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National Mathematics Education Standards Teacher Lesson Plan: Grades K-2: Observing, Communicating, Comparing and Organizing
Observe, record, and share their observations of the daytime sky. Observe, record, and share their observations of the nighttime sky. Activity 3:Grades 3-4: Relating and Communicating Activity 1:K-2: Observing and Communicating 1. Begin the lesson by asking what students have seen in the sky and what they know about objects in the sky. Use the KWL chart provided for this purpose. 2. Take the students outside and instruct them to use the Sky Paths Daytime Observation Chart to draw pictures or write down what they see in the sky. Ask them to watch to see if these things move. Have students share their observations. 3. Next, discuss with students what they see in the night sky and if those things move. Have them take the Sky Paths Nighttime Observation Chart home to create the same type of night sky observation. K-2: Comparing and Organizing 4. Discuss the day sky observations and the night sky observations. Use the students' observations to fill in a compare and contrast chart for what is seen in the daylight and at night. Use the Venn diagram for students to look for patterns of movement. 5. Acquaint students with myths and legends of the sun, the moon, and the stars. 6. Students may want to create their own myths. 3-4 Process Skills: Relating 1. Begin the lesson by discussing with the students that people everywhere, and in all cultures, have been observing the night sky for all of human history. 2. Explain that most of the stars move across the sky at a constant pace, without changing their positions relative to one another. However, planets change their position relative to the background stars. Many cultures have developed stories about these "wandering stars" that move in an unusual fashion against the constellations. Ancient people used their eyes to study these wandering stars; we have the Hubble Space Telescope. 3. At this point choose one of these stories to read to your students. Read selected myths and legends to the students about these "wandering" stars. 4. By questioning and discussing, help students understand that these legends helped us to relate our early perspectives and the tools we have developed in order to "see" the sky. Ask questions such as:
3-4: Communicating 6. Have
the students write and illustrate their own legends about these "wandering"
stars based on what they have learned about the planets' movements in the
night sky. Encourage students to share their stories aloud with the class.
7. Next have students draw a simple picture of an orbit on paper . Using these illustrations of their understanding of orbits, begin a unit long KWL chart to start a guided discussion. Some sample questions are: What do we KNOW/ WANT TO KNOW about:
1. Have students complete the KWL chart from the beginning of the lesson by filling in the "What We Learned" section (sample below).
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