Be A Stargazer! Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird ... it's a plane ... No! It's constellations and comets and planets and all kinds of wondrous things! How many can YOU see in the night sky? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Starry, Starry Night MATERIALS NEEDED: Create a Constellations bulletin board with midnight blue background paper, the USPS poster, prints of Van Gogh's and Munch's artworks, and an area to display students' work. For this lesson you will need large tablet paper, markers, long tables, newspaper, paper towels, sink, paint shirts, white paper, pastellos, craypas, tempera paint, paint brushes, computer Internet access, a CD player, Starry, Starry Night by Don McLean (recently re-popularized by Josh Groban), Star Wars music by John Williams, and Somewhere Out There by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram (http://www.magma.ca/~pfeiffer/sharon/somewhere.htm) SETTING THE STAGE 1. Today we're going to begin a unit about the night sky. I want you shut your eyes and pretend that you have just spent a super summer day hiking, fishing, swimming, or waterskiing. Now you and your friends are sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows, looking up at the night sky. What do you see? Give students a few moments to think while you play Somewhere Out There. Invite them to list their night sky items; don't share at this time. 2. In honor of National Stamp Collecting Month, the US Postal Service has sent us this beautiful poster about the night sky. The special stamps featured in the stars were created by McRay Magleby, an artist and educator. Do you recognize any of these constellations: Leo, Lyra, Orion, or Pegasus? Besides constellations, what else could you see in the night sky? Record students' responses on large tablet paper. Post the list on the bulletin board. 3. For decades, artists have tried to capture the midnight magic of the night sky. Share the paintings Starry Night, Cafe Terrace, and Starry Night over the Rhone by Vincent Van Gogh and Starry Night by Edvard Munch. These artworks can be found at http://www.vangoghgallery. com/painting/starryindex.html and http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o869.html. Conduct a grand conversation about the paintings. How do the artists bring your attention to the night sky? What different objects appear in their paintings? How do the artists show movement in the night sky? Because Munch's work was inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night, compare and contrast the two paintings. 4. To better understand and appreciate these artworks, you might wish to learn more about the artists. Don McLean wrote a song, Starry, Starry Night, about Van Gogh's life. Access the lyrics by clicking on the appropriate hotlink on the above site. Additional biographical information about Magleby, Munch and Van Gogh may be found on the Internet. Search using the artist's name. STAR ART: Students create their own impressionistic, "starry" artworks using pastellos, craypas, or tempera paint. If possible, use long tables in the cafeteria or art room. Cover students' work areas with newspaper. Discuss proper handling of art materials. After the art activity, roll up the newspaper and give students wet paper towels to clean their work areas. While students are creating their starry skies, play the songs suggested in the materials list. Let students' artworks completely dry before displaying them on the Constellations bulletin board. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUPER STARGAZERS MATERIALS NEEDED: Computer with Internet access; Starry Messenger by Peter Sis, Copernicus: Founder of Modern Astronomy by Catherine M. Andronik, Dear Benjamin Banneker by Brian Pinkney, Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter, star maps, telescope, roll of paper, Timeliner, local astronomer, stamps, and large manila envelopes. Free, up-to-date star maps are available at http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html. ASTRONOMY THROUGHOUT HISTORY 1. Share Expectations: For centuries, stargazers have studied the sky for pleasure, curiosity, and traveling directions. The next few days we're going to learn about stargazers throughout history. By the end of these lessons you will be able to construct a timeline about astronomy and read a star chart. 2. One of the most ancient examples of stargazing is Stone Henge. Share this site: http://witcombe.sbc.edu/earthmysteries/EMStonehenge-aerial.html. Students will learn about the construction of Stone Henge in 2950 BC, reconstruction efforts, and its association with the Druids' interpretation of the night sky. Some ancient Chinese astronomers' star maps date back to 940 AD. A sample star map is located at: http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/chart/celestialchart.html. Do students recognize any of the constellations on these charts? 3. Nicolaus Copernicus, born in 1473, has been called the first "modern astronomer". Read Copernicus: Founder of Modern Astronomy by Catherine M. Andronik. Another famous astronomer, Galileo Galilei, born in 1564, was one of the first stargazers to use a telescope. After reading Starry Messenger by Peter Sis, demonstrate how to use a telescope. In the late 1700s, Benjamin Banneker, the first Black astronomer, studied the night sky so he could create an almanac for farmers. Read about his life in Dear Benjamin Banneker by Brian Pinkney. 4. For centuries, travelers have used the stars to keep their bearings. Read Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter to learn how slaves used the North Star to find their way to freedom. People also used planispheres, or rotating star maps. View a 19th century planisphere at http://www.gemmary.com/instcat/03/p24-063-03.html. Show students how to use a star map to study the night sky. 5. Today, earthly stargazers study the skies using observatories and satellite telescopes. Astronauts study space from the space shuttle and space station. In July, NASA sent a probe from the Deep Impact spacecraft on a collision course with a comet 83 million miles away to learn more about comets! To investigate these and other "out of this world" astronomical events, go to NASA's home page at http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html. 6. Using paper or Timeliner, students create timelines depicting these important moments in astronomy. Share and post the timelines on the bulletin board. COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: Invite a local astronomer to speak to your class about becoming an astronomer and using a telescope, star maps, and a planisphere. Afterwards, students can take their star maps home to locate objects in the night sky. Set aside time each day so students can share what they've seen. Arrange for a field trip to a local planetarium or observatory. Be sure to write and mail thank you letters to the astronomer and guide after the visits! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ STAR SEARCH MATERIALS NEEDED: Computers with Internet access, thick cardboard or foam board, awl, yellow or white paint and brushes, writing utensils, scissors, string or yarn, reference materials, Star Search handout, KWL chart, and a mini-library of reference materials SETTING THE STAGE 1. Discussion: Look at the poster and featured stamps. Invite students to share what they think they know about constellations and stars. Record their responses in the "K" (What We Know) column of the KWL chart. What is the name of the nearest star? That's right, the sun! Let's start by learning more about our very own superstar, the sun. Share this sun slideshow: http://www.michielb.nl/sun/kaft.htm. Yesterday we talked about several other things we can see in the night sky. What do you know about these other nighttime objects? Record students' responses in the "K" column. What else would you like to learn about the night sky? Record what students would like to learn in the form of questions in the "W" (What We Wonder) column of the KWL chart. 2. Share Expectations: The next few days we are going to search for more information about stars and other objects in the night sky. By the end of this week you will be able to tell 5 facts about an object in the night sky. STAR-TLING FACTS 1. Students conduct research using print materials and the Internet. Use the STARtling Facts outline master to facilitate their efforts. Whenever students find a fact, they should shut the book or look away from the computer before stating the fact in their own words. Studentfriendly sites include: http://hubblesite.org/; http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/; http://science.howstuffworks. com/;http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/index.jsp;http://www.solarviews.com/ eng/sun.htm;http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/stories/vacation/contentsns.html; and http://solar-center. stanford.edu/about/. 2. Periodically reconvene as a class to share what students have learned. Asterisk the facts that have been verified in the "K" column. Write additional questions to the "W" column. Record what students have learned in the "L" (What We Learned) column. Continue the process until research is complete. STAR MOBILES: Cut 8" stars from corrugated cardboard or foamboard. Paint the giant stars white or yellow. Use an awl to carefully punch a hole in each star point. Place a brad in the center of the star and attach a large paper clip that's bent like an S-shaped hook. Select five STAR-tling facts. Write each fact in a complete sentence on a separate 3" star-shaped paper. Using varying lengths of string, tie one fact onto each point of the giant star. Tie a length of string to the S-shaped paper hook. Suspend the star mobiles from the ceiling. The giant stars should hang parallel to the ceiling. STAR SEARCH: Now it's the students' chance to be "stars"! Form small musical ensembles. Using what they've learned, students create raps or songs about stars. Perform for their peers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONSTELLATION CONTEMPLATION MATERIALS NEEDED: Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky by Elphinstone Dayrell, Usborne Illustrated Guide to Greek Myths & Legends by Cheryl Evans and Anne Millard, Favorite Greek Myths by Mary Pope Osborne, computer with Internet access and speakers, 20 card-sized pieces of colored cardstock for each pair, art materials, multiple copies of Battle of the Stars gameboard, dice, and multiple colored markers (small pieces of paper, unifix cubes, or small candy or cereal) SETTING THE STAGE: For centuries, people have created songs and stories to explain what they thought they were seeing in the night sky. During the next week, you're going to learn some of these stories, create your own star stories, and celebrate what you've learned. Read the African folktale, Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky. Brainstorm other "creative" explanations for why the sun and moon are in the sky. CONSTELLATION CONTEMPLATION 1. The Greeks created myths, or star stories, to explain the four constellations featured on the stamps. What does Leo mean? That's right, it's Latin for lion because the Greeks thought it looked like the lion slain by Herakles (Hercules) as one of his 12 labors. Read this star story in the Usborn Illustrated Guide to Greek Myths & Legends. Lyra refers to the lyre (a harplike instrument) that Orpheus played while trying to free his wife from the underworld. Read the story of Orpheus and Eurydice in Favorite Greek Myths. View this painting at http://www.artyzm.com/s/siemiradzki/e_orfeusz.htm . Dramatize the story while listening to Orpheus in the Underworld, by Oppenbach. This music is available at (http://www.classicsforkids. com/music/music_view.asp?id=19).The last two stamps feature Pegasus, a winged horse from Greek mythology who flies upside- down in the southern sky, and Orion, a famous Greek hunter-hero. Create "star stories" explaining how Pegasus and Orion became constellations. 2. The International Astronomical Union has identified 88 constellations (http://www.dibonsmith.com/constel.htm). Students can create their own constellations online at http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/puzzles/connect/connect.asp. After selecting a constellation, have students write "star stories" explaining why the constellation is in the sky. Practice telling the stories until they are memorized. Create giant "postage stamps" of the constellations to use as visual aids. Present the "star stories" as a Tellers Theatre. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lessons created by Dr. Jacqueline Hansen, College of Education, Murray State University, Kentucky