a c t i vity 30 constellations: stories in the sky · construct constellation models and identify...

Constellations: Stories in the Skyac

tivity

Constellations: Stories in the Sky3030

broward county hands-on science Quarter 3 311

BROWARD COUNTY ELEMENTARY SCIENCE BENCHMARK PLAN

Grade 5—Quarter 3Activity 30

SC.E.2.2.1The student knows that, in addition to the Sun, there are many other stars that are far away.

SC.H.1.2.3The student knows that to work collaboratively, all team members should be free to reach,explain, and justify their own individual conclusions.

SC.H.1.2.5The student knows that a model of something is different from the real thing, but can beused to learn something about the real thing.

SC.H.2.2.1The student knows that natural events are often predictable and logical.

ACTIVITY ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The following suggestions are intended to help identify major concepts covered in the activitythat may need extra reinforcement. The goal is to provide opportunities to assess studentprogress without creating the need for a separate, formal assessment session (or activity) foreach of the 39 hands-on activities at your grade.

1. Remind students that constellations appear to change location from hour to hour, night tonight, and season to season. Ask them what could explain the apparent motion ofconstellations in each of these cases. (From hour to hour, the constellations appear tomove in the night sky because of the Earth’s rotation on its axis. From day to day and fromseason to season, the constellations appear to change location because the Earth ismoving in its orbital path around the Sun.)

2. Use the Activity Sheet(s) to assess student understanding of the major concepts in theactivity.

In addition to the above assessment suggestions, the questions in bold and tasks thatstudents perform throughout the activity provide opportunities to identify areas that mayrequire additional review before proceeding further with the activity.

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312 activity 30 Constellations: Stories in the Sky

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Constellations: Stories in the Sky


activity


OBJECTIVES

In this activity students identify several ofthe constellations in the night sky. Theymake models of some of them and then write their own stories about how certainconstellations might have gotten their names.

The students

� observe seasonal changes in the positionof constellations as viewed from Earth

� construct constellation models and identifyseveral constellations

� write a fictional story about the origin of aconstellation

SCHEDULE

About 50 minutes

VOCABULARY

Big Dipper (Ursa Major, or Great Bear)CassiopeiaCepheusconstellationmythologyOrion (The Hunter)

MATERIALS

For each student

1 Activity Sheet 30, Parts A and B

1 pr safety goggles*

For each team of two

1 cardboard square, 30 cm × 30 cm

1 push pin

1 pair scissors*

transparent tape*

1 tube, cardboard

For the class

1 cardboard square

1 sheet Constellation Patterns

2 btls glue

2 light bulbs

2 light sources

1 overhead projector*

1 sheet paper, construction, black

1 push pin

1 pair scissors*

4 transparencies (Fall Sky, Spring Sky, Summer Sky, Winter Sky)

1 tube, cardboard

*provided by the teacher

PREPARATION

Make a copy of Activity Sheet 30, Parts Aand B, for each student.

Make seventeen copies of the ConstellationPatterns, one for your demonstrationmodel and one for each team.

Cut the sheet of black construction paperinto 4-cm (about 1.6-in.) squares.

Viewer Setup:

• Partially prepare a demonstrationviewer. Cut out one of the (reverse)constellation patterns, including itsnumber.

• Place it with the pattern side up in thecenter of a square of black constructionpaper and tape it in place temporarilywith tiny pieces of transparent tape.With the cardboard square beneath the

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paper, punch out the pattern with apush pin through the black paper.

• Then put several beads of gluearound one end of a cardboard tube. Place the square of blackconstruction paper on the end withthe glue, patterned side up. Stand thetube on the patterned end until theglue dries. Finally, remove the tapeand the pattern from the black paper.

Screw the bulbs into the light sourcesand choose two areas in the classroomwhere teams can share a light source.Have extension cords handy in casethey are needed.

Each team of two will need onecardboard square, one push pin, onecardboard tube, one square of blackconstruction paper, one copy of theConstellation Patterns, scissors,transparent tape, and access to the glue.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Myths are stories passed down fromancient times. They depict both real andfictitious events, persons, and animals.Myths serve to recall significant events inthe past or to explain people’s practices,beliefs, or natural phenomena. Mythologyis the study of myths.

Myths often involve the supernatural. Whenpeople did not know how to explain manynatural events (earthquakes, eclipses, thechanging seasons, and so on), they oftenattributed them to actions of beings who,they believed, resided in the sky. Patternsof stars that are visible in the night skywere often incorporated into the myths torepresent certain beings and objects peoplethought were responsible for thosemysterious events.

To create their sky-pictures, peoplesomewhat arbitrarily grouped certain starsinto patterns we now call constellations.Although constellations may comprise starsthat are thousands of light-years apart,

they appear to be on the same plane when viewed from Earth. Many of the 88 constellations we recognize today were originally named and described by the Greeks many centuries ago.

Some of the better-known constellationstoday are Aquarius, the Big Dipper (UrsaMajor, or Great Bear), Cassiopeia, Cepheus,the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor, or Little Bear),and Orion (The Hunter).

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Activity Sheet 30, Part A

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1. Make your constellation viewer: Use a pattern and a push pin to make a constellation. Gluethe square of black paper over one end of the tube and let the glue dry. Locate the numberon the pattern. Write this number on the tube.

2. Point your constellation tube toward a light source and look through the tube. Match thepattern you see with one of the patterns below. Write the tube number under the patternthat matches it. Then write the name of the constellation beside the number.

3. Swap viewers with a team whose viewer has a different number. View the constellationinside. Record the number and name of the constellation you see under its pattern above.

4. Swap viewers two more times until you have viewed all four constellations. Record thenumber and name of each constellation under its pattern above.

1. Big Dipper 2. Cepheus 3. Cassiopeia 4. Orion

Activity Sheet 30, Part B

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5. Myths are stories of great adventures or unexplainable events that happened long ago.Imagine that you are a story writer, gazing at the night sky. Choose a constellation and giveit a new name. Then write your own myth about how that constellation got its name. Be sureto include names and descriptions of characters. Then draw the constellation on the back ofthis page.

Additional Information

Tell students that there are countless stars inthe universe, that they are enormousdistances apart from one another, and thatour Sun is one of those stars.

Ask, How could you describe some of thestars you have seen in the night sky?

Write the word constellation on the board.Explain that a constellation is a particulararea of the sky that contains a particular setof stars. If imaginary lines were drawn toconnect the stars in a constellation, theresulting shape might resemble a person, ananimal, or an object.

Display the transparency of the night sky in winter (see Figure 30-1). Locate theconstellation Orion near the southern horizon and trace its shape with your finger.Tell students that these stars always appearin the same arrangement and that thisconstellation is called Orion.

Accept descriptions of single stars as well as combinations and patterns of stars.

Project the image onto the ceiling, ifpossible, with your projector.

Because these maps are designed to be usedupside down, East and West are reversed.

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Guiding the Activity


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Point out the names of two of the stars thatmake up this constellation—Betelgeuse and Rigel. Ask, Are these stars the samedistance from Earth?

Tell students that comparing stars’ brightnessis not a good indication of their relativedistance from Earth. Even though the twostars in this constellation appear to be aboutthe same distance away from us, theirdistances from Earth are actually light-yearsapart.

Begin a discussion of how constellations got their names. Tell students that manyconstellations were named after imaginarycharacters, animals, and objects. Aconstellation might represent a swan, a ram, a fish, a big bear, a little bear, and so on.

No. Betelgeuse is 500 light-years away andRigel is almost 1,000 light-years away.


Cassiopeia

Cepheus

Pollux

Perseus

Polaris(North Star)

Ursa Major(Big Dipper)

Deneb

over head

PleiadesAries

Pegasus

Pisces

Cetus

Northern Horizon

Southern Horizon

East

ern

Hor

izon

Weste rn

Horizon

Ursa Minor(Little Dipper)

Auriga

Andromeda

Alpheratz

Taurus

Orion Rigel

Aldebaran

Sirius

Procyon

Hydra

Gemini

Castor

Leo

Regulus

Betelgeuse

Capella

� Figure 30-1. The night sky in winter.

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Write the word mythology on the board.Explain that mythology is the study of myths,which are stories from ancient times. Thesestories tell of real and imaginary (evensupernatural) events, persons, and animals.

Remind students that there are four seasonsin a year—spring, summer, fall, and winter.Display the overhead transparency of theconstellations of the night sky in spring.Locate the Big Dipper (Ursa Major), near thecenter of the transparency, and trace theconstellation’s shape with your finger.

Identify this constellation as the Big Dipperand point out that it is shaped like a long-handled cup that is used to dip up water for drinking.

Next, display the transparency showing thenight sky in summer. Point out that the BigDipper is in a different part of the sky duringthis season.

Explain to students that the stars making upa constellation always form the same shapebut that from our viewpoint on Earth theirpositions in the night sky change through the year.

Ask, What do you know about Earth’s orbitaround the Sun that could explain why thishappens?

Tell students that Earth’s revolution around theSun causes our view of the night sky to changethrough the seasons, until constellationsreturn to their original positions after an entire year.

Identify several other constellations, such asCepheus in the summer sky and Cassiopeia inthe transparency of the night sky in fall.

Explain that there are more than 88 otherrecognized constellations and that almostevery one has its own story based on myth.

Students may have heard of Hercules, amythological hero with supernatural strength.

Make sure all students are able to see andidentify the shape of the constellation.

Encourage answers that indicate thatstudents are familiar with the concepts ofEarth’s revolution around the Sun and theenormous distance it travels in one orbit.

Earth’s rotation causes the stars to appear tomake a complete circle around the planetonce a day.


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Tell students that they will make their ownconstellation viewers. Ask for their attentionwhile you demonstrate how to assemble one.

Show them your demonstration tube with thepaper square glued to it. Tell teams they willeach cut out one of the constellation patterns,including its number, place it over a square ofblack construction paper, and tape it in placetemporarily with tiny pieces of transparenttape. Tell them they will then place the pieceof paper on the cardboard square and punchout the pattern with a push pin through theblack paper.

Next, they will put several beads of gluearound one end of a cardboard tube and thenplace the square of black construction paperon the end with the glue, patterned side up.They should then stand the tube on thepatterned end until the glue dries. Finally,they should carefully remove the tape andthe pattern from the black paper.

Choose one of the reverse constellationpatterns. Show students how to lay thepattern face-up on the black constructionpaper and, using the cardboard as a base,poke holes with the push pin through thedots on the pattern and through the blackconstruction paper.

Tell students that they are to find thenumber that appears next to each patternand write it on the tube. Explain that thenumber will be used later to identify thename of the constellation.

Some students may notice that theconstellation pattern is reversed. Tell themthis is necessary so that the pattern will havethe correct orientation when viewed throughthe tube.


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Give a copy of Activity Sheet 30, Part A, toeach student. Distribute a cardboard square,a push pin, a cardboard tube, a square ofblack construction paper, a copy of theConstellation Patterns, transparent tape, andscissors to each team of two. Have each teamgather around one of the two light sources.

Assign each team one of the fourconstellation patterns to cut out and use fortheir viewers.

With your demonstration tube, go to one ofthe light sources and show students how youhold the tube with the patterned end towardthe light while you look through the tube atthe bright constellation pattern.

Tell students to construct their constellationviewers, look through them toward the lightsources, and then complete their activitysheets.

Tell teams they will swap constellation tubeswith other teams until all students haveidentified the four constellation patterns andrecorded the names on their activity sheets(see Figure 30-2).

Leave the transparency of the night sky inwinter projected so that students can identifythe patterns they see in their tubes.


1. Big Dipper 2. Cepheus 3. Cassiopeia 4. Orion

� Figure 30-2. Reverse constellation patterns.

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After teams have completed their activitysheets, call their attention to the board.

Write the numbers and names of theconstellations on the board: 1. Big Dipper;

2. Cepheus; 3. Cassiopeia; 4. Orion.

Have teams check their answers on theiractivity sheets with the key on the board toconfirm that they named the constellationscorrectly.

Tell students that next they will write theirown story about any constellation that theychoose. Project one or more of thetransparencies for students to observevarious constellations again.

Distribute a copy of Activity Sheet 30,Part B, to each student.

When all the stories are written, askvolunteers to share their stories with theclass. Call attention to parts of stories thatinvolve Earth and other objects in our SolarSystem as well as other stars.

Also refer to Figure 30-2.

As an example, tell students that in Greekmythology Orion was known as The Hunter.He was the son of Poseidon. He is seen in thestars holding a shield in his left hand and aclub in his right. His right shoulder isrepresented by one of the largest starsknown—Betelgeuse. Rigel and Salphrepresent his two feet. Three bright starsmake up his belt. You could also tell the storyabout how the constellation Cassiopeia gotits name. In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia wasa queen of Ethiopia. She was to be killed by amonster sent by Poseidon, but she was savedby Perseus. Her constellation represents theform of a woman seated in a chair, holdingup her arms.


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REINFORCEMENT

Have each student draw his or herconstellation on chart paper for display inthe classroom. If appropriate, students mayuse their constellation viewers to teach otherstudents in the school about constellations.

SCIENCE JOURNALS

Have students place their completed activitysheets in their science journals.

CLEANUP

Light sources, push pins, bottles of glue, and cardboard squares should bereturned to the kit. Transparencies and theConstellation Patterns should be placed inthe kit. Have students discard paper scrapsand used copies of constellation patterns.Team members may want to take turnstaking their constellation viewers home.

SCIENCE AT HOME

Encourage students to teach someone athome about the constellations. Tell them touse a flashlight to point out stars andconstellations in the night sky. The shaft oflight from a flashlight works remarkablywell to point out specific stars and shapesof constellations at night. Particles of dustand moisture in the air reflect the lightalong the path of the beam, making it quite visible.

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Connections


Science ChallengeHave pairs of students do the followingactivity during the viewing session. Cut apiece of string 30 cm (1 ft) longer than yourheight and tie a nail to one end so the nailpoints downward. Lay a large sheet of posterpaper on the ground. Loop the free end of thestring around your index finger, then stand atone edge of the paper and point to a star inthe Big Dipper. Your partner should mark thespot on the paper directly below the nailpoint. Continue pointing to different stars inthe Big Dipper while your partner marks thenail’s position for each one. When all starsare plotted, a large drawing of the Big Dipperwill be formed on the paper. Find and markthe position of the North Star by drawing astraight line that connects the two stars in theright edge of the dipper’s bowl and projectsbeyond it to the North Star.

Science ExtensionBefore the viewing session in this connection,have each student make a device called a“star frame” to help focus on one particulargroup of stars at a time. Make a star frameyourself as a demonstration: Bend a wire coathanger into a square by pulling on the middleof the long bottom wire. Bend the hook andwrap it with tape to make a handle. Showstudents how to hold up the star frame atarm’s length to view the sky in sections.

Arrange at least one evening viewing session(chaperoned by parents or other volunteers)for the class to observe the night sky. For thebest viewing, choose a moonless night. Helpstudents locate several constellations and theplanets that can be seen with the naked eye(Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). If you are not adept at locating constellationsand planets yourself, consult children’sastronomy guides such as those in theReferences and Resources section before andduring the viewing session, and try to find at

least one chaperone who can also helpstudents. If possible, obtain several pairs ofbinoculars or a telescope so students canobserve the planets more closely.

Science and the ArtsAsk students to find pictures of constellationsin astronomy guides and other books. Haveeach student choose a favorite constellationand mark its stars with white paint on a largesheet of dark blue or black constructionpaper, then use colored paints, chalk, orother materials of his or her choice to drawthe figure represented in the constellation.

Science and Language ArtsEncourage students to read myths about theGreek and Roman gods whose names weregiven to planets and constellations. You maywant to do this as a cooperative learningactivity, with a different god assigned to eachteam and students preparing a report thatincludes a short tale about the god’s exploits.Give each team an opportunity to present itsreport to the rest of the class.

Science and Social StudiesEncourage students to find out about the skymyths developed by other cultures besidesthe Greeks and Romans. For example, theTsimshians, Native Americans of the PacificNorthwest, believed that the Sun—whomthey called “The One Who Walks Over theSky”—wears a flaming mask that lights Earthand creates stars with sparks blowing out ofhis mouth when he sleeps.

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a c t i vity 30 constellations: stories in the sky · construct constellation models and identify...

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