Astronomy:
In this unit, students learn the interactive relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun. With the use of various instructional materials and modeling, we learn about what causes the seasons, phases of the moon, eclipses and tides. We then venture out into space and learn some defining characteristics of our solar system. We use models to help students understand the scale of the different parts of the solar system. We also touch on the life cycle of stars.
General Information:
Study Jams - nice free website with short videos to teach different science (and math) concepts History of Space Exploration - quick video Rotation of the Earth (evidence): Foucault Pendulum - From PBS Learning Media Seasons: Seasons Tutorial - From Khan Academy (a great resource!) Bill Nye Video - explaining what causes the seasons Crash Course video - great explanation, love it! NatGeo - What causes the seasons? Seasons simulation from SePUP - great interactive site showing what causes the seasons - Activity Sheet HERE. Why do we have seasons - kid friendly explanation Land of the Midnight Sun - short clip showing what 24 hrs of daylight looks like in Finland Dark Winter - short clip showing very short days in Fairbanks, Alaska The Moon: Moon Features - from NASA Moon Formation - Quick and good animation Moon Phases: What Causes the Phases - video from Crash Course - Excellent! Information Video - about what causes the phases (lower level) Moon Phase games - for additional practice Sing-A-Long - for added fun from Flocabulary Eclipses and Tides: Lunar Eclipses - Short video Solar Eclipses - From National Geographic Eclipses tutorial - by Physics Girl! Bay of Fundy - time lapse video showing tide coming in and out The Solar System: What keeps planets in orbit? - it's not just gravity Tour the Solar System - interactive with videos Planets and moons I - from NASA, good site! Planets and moons II - another good site for general information Planets and moons III - yet another good site Planets - Interactive site Space Place - for information from NASA Galileo's Trial - 51 min. fantastic lecture from the University of Chicago Mars: Mars One - the new mission to send humans to Mars in 2024 CNN's Mars One report - including a number of video segments to watch about it Private Mars One colony - Article from Space.com Meet the Mars 100 - part of the Mars One mission One volunteer's perspective about going to Mars - Click to read the article Water on Mars? - Could it be? Click on the article to read more. Why is Mars so fascinating? - Physics Girl talks with Bill Nye! Dawn Probe: Learning about Ceres - Ceres is THE largest asteroid in the asteroid belt. The Dawn probe, which arrived in early March 2015 is exploring is this dwarf planet Life Elsewhere: Are there other Earths? - A new study finds another planet called Kepler 186f that scientists say are in a "habitable" zone. Click the article to read more! Life on Europa? - Latest NASA mission news - with a video to watch, too! Big News! Trappist -1 - The NEWEST set of exoplanets - Physics Girl explains Trappist 1 - NASA tells us about the discovery! |
Scale Model of the Solar System
The Largest Stars - You will be amazed!
A Tour of the Solar System
Life Cycle of Stars
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