The inside of a dark-colored umbrella can serve as a night sky and
show students how the constellations, with the exception of the North Star,
appear to move. Using pictures of constellations from the transparency,
draw them in white chalk on the inside panels of the umbrella. The North
Star should be placed at the very top of the inside of the umbrella around
the center pole. The Big Dipper's pointer stars should point to the North
Star. Labels can be made with white paper and taped inside of the umbrella
next to the constellations.
Reading Mastery IV, Lessons 119 and 140 include material about the Milky
Way and the shapes of galaxies. Lessons 56 and 57 contain information
on the solar system. Gravity is discussed in Lesson 63. For review of the
solar system, see Openers, Level 3, Lessons 1 through 7.
A planisphere is a constellation finder that looks a little like a calorie counter. It consists of two disks of paper and a large window cut out of the front disk. One lines up the month, day and hour along the outside of the disk to reveal in the large window the constellations observable in the sky and their positions at that time. Simple planispheres are available at the Maryland Science Center's gift shop and at nature stores.
Procedure
Ask: When you look up at the sky on a clear night, what do you see?
(dark sky, a sliver, crescent or full moon shining, many stars twinkling)
Tell the students that when they look up at the sky, they are looking away
from our planet Earth and out into space. The study of what is out there,
what is beyond the Earth's atmosphere, is called astronomy. Write
this on the board. Tell the students that early humans must have wondered
about the sun, moon and stars that they saw in the sky. They must have
wondered: What are those glowing, twinkling things up there? How far away
are they? If I climbed a high mountain, could I reach them? Are they made
of fire, of sparkling stones or maybe of gold? What makes them move around
in the sky? Is the sky a huge bowl that covers the Earth? Are stars really
lamps carried by gods to light their paths as they travel about the sky?
Tell the students that for thousands of years, ancient astronomers watched
the skies, searching for clues to the mysteries of the sun, moon and stars.
They made maps of the skies and divided the stars into groups. They connected
the stars in each group with imaginary lines to make pictures of people
and animals that are called constellations. Write this word on the
board.
Show the students the transparency of constellations or pictures of
constellations from Suggested Books. Discuss whether the students see other
pictures in the arrangements of stars. Tell them that different cultures
saw different shapes in the arrangement of stars and gave constellations
different names. Point out the picture of the Big Dipper or Drinking Gourd.
Tell the students that a dipper is a long-handled cup used to scoop water
out of a bucket. Tell them that other cultures saw the Big Dipper constellation
as something else. The Vikings saw it as a wagon. The Egyptians saw it
as a magic stick. The English saw it as a plow. The Chinese as a king's
chariot. Native Americans saw it as part of a larger constellation in the
shape of a great bear chased about the sky by birds. Tell the students
that spotting the Big Dipper or Drinking Gourd constellation in the sky
can help them find which direction is north without a compass. Remind the
students that slaves used the Drinking Gourd constellation to help them
find their way north to freedom. On the transparency, point to the two
stars that make the side of the cup of the dipper. Show the students that
by drawing an imaginary line through these two stars (called the Pointer
stars) and continuing on, one comes to a very bright star called the North
Star. Other stars may seem to move around in the sky, but the North Star
always stays in the same place.
Open the specially-prepared umbrella and show the students the North
Star inside the top of the umbrella. Show them that as you spin the umbrella,
other stars and constellations such as the Big Dipper circle around the
North Star. The North Star, however, stays in the same place. If one faces
the North Star, one is facing north. To the right is east, to the left
is west and behind is south. Tell them that for thousands of years, people
in the Northern Hemisphere have looked for the Big Dipper constellation
in the sky so they could find the North Star. Knowing which direction was
north helped them find their ways across deserts, oceans or wilderness
without getting lost.
Ask the students to watch the Big Dipper as you spin the umbrella. Point out that sometimes we see it with its cup up and sometimes with its cup down. Tell the students that if they could see stars in the daytime, they would see the Big Dipper spin around the North Star like this once every 24 hours. Ask: Are stars really moving in circles around the sky? (No. It is the Earth that is spinning, not the stars.)
Have two volunteers come to the front of the room. Designate one volunteer
as the Sun and give him or her a flashlight. Tell the other volunteer that
he or she is the Earth. Place a label that says Baltimore on the
volunteer's shoulder and point out that this is where we live on the Earth.
Have the Sun shine the flashlight on the Earth. Ask the Earth to spin slowly
and to tell the class when Baltimore is having daytime and when Baltimore
is having nighttime. Point out that the Earth is actually spinning at 800
mph. Each rotation of the Earth takes 24 hours or one day. Write 1 rotation'1
day on the board. As the Earth volunteer rotates, ask: If one rotation
is one day, how many times will the Earth spin or rotate in one year? (365
times) Point out to the students that while the Earth is rotating, it is
also moving in a circle around the Sun. It moves at 67,000 mph. Have the
Earth volunteer rotate as well as move around the Sun in an orbit. Point
out that it takes 365 rotations or days for the Earth to make one full
circle around the Sun. This circle is called an orbit. Write 1
orbit'365 rotations or 1 year. Have the volunteers return to their
seats.
Show the students the globe. Spin the globe on its axis and ask: Is
this globe rotating or orbiting? (rotating) Swing the string with tape
roll in an arc above your head. Ask: Is the tape roll rotating or orbiting
me? (orbiting) Point out that as the Earth rotates, it remains the same
distance from the Sun as it orbits it during the year. Remind the students
that they learned about seasons in second grade. Ask: Why do we have seasons?
Why does our climate change during summer, fall, winter and spring? (because
the Earth is tilted) Remind them that during part of its orbit, the top
half of the Earth where we live is tilted toward the Sun. The Sun's rays
hit more directly on our part of the Earth. This is when we have summer.
During the other part of the orbit, the top half of the Earth is tilted
away from the Sun. The Sun's rays hit the bottom half of the Earth more
directly. People who live there enjoy summer and we have winter.
Remind the students that we may learn about how the Earth rotates and how it orbits the Sun, but here on Earth it does not feel as if we are moving at all. When we look at the sky, it appears that we are standing still as the sun, moon, stars and planets move around us. Tell the students that next lesson they will see some illustrations of what people of long ago thought the universe must look like.
Possible Field Trips
Presentations at the Davis Planetarium at the Maryland Science Center
simulate the night sky without the interference of lights, pollution, trees,
buildings and clouds. The planetarium focuses on different themes but has
presented shows on the Drinking Gourd and other constellations.
The Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute is in Baltimore on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University. Call about programs and tours of their facilities. Their number is (410) 338-4700.
Third Grade - Science - Lesson 38 - Astronomy
Objectives
Describe why it appears as if the stars are circling in the sky.
Describe why astronomers build telescopes on mountain tops.
Create a list of facts about the Sun.
Materials
Pictures of geocentric and heliocentric universe models for transparency
(attached)
A piece of waxed paper and a piece of clear plastic wrap
Pictures of the Space Shuttle and Hubble Space Telescope from Suggested
Books
Pictures of galaxies from Suggested Books.
Suggested Books
Bailey, Donna. Far Out in Space. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn, 1991.
Page 36 and 37 include photographs of the Space Shuttle and Hubble Space
Telescope. Pages 22 and 23 contain illustrations of various types of galaxies.
Branley, Franklyn. Floating in Space. New York: HarperCollins,
1998. Another in the Let's- Read-and-Find-Out Science series, this book
focuses on a space shuttle mission, the in- space life of astronauts and
the work of the shuttle crew on the Hubble Space Telescope. Branley is
the chairman of the American Museum-Hayden Planetarium.
Dailey, Robert. The Sun. New York: Franklin Watts, 1994. Pages
19 through 21 deal with Copernicus and Galileo and include an illustration
of Copernicus. Page 30 contains a picture of the Sun's surface.
Kerrod, Robin. The Children's Space Atlas. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook
Press, 1992. Page 83 includes a large illustration of Hubble.
Lambert, David. Stars and Planets. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn,
1994. Pages 6, 10 and 11 contain illustrations of the Space Shuttle which
show how it is launched with rocket boosters. Pages 26 and 27 show different
types of galaxies.
Lippincott, Kristen. Astronomy. New York: Dorling Kindersley,
1994. This Eyewitness Science series book contains many photographs and
illustrations of telescopes. Pages 8 through 19 highlight ancient astronomy
and the contributions of Copernicus and Galileo. Page 35 shows the Space
Shuttle with its solid fuel rocket boosters.
Reid, Struan and Patricia Fara. Scientists. New York: Scholastic,
1992. Page 14 contains a short piece on Copernicus.
Simon, Seymour. Galaxies. New York: Morrow, 1988.
________. The Solar System. New York: Morrow, 1992. This is
an extremely well-written tour of our solar system and includes an illustration
on page 4 showing Earth's location in the Milky Way.
Stacy, Tom. Sun, Stars and Planets. New York: Random House,
1990. Pages 18 and 19 include illustrations of the Milky Way and other
types of galaxies.
Stannard, Russell. Our Universe: A Guide to What's Out There.
New York: Kingfisher, 1995. Pages 53 through 57 include illustrations
of differently-shaped galaxies including the Milky Way.
Procedure
Remind the students that last lesson they learned about constellations.
Ask: What constellation helps us find the North Star? (the Big Dipper or
Drinking Gourd) Why would we want to locate the North Star? (It helps us
find which way is north.) Does the North Star seem to circle the night
sky the way the other stars do? (No, it stays still.) Are the stars really
moving, circling the sky? (no) Why do they seem to move? (The Earth is
rotating so it looks like the sky is moving.)
Tell the students that long ago people believed that the Earth stood
still and the sun, moon, stars and planets circled around it. Show the
students the transparency of the geocentric universe. Point out that the
Earth is at the center of this model of the universe. Then in the 1500s,
a man in Poland named Nicolaus Copernicus wrote a book that said the Sun,
not the Earth, was the center of the universe. Copernicus said that it
was Earth and the planets that moved around the Sun. Show the students
Copernicus's picture of how he thought the universe looked. Tell the students
that many people did not like Copernicus's new idea. They said it was a
dangerous idea that went against what great thinkers had said. It even
went against what was written in the Bible about the Earth's place in the
universe. At first Copernicus decided not to publish his book with its
new idea because he was afraid he would be punished by the Catholic Church.
A few months before he died, Copernicus was finally persuaded to publish
his book. The publishers wrote an introduction that said, "This is just
a theory about the universe and could very well be wrong," because they,
too, were afraid the Catholic Church would punish them.
Tell the students that a man named Galileo read about Copernicus's
idea. The telescope had just been invented so Galileo decided to use the
telescope to watch the planets. He wanted to look for evidence that might
prove whether the Earth or the Sun was the center of the universe. He built
his own telescope and with it spotted the moons of Jupiter. He measured
the shadows on the Earth's moon. He watched the changes of sunlight reflected
by Venus and decided that the Sun was the center of the universe
just as Copernicus had written. In 1611 Galileo went to Rome to talk with
Catholic Church leaders about how Earth and the planets orbited the Sun.
When the Catholic Church leaders heard his evidence, they arrested him
for spreading dangerous ideas. He was under house arrest until he died
thirty years later.
Ask: How do astronomers today learn more about the Sun, planets and
stars? (telescopes) Point out that telescopes today are much more powerful
and much larger than the one Galileo built. Telescopes are often built
on the tops of mountains. Ask: Why would astronomers want to build telescopes
on the tops of mountains? (to be closer to the sky) Point out that dust,
pollution, clouds and street lights of cities make it harder to see stars.
Mountaintops are far away from city lights and often above the clouds.
The air at the tops of mountains is cleaner, and thinner than down below.
Show the students a piece of waxed paper and a piece of clear plastic wrap.
Tell the students that looking through the Earth's atmosphere from a city
is like looking through waxed paper. From a mountain top where the atmosphere
is thinner and cleaner, it is more like looking through clear plastic wrap.
Tell the students that an even better way to get a clear picture of
distant objects in space is to get out of the Earth's atmosphere altogether.
Ask if any of the students have heard of the Hubble Space Telescope. If
the students do not know anything about the Hubble, tell them that it is
a powerful telescope sent up into space on the Space Shuttle. If available,
show photos of the
Space Shuttle and Hubble Space Telescope from Suggested Books. Tell
the students that now the Hubble Space Telescope maintains an orbit outside
the Earth's atmosphere and sends computer pictures of space back to astronomers
on Earth. Using it, astronomers can see 100 times more clearly than they
can with any telescope on Earth. Point out that the Hubble Space Telescope
Institute where the astronomers work is right here in Baltimore.
Show the students pictures of galaxies from Suggested Books. Tell them
that Hubble has sent back pictures of huge clouds of stars we call galaxies.
Write this word on the board. Tell the students that galaxies whirl like
pinwheels in space. Some of these galaxies look like spirals or whirlpools.
Some look like glowing blobs. Others look like spinning footballs. The
galaxy where we live is a spiral galaxy called the Milky Way. Astronomers
think the Milky Way contains 100 billion stars. Write Milky Way has
100,000,000,000 stars on the board. Among those 100 billion stars is
our star--the Sun. It is two thirds of the way out from the center on one
of its spiraling arms. Point out that the Sun is not the center of the
universe the way Copernicus and Galileo thought. It is just a medium-sized
star in a medium-sized galaxy in a universe full of stars and galaxies.
But the Sun is our star and we couldn't live without it.
Tell the students to get out paper and pencils. Tell them that at the
end of the lesson you will divide them into teams to play a game called
Sun Facts. The team that is able to recall the most facts about our star,
the Sun, will be the winner. Ask the students to listen carefully and take
notes for their team's fact list. Ask: What do we get from the Sun? (light,
heat, energy that makes the plants grow, weather) Ask: What do you think
the Earth would be like if there was no Sun? (very cold, dark, lifeless)
What do you think the Sun is made of? (Accept all answers.) Tell the students
that the Sun, like the other stars, is a ball of flaming hot gas. It is
much, much bigger than the Earth. More than one million Earths would fit
inside the Sun. Ask: How far away from Earth do you think the Sun is? (Accept
all answers.) Tell the students that the Sun is 93 million miles from Earth.
If you were able to take a jet to the Sun, it would take 20 years to get
there. Light travels much faster than a jet. Light from the Sun reaches
the Earth in less than 8 2 minutes.
The temperature on the surface of the Sun is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Sun burns nuclear fuel. It has been burning fuel for more than 4 2
billion years.
Divide the class into groups of five students. Ask each group to compile
a list of Sun Facts that they recall from the discussion. Encourage the
groups to use books in the classroom to find additional facts about our
star, the Sun. Have the winning group read their Sun Facts to the class.
Third Grade - Science - Lesson 39 - Astronomy
Relative size and distance demonstration adapted from Planets, Moons
and Meteors by John Gustafson.
Objectives
Compare relative sizes of the planets and their distances from the
Sun.
Compile information from research and complete a planet chart.
Materials
Diagrams of the solar system from Suggested Books
A basketball, a quarter, a nickel, two unpopped kernels of popcorn,
two grape or tomato seeds, two poppy seeds, a grain of salt
A Planet Collection (books on planets from Suggested Books)
Planet Chart (attached), colored pencils or crayons, paper for each
of nine groups
Suggested Books
Apfel, Necia H. Voyager to the Planets. New York: Clarion, 1991.
Asimov, Isaac. A Distant Giant: The Planet Neptune. Milwaukee:
Gareth Stevens, 1996. All the books in Asimov's series on the planets are
excellent and include good illustrations and computer photos.
________. Mercury: The Quick Planet. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens,
1989.
Berger, Melvin. Discovering Mars: The Amazing Story of the Red Planet.
New York: Scholastic, 1992. Includes wonderful photos of Mars taken by
Hubble.
Branley, Franklyn. Planets in Our Solar System. New York: Harpercrest,
1988.
________. Venus: Magellan Explores Our Twin Planet. New York:
HarperCollins, 1994. Compares Earth to our sister planet.
Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System.
New York: Scholastic, 1990.
Gibbons, Gail. The Planets. New York: Holiday House, 1993. The
inside front cover includes an excellent diagram of the solar system. Basic
information for each planet is presented in easy-to-read text.
Gustafson, John. Planets, Moons and Meteors. New York: Julian
Messner, 1992.
Lauber, Patricia. Journey to the Planets. New York: Crown, 1990.
While the text is for older readers, the black and white close-up photos
of the surfaces of planets are truly impressive.
Leedy, Loreen. Postcards from Pluto: A Tour of the Solar System.
New York: Holiday House, 1993. Delightful postcard descriptions of visits
to the planets.
Reid, Struan and Patricia Fara. Space Facts. New York: Scholastic,
1987. Includes cartoon illustrations and facts on the planets, asteroids
and comets.
Reigot, Betty Polisar. A Book About Planets and Stars. New York:
Scholastic, 1988. On page 26 is some information necessary to complete
the Planet Chart for each planet.
Ride, Sally and Tam O'Shaughnessy. Voyager: An Adventure to the
Edge of the Solar System. New York: Crown, 1992. Heavily illustrated
with pictures of the outer planets and their moons sent back by the Voyager
space probes. Sally Ride was a Space Shuttle astronaut.
Simon, Seymour. Destination: Jupiter. New York: Morrow, 1998.
________. The Solar System. New York: Morrow, 1992.
Stannard, Russell. Our Universe: A Guide to What's Out There.
New York: Kingfisher, 1995.
Vogt, Gregory. Mercury. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 1994. Books
in this series contain a Quick Facts section in the back.
________. Venus. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 1994.
Teacher Resource
The Planets. New York: Barrett Productions, 1993. This 51-minute
video is narrated by Patrick Stewart of Star Trek. The sound track
of this tour of the solar system is Holsts' The Planets. It includes
images collected by NASA from Viking, Mariner, Pioneer, Galileo and Magellan
space probes.
Teacher Note
Before the lesson, prepare a relative distance scale for the solar
system. Draw a 9 2-foot line
on the board. At one end draw a circle to represent the Sun. On the line,
at one inch intervals from the Sun, make four small dots. Label them Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars respectively. Measure 10 inches from the last dot,
make another dot and label it Jupiter. Measure 13 inches from Jupiter,
make another dot and label it Saturn. Measure 27 inches from Saturn, make
another dot and label it Uranus (pronounced YOUR-uh-nus). Measure 33 inches
from Uranus, make another dot and label it Neptune. Finally, measure 25
2 inches from Neptune, make a
dot and label it Pluto.
Procedure
Write solar system on the board. Point out that solar
means having to do with the Sun. When people talk about solar energy, they
are talking about energy from the Sun. Tell the students that our solar
system includes the Sun plus everything that circles around it. This includes
Earth and the planets, the moons that orbit the planets, asteroids, meteors
and comets. The Sun's gravity keeps all these "heavenly bodies" orbiting
around it instead of flying off into space. Show the students diagrams
of the solar system from Suggested Books. Ask: What is at the center of
the solar system? (the Sun) Ask a volunteer to come up and count how many
planets are in the diagram of the solar system. (nine) Have the volunteer
read the names of the planets. (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)
Ask: When you look on a map and find a scale of miles, what does the
scale tell you? (how many inches equals how many miles on the map) Tell
the students that you are going to show them scale models of the Sun and
planets so they can compare their sizes. Show the students the basketball
and ask them to imagine that this is the size of the Sun. Show them a poppy
seed. You will need to circulate through the classroom so the students
can see this tiny seed. Tell the students that compared to the basketball
sun, Mercury is the size of a poppy seed. Point out on the solar system
distance line on the board that Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.
Show the students a grape or tomato seed and tell them that compared
to basketball Sun, this is the size of Venus, our next door neighbor planet.
Point out Venus on the distance line. Show the students the other grape
or tomato seed and tell them that this represents the size of Earth. It
is about the same size as Venus. Point out Earth's place on the distance
line. Show the students the other poppyseed and tell them that this represents
the size of Mars compared to the basketball Sun. Ask: Mars is close in
size to what other planet? (Mercury) Point out Mars on the distance line.
Tell the students that Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are the inner planets.
Their orbits are the closest to the Sun. These are also called the Rocky
Planets. Ask: Why do you think these are called the Rocky Planets? (because
they are made of rock) Tell the students that between the orbits of Mars
and Jupiter is an asteroid belt. Asteroids are large and small pieces
of orbiting rock.
Show the students the quarter. Tell them that compared to the basketball
Sun, this is the size of Jupiter. Make a side-by-side comparison with the
basketball and point out that Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar
system but is still much, much smaller than the Sun. Point out its position
on the distance line. Show the students the nickel. Tell them that the
nickel represents the size of Saturn compared to the basketball Sun. Point
out Saturn's position on the distance line. Show the students an unpopped
kernel of popcorn and tell them that this represents the size of Uranus
compared to the basketball Sun. Point out Uranus on the distance chart.
Ask the students to compare the distance between the Sun and Earth and
Uranus and Saturn. Show the students the other unpopped popcorn kernel.
Tell them that this represents the size of Neptune. Ask: What other planet
resembles Neptune in size? (Uranus) Point out Neptune's position on the
distance line. Ask: Recalling the Sun Facts, how many miles are between
the Earth and the Sun? (93 million miles) Ask the students to compare the
93 million mile space on the distance line from Sun to Earth with the distance
between the Sun and Neptune. Tell the students that Neptune is nearly three
billion miles from the Sun. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are called
the Gas Giants. Ask: What do you think these planets are made of? (mostly
gases)
Show the students a grain of salt. Tell them that this is the size
of Pluto compared to the basketball sun. It is the smallest of the planets,
smaller than the Earth's moon. Point to Pluto's position on the distance
line. Ask: As you move away from the Sun, would you expect the planets
to be warmer or colder? (colder) Point out that astronomers think Pluto
may be an ice ball.
Divide the class into 9 groups and assign a planet to each group. Distribute
a Planet Chart to each group. Have the students use books from the Planet
Collection in the classroom to find out facts about their planet. Encourage
them to look at photos or illustrations of the planets in books and have
a group member create a picture of the planet. After using them in Lesson
40, compile the Planet Charts and pictures in a Book of the Planets or
a Planets bulletin board.
Planet Chart
Planet's Name_________________________________________
1. Distance from the Sun_______________________________million
miles
2. How long it takes to
rotate once (in Earth days or hours)____________________________________
3. How long it takes to
orbit the Sun once (in Earth days, months or years)________________________
4. Number of moons or satellites_________________________________________
5. Description of planet's atmosphere_____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
6. Surface temperature_____________________degrees Fahrenheit
7. Describe in sentences any special features of this planet.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Third Grade - Science - Lesson 40 - Astronomy
Pixels from Space activity adapted from Mailbox Magazine, January,
1997.
Objectives
Chart the orbit and rotation times for the nine planets.
Create, transmit and receive a picture using pixel locations.
Materials
Illustration for transparency of planetary orbit and rotation (attached)
Pictures of planets and moons sent back by unmanned spacecraft from
Suggested Books
Pictures of Voyager from Suggested Books
Pixels from Space worksheet for each student (attached)
Three crayons or pencils of different colors for each pair of students
A book that can stand up and function as a screen between partners
Suggested Books
Apfel, Necia H. Voyager to the Planets. New York: Clarion, 1991.
A picture of the Voyager spacecraft is on pages 10 and 11.
Lauber, Patricia. Journey to the Planets. New York: Crown, 1990.
Ride, Sally and Tam O'Shaughnessy. Voyager: An Adventure to the
Edge of the Solar System. New York: Crown, 1992. Pages 6 and 7 show
an illustration of Voyager.
Simon, Seymour. The Solar System. New York: Morrow, 1992.
Procedure
Show the students the transparency of planetary rotation and orbit.
Remind the students that the planets orbit the sun and also rotate. Remind
them that one rotation is equal to one day. Point out the arrow that shows
rotation on the transparency. Ask: Are days on other planets the same length
as they are on Earth? (no) Ask the group that made a Planet Chart for Mercury
to report how long a day on Mercury is. (59 Earth days long) Point out
that Mercury rotates much more slowly than Earth. The Sun would appear
to move very, very slowly across Mercury's sky. Point out the planetary
orbit path on the transparency. Ask the Mercury group how long it takes
for Mercury to orbit the Sun. (88 Earth days) Ask the Earth group how long
it takes for Earth to orbit the Sun. (365 days) Ask: Which planet do you
think is orbiting faster? (Mercury) Ask: Which planet is closest to the
Sun? (Mercury) Tell the students that the closer something is to the Sun,
the stronger is the pull of the Sun's gravity. Write gravity on
the board. Tell the students that gravity is a force that causes objects
to attract each other. Gravity is what keeps the planets orbiting the Sun,
what keeps the moons orbiting the planets and what keeps objects on Earth
from floating away. Point out that Mercury moves very fast in its orbit.
If it didn't, it would be pulled into the Sun. Moving fast balances out
the pull of the Sun's gravity.
Using information from their Planet Charts, have the students help
you make a chart on the board to show how many Earth days, months or years
it takes for each planet to orbit the Sun and how many Earth hours or days
it takes for each planet to rotate once. Have students compare the lengths
of a Saturn year and a Pluto year with the length of an Earth year. Have
groups report on surface temperatures, moons and special features of their
planets.
Show the students pictures from Suggested Books of planets and their
moons that were sent back to Earth by unmanned spacecraft. Tell them that
these unmanned spacecraft carry
cameras, radio receivers and transmitters, temperature sensors and
other equipment so they can send back information about the planets to
astronomers on Earth. Show the students pictures of the Voyager
spacecraft or Mariner or Galileo spacecrafts. Point out that
recently a spacecraft landed on Mars, collected Martian rocks and took
pictures of its landscape. Tell them that a space probe called Cassini
has been sent on a four-year mission to explore Saturn. Cassini
will take pictures and sample gas particles in its atmosphere. A miniprobe
inside the Cassini will travel to Titan, one of Saturn's moons.
Astronomers have questions about Saturn: What holds Saturn's rings in place?
What chemicals are in its atmosphere? Where did all its moons come from?
Cassini will use radar to peek through the thick atmosphere of Saturn
and will take a half million photos.
Ask: How do you think the photos will be sent back to Earth? (radio
signals) Tell the students that computers change the pictures into tiny
squares. Each square is called a pixel. Write this word on the board.
The transmitter onboard the spacecraft sends the pixel locations for each
photo back to Earth as radio signals. Antennae here on Earth pick up the
radio signals from the spacecraft. Computers translate the radio signals
back into pixel locations so astronomers can see the pictures.
Distribute a Pixels from Space worksheet to each student. Tell them
that in this game they will communicate a picture by telling a partner
the exact locations and colors of pixels. Point out that there are letters
on one side of the grid and numbers on the other. Each square in the grid
is a pixel and has a specific location. Ask the students to locate pixel
5D on the worksheet. Ask them to locate pixel 3A. When the students have
mastered finding pixel locations, pair the students. Tell them that one
partner will be the transmitter and one the receiver of a picture as in
the game Battleship. Directions for Pixels from Space are on the
worksheet.
When the students are finished with the game, ask: Do you think there
are other solar systems besides our own? Do you think there are other planets
besides the nine you have been learning about? (Accept all answers.) Tell
the students that astronomers have found evidence of other solar systems--planets
that orbit around other stars. They think they have found evidence of at
least seven planets. Two of the planets are Jupiter-sized and orbit a star
that is only 47 trillion miles away from us. If there were life on those
planets, do you think they could send us pictures with radio waves? (Accept
all answers.)
Possible Homework
Ask: If a spacecraft were being sent to explore the planet you reported
on, what would you like it to find out about the planet? Write three questions
you would want answered. How might a space craft collect the information?
What equipment would you want onboard?
Imagine you received a picture from a planet outside our solar system,
one that orbits a different star. Imagine that it is a close-up picture
of the surface of the planet. Draw the picture you imagine receiving.
Pixels from Space!
Directions for the transmitter:
1. Stand a book on the desk between you and your partner so he or
she cannot see your paper.
2. Using three different colors, color in squares or pixels to make
a simple design on the grid. Use only one color in each square. Leave some
of the pixels blank. Do not let your partner see your design.
3. Give your partner the three crayons or pencils.
4. As the receiver calls out pixel locations (1A, 1B, 1C, and so
on for every pixel) tell your partner the color of that pixel or if it
is not colored in.
5. When your partner has finished calling out all the pixels, compare
your design with his or hers. Do your pictures match?
Directions for the receiver:
1. When the transmitter is ready, call out the locations of the
pixels one at a time starting with 1A, 1B, 1C, and so on for every pixel.
For each pixel your partner will tell you a color to make that pixel or
to leave it blank. Fill in the pixels one at a time as directed.
2. When you have finished calling out all the pixels, compare
your design with the transmitter's design.
Do your pictures match?
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Third Grade - Science - Lesson 41 - Astronomy
Objectives
Measure and calculate body weights on the moon.
List conditions on the moon.
Design a moon station that would allow humans to colonize the moon.
Materials
Illustrations of phases of the moon for transparency (attached)
Bathroom scale
Photos of astronauts on the moon and the surface of the moon from Suggested
Books
Suggested Books
Asimov, Isaac. Why Does the Moon Change Shape? Milwaukee: Gareth
Stevens, 1991.
Contains simple text and an excellent illustration showing how the
moon reflects sunlight and shows the Earth its different phases.
Branley, Franklyn. The Moon Seems to Change. New York: HarperTrophy,
1987.
Davis, Don and David Hughes. The Moon. New York: Facts on File,
1989. While the text is too advanced for young readers, this book contains
stunning illustrations showing how asteroids bombarded the moon's surface
to create a cratered moonscape.
Gibbons, Gail. The Moon Book. New York: Holiday House, 1997.
Includes information on Apollo landing, the moon's orbit, eclipses and
legends about the moon.
Gustafson, John. Planets, Moons and Meteors. New York: Julian
Messner, 1992.
Lauber, Patricia. Journey to the Planets. New York: Crown, 1990.
Pages 20 through 31 contain excellent black and white photos of the moon.
Simon, Seymour. The Moon. New York: Four Winds, 1984. Simon
has written a beautiful and haunting text, "The astronauts discovered that
the moon is a silent, strange place. The moon has no air. Air carries sound.
With no air, the moon is completely silent."
Sullivan, George. The Day We Walked on the Moon. New York: Scholastic,
1990. Follows the history of space exploration and includes sections on
the Apollo program as well as the Space Shuttle.
Procedure
Write the word satellite on the board. Tell the student that
satellite comes from a Roman word that means attendant, someone
who waits on an important person. Point out that in astronomy, a satellite
is something that orbits something else. Ask: Have you ever seen or touched
a satellite? (Accept all answers.) Point out that the Earth orbits the
Sun. It is the Sun's satellite. Therefore, the students have all touched
a satellite--the Earth. Tell the students that the Earth has a natural
satellite that human beings have been looking at for several million years.
Ask: What is the name of the Earth's natural satellite? (the moon) Ask:
When we look up at the sky at night and see the moon shining, is it making
its own light? (no) Tell the students that the moon reflects the light
of the Sun. The light we see here on Earth is coming from the Sun and bouncing
off the moon.
Show students the transparency of the phases of the moon. Tell them
that the moon appears to change its shape night after night. Sometimes
it looks like a round disk, sometimes like a crescent and other nights
like a circle cut in half. Tell them that the moon appears to change its
shape because, as it orbits the Earth, sunlight bounces off it from different
angles. Point out the new moon phase on the transparency. Tell the students
that when the moon is dark with only a tiny light around its edges, it
is called a new moon. Point out the illustration of the position of the
moon, Sun and Earth when the moon is new. Tell them that when the moon
is new, it is between the Sun and the Earth. We cannot see the light bouncing
off its back side, only the little bit of light that wraps around its edges.
Show the students the first quarter phase. Tell the students that when
the moon is one-quarter of the way through its orbit around the Earth,
the moon looks like this. Sunlight is hitting it from the side. Point out
the full moon. Tell the students that when the moon is full, sunlight is
striking it directly. We are seeing its entire lit side. Point out the
moon's third quarter. Tell the students that now sunlight is hitting the
moon from the other side. Once again we are seeing a half of its lit side.
Tell the students that the moon takes 29 days to go through all its phases.
When the moon is becoming more visible, people say the moon is waxing.
When it is becoming less visible, people say it is waning. Point
out that we measure time in days and years due to the Earth's rotation
and orbit. Tell them that we measure time in months due to the moon's orbit.
Ask: What keeps the moon orbiting around the Earth instead of floating
away in space? (Earth's gravity) Point out that just as the string held
the tape roll, so the Earth's gravity holds onto the moon. Ask: Do you
think the moon has any gravity of its own? (yes) Tell the students that
the moon has one-sixth the gravity of Earth. Tell them that if they walked
on the moon, they would weigh one-sixth of what they weigh here on Earth.
Have several volunteers come forward, weigh themselves on the bathroom
scale and record their Earth weights on the board. Ask the volunteers to
divide their weights by 6 to find how much they would weigh on the moon.
Tell the students that it is the moon's gravity pulling on the Earth's
oceans that causes high and low tides.
Ask: Has a person ever walked on the moon? (yes) Tell the students
that an American astronaut named Neil Armstrong was part of the Apollo
11 mission to the moon. Armstrong first set foot on the moon on July 20,
1969. As he stepped out on the moon's surface he said, "That's one small
step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Ask: What do you think he meant
when he said that? (Accept all answers.) Show the students photos of the
astronauts on the moon and photos of the surface of the moon from Suggested
Books. Tell them that the moon has no atmosphere--no air, no water, no
clouds and no rain. Nothing grows on the moon. It is just rocks and moon
dust. Remind the students that because there is no air on the moon, sound
cannot travel. The moon is silent. On the lighted side of the moon the
temperature is hot enough to boil water. On the dark side, the temperature
is hundreds of degrees below zero. Ask: Looking at the photographs, what
do you notice about the surface of the moon. (It is full of dents or holes.)
Tell the students that these holes are called craters. Astronomers believe
that they were caused by huge rocks from space called asteroids. Write
this word on the board. Tell them that over billions of years many
asteroids hit the surface of the moon. They pulverized the rock to dust
and made deep holes the size of cities. Point out that some nights when
they look at the moon they can see the darks and lights of its mountains
and craters.
Ask the students to help you make a list on the board of conditions
on our satellite, the moon (mountains and craters, very hot and very cold
temperatures, no sound, no air, no water, no plants, no changing weather,
1/6 Earth's gravity) Ask the students to imagine that they are being sent
by spacecraft to colonize the moon. Keeping in mind what humans need in
order to survive, what problems would they as pioneers have to solve? Ask
the students either individually or in groups to design a moon station
that would enable them to live on the moon.
Bibliography
Apfel, Necia H. Voyager to the Planets. New York: Clarion, 1991.
(0-395-55209-5)
Asimov, Isaac. A Distant Giant: The Planet Neptune. Milwaukee:
Gareth Stevens, 1996. (0-836-81231-X)
________. Mercury: The Quick Planet. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens,
1989. (1-555-32360-X)
________. Why Does the Moon Change Shape? Milwaukee: Gareth
Stevens, 1991. (0-836-80438-4)
Bailey, Donna. Far Out in Space. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn, 1991.
(0-811-42525-8)
Barrett, N.S. Night Sky. New York: Franklin Watts, 1985. (0-531-10004-9)
Berger, Melvin. Discovering Mars: The Amazing Story of the Red Planet.
New York: Scholastic, 1992. (0-590-45221-5)
Branley, Franklyn. The Big Dipper. New York: HarperCollins,
1991. (0-064-45100-3)
________. Floating in Space. New York: HarperCollins, 1998.
(0-060-25432-7)
________. The Moon Seems to Change. New York: HarperTrophy,
1987. (0-064-45015-1)
________. Planets in Our Solar System. New York: Harpercrest,
1988. (0-690-04581-6)
________. The Sky is Full of Stars. New York: HarperCollins,
1981. (0-690-04119-5)
________. Venus: Magellan Explores Our Twin Planet. New York:
HarperCollins, 1994. (0-060-20384-6)
Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System.
New York: Scholastic, 1990. (0-590-41429-1)
Dailey, Robert. The Sun. New York: Franklin Watts, 1994. (0-531-20105-8)
Davis, Don and David Hughes. The Moon. New York: Facts on File,
1989. (0-816-02046-9)
Gibbons, Gail. The Moon Book. New York: Holiday House, 1997.
(0-823-41297-0)
________. The Planets. New York: Holiday House, 1993. (0-823-41040-4)
Gustafson, John. Planets, Moons and Meteors. New York: Julian
Messner, 1992. (0-671-72534-3)
Kerrod, Robin. The Children's Space Atlas. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook
Press, (1-562-94164-X)
Krupp, E.C. The Big Dipper and You. New York: Morrow, 1989.
(0-688-07192-9)
Lambert, David. Stars and Planets. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn,
1994. (0-811-49246-X)
Lauber, Patricia. Journey to the Planets. New York: Crown, 1990.
(0-517-58125-6)
Leedy, Loreen. Postcards from Pluto: A Tour of the Solar System.
New York: Holiday House, 1993. (0-823-41000-5)
Lippincott, Kristen. Astronomy. New York: Dorling Kindersley,
1994. (1-564-58680-4)
Reid, Struan. Space Facts. New York: Scholastic, 1987. (0-590-22512-X)
Reid, Struan and Patricia Fara. Scientists. New York: Scholastic,
1992. (0-590-62180-7)
Reigot, Betty Polisar. A Book About Planets and Stars. New York:
Scholastic, 1988. (0-590-40593-4)
Rey, H.A. The Stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1952.
Ride, Sally and Tam O'Shaughnessy. Voyager: An Adventure to the
Edge of the Solar System. New York: Crown, 1992. (0-517-58158-2)
Simon, Seymour. Destination: Jupiter. New York: Morrow, 1998.
(0-688-15620-7)
________. Galaxies. New York: Morrow, 1988. (0-688-08064-5)
________. The Moon. New York: Four Winds, 1984. (0-590-07883-6)
________. The Solar System. New York: Morrow, 1992. (0-688-09993-9)
Stacy, Tom. Sun, Stars and Planets. New York: Random House,
1990. (0-679-80862-0)
Stannard, Russell. Our Universe: A Guide to What's Out There.
New York: Kingfisher, 1995.(1-856-97551-7)
Stott, Carole. Night Sky. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1993.
(1-564-58393-7)
Sullivan, George. The Day We Walked on the Moon. New York: Scholastic,
1990. (0-590-45587-7)
Vogt, Gregory. Mercury. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 1994. (1-562-94390-1)
________. Venus. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 1994. (1-562-94391-X)
Teacher Resource
The Planets. (video) New York: Barrett Productions, 1993.