Classroom Planetarium

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1 1 Classroom Planetarium I. Overview A. General Information of the Solar System The solar system is thought to have formed just under 4.6 billion years ago due to the collapse of a region within a large molecular cloud. The creation of the solar system brought into existence a star, eight planets, five known dwarf planets, hundreds of satellites, and many small bodies. The eight planets consist of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. At first, astronomers believed that the Earth was the center of the solar system, with all of these objects orbiting around it. However, eventually Nicolas Copernicus discovered the heliocentric model of the solar system. This model stated that the Sun was the center of the solar system, and the eight planets, in the order listed above, orbit the great star. The four closest planets are considered terrestrial planets, while the last four are referred to as gas giants. Later, in the 1600s, astronomers fine-tuned this hypothesis and created an appropriate model for the solar system. With the recent use of telescopes, and other advanced technology, new findings have occurred. Mathematicians have discovered that the planets orbit the Sun following the rules of Kepler's second law of motion. B. Importance of Science in the Classroom According to new Common Core Standards, and curriculum laws, science is viewed as less important than the traditional subjects of reading, writing, and math. Due to this, science lessons are not being taught in the classroom, and the subject is pushed aside until the latter six years of schooling. However, because science is an intricate part of our daily lives, it is necessary that teachers provide lesson plans to their students to achieve an understanding of science. Teachers can effectively teach science concepts using a technique called integration. Integrating science into a writing assignment, into a reading section, or into a math problem is a simple, yet productive solution to the recent negligence toward science in today's elementary classrooms. Integrated standards are provided later, in the objective portion of this lesson plan. D. Summary of Astronomy Unit Lesson 1: Researching the Solar System Lesson 2: Model Solar System Construction Over a period of time, this unit will be broken into two chunks. Each lesson may take several class periods to complete. The minimal time required for the compiled lessons will be no less than four weeks. Students will utilize non-fiction books, websites, and other gathered readings to conduct research on the solar system. As a class, we will create a scale for the distances and sizes of each planet from the Sun. The class will split into groups, where each

2 2 group becomes an expert on a specific planet, the Sun, or the Moon. Students will create a physical model of the solar system upon completion of group work. II. Before the Lesson A. Objectives The objectives of this lesson include: (K-2) Identify patterns related to the Earth's rotation and revolution Demonstrate motions of the Sun and stars in a 3D model Represent the relationship of the eight planets in our solar system to the Sun by creating a 3-D representation Research the dimension of Earth and the large size of our solar system B. Integrated Standards (3rd grade level) Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect Solve problems involving measurement and estimation of intervals of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects. Represent and interpret data on a graph, diagram, and a chart. C. Materials Readings- provide a text book or non-fiction books explaining the solar system and each planet specifically. Useful resources include: The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System - Joanna Cole Magic Treehouse Research Guide - Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne Rookie Read-About Space: The Solar System - Carmen Bredeson Solar System - Gregory Vogt Web links- if students are allowed to conduct research on the internet, provide links to the school's online database, as well as some nonfiction websites. My students did not have access to computer, so I did not utilize this material. o 3-D model supplies. You will need - 10 Styrofoam balls (different sizes) to represent the planets - Fishing line and thumb tacks - A display area; wall or board (at least 30' wide) -paint, paint brushes, aprons - Scissors and a yard stick

3 3 III. Procedures A. Lesson #1: Research the solar system This portion may be done as a class. I had a relatively small and contained student body, so I was confident in their success to conduct individual research. I had students take notes on the readings they were given. We then collaborated as a class to compare our research. At this time, we compiled class notes of each individual planet, the Sun, and the Moon. The facts provided are for teacher support only. Students' research will be much more general, and done to their own abilities. Color, size relative to Earth, and distance to the Sun are the only pertinent pieces of information to be successful. The attached notes may be useful to teachers with knowledge in astronomy, but a more basic understanding of astronomy concepts is suitable to conduct this lesson. Mercury has a mass of.055 Earth masses. The surface is an orange/brownish color and is made of impact craters and ridges. Venus has a mass of.815 Earth masses. It too has an iron core, but its surface is red hot and looks like lava. Its atmosphere is dryer than Earth's. It is known as the hottest planet (over 400*C). Volcanic eruptions are common on the surface. Earth is the only planet to show evidence of tectonic plates (refer students to continents and the concept of Pangea. If these concepts have not been learned, omit this information), as well as being the only place in the Universe that is discovered to have life. Its atmosphere is altered by our life-so it contains oxygen, too. The moon is a satellite of the Earth. The Earth is blue, green, and white. Mars is smaller than Earth, with a mass of only.107 Earth masses. The atmosphere of Mars is mostly made of a gas, carbon dioxide. The surface is made up of volcanoes and valleys. It has a reddish color, from the rust in the soil.

4 4 Jupiter is the largest planet- at a mass of 318 Earth masses! Its mass is 2.5 times all the other masses combined. There is a Giant Red Spot on the surface of Jupiter than is a huge storm! Saturn has rings! The rings surrounding it are made of small ice and rock particles. It is a pale yellow color, and has a mass of 95 Earth masses. The atmosphere of Saturn is similar to Jupiter's (very gassy). Uranus is the seventh planet out from the Sun. It is 14 Earth masses and has a cold core, which radiates little heat into the solar system. It is dark blue in color and orbits sitting on its side. Neptune is a bit smaller than Uranus, but has a mass greater than it. Neptune's mass is 17 Earth masses. Neptune is blue in color and puts out more internal heat than Uranus. The Sun is powered by nuclear fusion, a gaseous reaction that releases Energy. It is relatively large and bright for our solar system. It is a gigantic 332,900 Earth masses and has a plasma (very hot, glowing flame- like a fire place) orange/yellow surface. The moon's mass is 1/81 that of the Earth. The Sun is the only satellite of Earth. It orbits around the Earth, with one revolution being 27 daysabout the length of a month. The moon is made of iron, with a surface full of craters and volcanoes.

5 5 B. Lesson #2: Create a scale for Our Solar System Model By compiling a chart of the planet, its radius, and its distance from the Sun (or the Moon's distance from Earth) we could make an accurate scale of our classroom planetarium. Make sure to note with students: the great size of Jupiter and Saturn cannot accurately be expressed with the Styrofoam balls. However, by symbolizing these planets with much larger objects than were used for the other planets, it is still possible to display a model that will achieve the purpose of this activity. If we say that 1000 km = 1 cm, the size of Jupiter's ball would be 140 centimeters, so about 4 1/2 feet. That would be a large ball! However, by only creating half of the solar system, this could be possible to represent. Try this: have the Sun be a semi circle with a radius of about 1400 centimeters. From there, work outwards so that only half of the solar system is represented. This will not only reduce the size of the display, but allow for a more accurate representation of the solar system! This activity could be done in the classroom, but it could be taken outside to engage the students and get them moving and active in the lesson. Body Distance across (diameter) (km) Distance from Sun (AU) Conversion (distance from the Sun) Moon 3,476 (from Earth) inches Mercury 4, inches Venus 12, inches Earth 12, foot Mars 6, inches Jupiter 142, inches Saturn 120, inches Uranus 51, inches Neptune 49, inches Sun 1,391, C. Assign a Group to Each Planet Have the students determine the accurate size of their assigned planet based on the chart. Have them paint the planets and add additional feature, such as spots, clouds, and rings if necessary. It is necessary that they pay close attention to the unique features of each planet to get a better understanding of the composition of the Earth. Remember, we are not going in depth with chemistry in this lesson, but a general overview will lead students to notice a pattern/correlation between distance from the Sun and the potential to support life. Also, have them measure and cut fishing line to depict the distance from the Sun the planet is. This measurement is the conversion made from astronomical units (AU) to inches. The most user friendly scale is 1 foot (12 inches)=1 AU. At this point, you may have that curious student who is thoughtful enough to ask how large an astronomical unit is. To

6 6 answer this question, you can reply that 1 astronomical unit is the equivalent of the distance from Earth to the Sun. This distance is very large, and probably too abstract for young students to comprehend. It's about 150 million kilometers! If students are capable of making their own conversions, allow them to set up the proportions, and complete the conversions. They will complete these conversions by multiplying the AU value by the proportion of. Be sure to double check the students' solutions before they start cutting their fishing line, to avoid a waste of the material. For younger students, who lack some of these advanced mathematical skills, simply provide them with the chart and briefly explain that the solar system is much too large to fit in the classroom, so we are going to proportionately assemble the classroom solar system smaller. You can make references to a house design, such as a doll house or floor plan to lessen the abstract nature of this concept. D. Assembly As a class, look over the planets and decide if they are accurate in their appearances and distances. Assemble the planetarium using the cardboard display board or by using a wall or the ceiling, as shown in the image at right. I used a beach ball as the center, for the Sun. This took a lot of assistance from the teacher and the aid. Based on the classroom environment, students can or cannot be involved in this portion of the activity. The overall size of the solar system is likely to exceed 30 feet in width, with a minimal height of 4 ½ feet! V. How the Objectives Were Met When designing a lesson, it is sometimes easier for a teacher to create the lesson plan using the backward design method. This includes already having the learning activity implemented, then tweaking it and making adjustments to fit the already established national standards. However, with this lesson, I did not take that approach. I built the lesson from scratch to fit the standards that I knew existed. By having students physically create the solar system model, it is very evident to them the relationships of the eight planets with the Sun; including their orbit and distances. It is also evident that by creating the Moon, the patterns of the Earth with the Sun and Moon can be explored. By having students make the calculations and convert

7 7 the actual dimensions of each planet, they can consider how massive our solar system really is. This objective is difficult, because as an adult looking at such an abstract concept, I do not know if I can truly say that I understand the largeness of the solar system. However, this diagram proves a point- the solar system is large! And lastly, by investigating the surfaces, students are able to recognize the different planets and some of their prominent features. VI. Reflection This lesson is available as a free lesson plan resource. Teachers will be able to access the lesson plan and all of the necessary procedures and instructions for free. However, after trying the lesson plan out in an actual classroom, feedback is important. All teachers should be reflecting on each lesson they conduct, and writing down their thoughts and ideas through the course of the lesson. In this section of the lesson plan, please tell me how the lesson went. Were the students engaged? Did they accomplish the learning objectives? Were the materials used appropriately? Did the students work well with each other? Is the planetarium how you envisioned it? Is the model accurate? Are the instructions clear and concise for someone walking into this lesson? VII. Adaptations/Changes After the lesson, it is essential to analyze the productivity of the lesson. Were there any changes that you made as you were teaching the lesson? Are there any changes you saw after a certain portion of the lesson that would have been beneficial? Was there something you added as the instructor as you taught? Were you allowed any teachable moments? A teachable moment can be described as situation when a student asks a question that brings about a learning situation; however it is not directly related to the lesson being taught. Teachers can decide to either a) Ignore the comment/question and continue on with the lesson b) Address the question and utilize the opportunity to teach about a skill or knowledge that the kids might not learn elsewhere. Teachable moments have the potential to serve a large purpose for learning in the classroom, but they can also lead to off-task, unplanned chaos. Other questions to reflect on may include: Do you need more planning time? Is there adequate time for the actual activity? Are there any materials you recommend that may be necessary to a more successful model?

8 8 Bibliography Pratt, Christy. "Galaxy Mapping." Geology.com Web. 1 February Fix, John D. Astronomy: Journey to the Cosmic Frontier. 6th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., Print.

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