Stars and constellations
Objectives:
Materials:
Events of Instruction:
Resources:
References:
Objectives:
- Identify stars as burning spheres of gas
- Identify that a planet is a large object that moves around a star (sun)
- Understand that the sun is the largest object in the solar system (star)
Materials:
- Construction paper for tri-fold (foldable)
- Markers for the poster or large sheet of paper for the walk-around activity
- Scissors
Events of Instruction:
- Explain to the class that today we will be focusing on stars. Tell the class to get into their small groups (at the beginning of the year, establish small groups of 3-5 students). Give each small group a poster or large sheet of paper and ask the small groups to write everything they know about stars on this. Small groups can draw a picture as well on their poster as well (provide colored markers). Give the small groups time to discuss and develop their posters.
- Hang each poster in different spots in the classroom, and instruct the class to do a walk-around while staying in their small groups. Tell the class to take a clipboard and a sheet of notebook paper to take notes. Students will look for new information on other posters that they can add (write this on the paper on the clipboard). Students will begin at their poster and rotate in their small group to the next poster on their right. Students will also look for differences and similarities of their classmates' posters with their own.
- After the walk-around is complete, students will go back to their poster and add any new information they discovered on the walk-around in a different color marker.
- Each small group will present their poster to the class and discuss information they missed but added after seeing other classmates' posters.
- Next, the students will return to their desks and the teacher will write the objectives on the board (Identify stars as burning spheres of gas, identify that a planet is a large object that moves around a star or the sun, understand that the sun is the largest object in the solar system, or a star).
- The teacher will hand out a piece of colored construction paper to each student and instruct the class on making a tri-fold. Students will fold their paper and then write planet, star, and sun on the outer three flaps and on the inside will write the definitions for these three terms in the objectives.
- Students will draw a picture next to their definition and can decorate their foldable in any way they wish.
- Assessment: Student's completion of the foldable and appropriate image they draw will be the summative assessment. After students complete the foldable, the teacher will ask students to write a number from 1-5 on the back of the foldable based on how well they understood the information about stars today. 1 would be confused and did not understand, and 5 would be understood clearly.
Resources:
- Instructions for making a tri-fold (foldable): http://www.education.ucsb.edu/webdata/instruction/hss/Visual_Literacy/foldables.pdf
References:
- http://www.pamelasanford.com/science-unit-6-space.html
- http://www.education.ucsb.edu/webdata/instruction/hss/Visual_Literacy/foldables.pdf