CONSTELLATION UNIT The following lesson was created from a United States Postal Service educational poster in conjunction with the issue of the Constellations postage stamps, October 2005. Constellation Contemplation Grade: 4-5 Standards: NCTE Standard #5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes. NSES Content Standard D #3: Students should develop an understanding of changes in earth and sky. Objects in the sky have patterns of movement. NCTE is the National Council of Teachers of English NSES is the National Science Education Standards Goal: Students will express themselves by writing a narrative about a constellation. Objectives: Students will: 1. Recall what they know about the night sky and constellations. 2. Create a story about a constellation using their imagination. 3. Illustrate their story on a postage stamp 4. Retell their story. 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, a variety of postage stamps Set Induction: 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. Activities: 1. As a large group, students discuss the Greek myths and that they are based on constellations. Large illustrations of the U.S. Constellations stamps can prompt further
discussion, such as What do you think of when you see this lion and hear the name Leo? 2. Students listen to a Greek myth about Lyra from the Usborne 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/e_obraz.php?id=1682. 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 that flies upside-down in the southern sky, and Orion, a famous Greek hunter-hero. Create star stories explaining how Pegasus and Orion became constellations. 3. The International Astronomical Union has identified 88 constellations http://www.dibonsmith.com/constel.htm. 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. 4. Students make their own constellation using the star map attached in this lesson. Assessment Using student s written work, the teacher can assess the student s ability to communicate his or her ideas about a constellation. The work should be in narrative form, with the appropriate narrative elements, such as a beginning, middle, and end. Stamp Assortment Activity Find 8-10 stamps that have a common theme or color. Use those stamps to create your own night constellation on a black piece of paper. Each stamp represents a star in the night sky. A white or yellow crayon can be used to create lines to connect the stamps showing the outline of your constellation. Be sure to name your constellation!
Use the star map below to create your own constellation. This is a representation of stars in the sky at a given time of year. Connect any of the dots you choose and define a picture. Give your constellation and name and use the space below and on the next page to create a story about your constellation.