Summer Days, Winter Nights Planetarium Show

Summer Days, Winter Nights:
Planetarium show for Middle School Children
Pre-Show Activity 1
Astro Search

Objectives

Students will use a variety of resources and media.
Students will establish a basic level of astronomical understanding and terminology.
Students will work together cooperatively toward a common goal.

Grade Level
3 - 8
Materials

Astro Search record sheet for each team
Resource materials: dictionaries, encyclopedias, astronomy books and magazines, atlases, access to the Internet
Materials to aid explanations: globe, Styrofoam balls, flashlights, etc.

Set-Up
Establish resource centers in the room. For example, have an area for dictionaries, atlases in another, resource books in a third, etc.
Book mark websites on computers:

http://www.crest.org/staff/ceg/sunangle/declination.html (tilt of earth's axis)
http://www.uwsp.edu/acaddept/geog/faculty/ritter/geog101/esgeo.htm (equinox-solstice descriptions)
http://www.arts.ouc.bc.ca/geog/G111/6I.html (terminology and graphs)
http://www.mobot.org/mbgnet/vb/temp/4seasons.htm (seasons and dates)
http://www.dlt.gsfc.nasa.gov/Ask/lessons/regions/temperate/seasons.html (elementary explanation of seasons)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/askjack/wfaqsson.htm (questions about seasons)

Supplement or remove questions on Astro Search depending on grade level and sophistication of students.

Procedure

Split class into teams of 2, 3, or 4.
Guide a tour of the resource centers.
Establish rules (using only bookmarked sites) and time constraints (if necessary) on Internet use.
Explain that the goal of this activity is to use the resources to complete all the questions in the Astro Search.
Describe your role as a guide. You will not give answers, but you will help them use the resources to find the answers.
Hand out the Astro Search and let them get started.

Follow Up

Revisit all search questions and let groups explain how they found the answers and how they used the resources. When there are discrepancies, use the supplementary materials to help understanding.