Objects in the Sky

I'm just copying this list over from last time, hoping everyone can come, let me know if something has changed!  musicalmom@cebridge.net

Don't let the # of people below fool you, we're always running a little short, let me know if you can come!


Friday March 28th, 2014

Meghan Goodman 8:15
Station 1. Morton_____
Station 2. Amanda______
Station 3. _Jack__ 
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Kelly Johnson 8:15
Station 1. Pilar____
Station 2.  _____
Station 3._____ 

Can anyone from Duerringer's class come early?

Cheryl Kennedy 9:15
Station 1. Morton (Ross)______
Station 2. _______ 
Station 3.  ________ 
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Emily Duerringer  9:15
Station 1. _Amanda & Teresa (Sophia)  ___
Station 2._Shannon & Jason_____
Station 3._Jack ___

Can anyone from Welch's class come early to help with Kennedy?.
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Teresa Welch - 10:15-11:15
Station 1.  Kelly B. & Anneliese
Station 2._Emily -_____
Station 3._ Jennifer & Jack.
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1st Grade Science Lab

Objects in the Sky

TEK 1.8B: The students will observe and describe the change, or appearance of change, of objects in the sky, such as clouds, sun, moon and stars.

Station 1: Clouds and Weather

            Activity 1: Clouds

            Activity 2: Weather

Station 2: The Moon and the Stars

            Activity 1: The Moon

            Activity 2: The Stars

Station 3: The Sun and the Seasons

            Activity 1: The Sun

Half out Half in?
I think we'll split the class in half, and try half the lab outside, and half the lab inside - Station #1ab and #3b outside, then everything else inside.  Depending on how many volunteers we get, we'll see how we can split up activities.  There is only one telescope with a solar lenses, so we will have to take coordinate with 2 classes that are outside - the first class to make it outside can start with the scope/binoculars/sun watching, while the other class does cloud watching.

More info to come!

Station 1:  Clouds and Weather

Activity 1: Clouds

Materials: Laminated pictures of cloud types, labels for cloud types.  Tell students that we are going to step outside for a few minutes to begin our station.  Take students in your group just outside the door to the school (the closest doors will lead out to the Kindergarten playground).  Tell them that we are going to go outside and observe what we can see in the sky.  Step just out to the sidewalk by the playground, and ask the students to look up.  What do they see?  What are the white, floating objects in the sky? Are there any in the sky today?  The students will know that these are CLOUDS.  Ask the students to describe the clouds that we see in the sky today (fluffy, white, puffy, gray, etc.).  Ask the students if they know where clouds come from.  Allow them to share their answers with the group.

Bring students back into the building and ask them to assemble around the table.  Discuss the different kinds of clouds we might have seen outside just now.  Tell students that there are several different kinds of clouds, and that they have names.  Show the students the pictures of the:


 CUMULUS clouds.  Have them say the word “cumulus”.  Cumulus clouds look like big, floating cotton balls, and they signal fair weather.  We usually see these kinds of clouds on a nice day.  Place the word “cumulus” underneath the picture of that cloud. 

CUMULONIMBUS clouds.  These clouds contain more water vapor, and are often gray and heavy.  They can bring stormy weather, with lightning and rain.  Place the vocabulary card under the picture. 

STRATUS clouds.  These are low and stretch out in long layers like a gray blanket.  These can also bring rain, and snow.  Place the vocabulary card under the picture. 

CIRRUS clouds.  These clouds are often wispy, and look like curls of hair.  These clouds bring fair weather.  Place the vocabulary card under the picture.

 FOG.  Fog occurs when water vapor condenses near the grounds into stratus clouds.  Place the vocabulary card underneath the picture of fog.

Do the clouds always stay the same?
Or do they change from day to day? 
Why are clouds different every day?

Activity 2: Weather& Clothing

Materials:  Laminated picture cards of different types of weather, weather name cards, clothing cards

Clouds in the sky have much to do with the weather!  If there are a lot of clouds in the sky that are gray and heavy, it is probably going to rain.  If there are only a few clouds in the sky, it’s probably going to be fair weather.  If the clouds are blowing by quickly overhead, it is probably a windy day.  Different temperatures and the season can determine the weather each day.  Depending on the weather, we decide what clothing to wear before we leave the house.  If the weather is cold, we might wear a jacket, or we might wear shorts if it is a hot, sunny day.  Show the students one of the laminated weather picture cards, and ask them if they can tell you what kind of weather this shows.  Do the same with the other picture cards and see if the students can identify each type of weather condition.  Can they match the correct description to the picture?  Ask the students what kind of clothing they would wear in each type of weather (raincoat, umbrella, shorts, coat, etc.).  Ask them to match the clothing to the type of weather.        

Station 2:  The Moon and the Stars

Activity 1: The Moon

Materials:
Black construction paper,
white crayons,
laminated pictures of moon phases and labels

Give each student a piece of black construction paper and a white crayon.   Ask them to draw the moon.  Give them about 5 minutes to draw their version of the moon.  The pictures may all be different.  When the time is up, ask students to stop and share their moon drawing.  Discuss the different representations of the moon that have been shown by their drawings.  Ask the students why the moon looks different sometimes.  Is the moon always in the same area of the sky?  Does the moon always look the same?  Students may share what they know about full moons, crescent moons and half moons.

After looking at pictures that the students have drawn, show them the pictures of the phases of the moon.  The moon appears to change throughout the month because of its position to the Earth and the Sun.  Each phase of the moon has a different name.

           

Activity 2: The Stars
Materials:  

Black construction paper, 

white rice,

 laminated pictures of stars

How many stars are in the sky?  

Can you count them?  Take a guess! 

Show students the pictures of stars and ask them if they can count how many they see.  It would take a long time, and you would never be able to really count them all.  The stars that we see in the sky at night are only a fraction of the stars that really exist in our universe.  They are very far away!  When we look at the stars they appear to be sparkly white dots, but here is how they look through a very strong telescope (show students the pictures of stars as they really are). 

Throughout history, people on Earth have noticed the stars.  They have noticed that there are patterns to the stars, or pictures in the stars, which are constellations.  Show students the pictures of constellations one at a time and allow them to look at them and observe their formation and name.  Discuss.

Give each student a black piece of construction paper.  Place the container of rice in the middle of the table and pass out glue to each student.  Students should write their names on their papers.  They will now get to create their own constellations.  They will use one dot of glue and one grain of rice at a time to create a unique constellation on the black paper.  They can think of a name for their constellation, and it can be anything (appropriate) that they want it to be.  They can make a constellation of a cat, a dog, a bird, or anything  their imaginations can see.  They only need to use about 10-20 grains of rice, not too many.  The students can carefully place their constellations in a safe place to dry.  When the glue is dried, only the white grains of rice will remain fixed on the black paper.

 

Station 3: The Sun - Making a SundialActivity 1: Sundial

Materials: 
Laminated picture cards,
paper plates with small hole poked in middle,
straws,
markers

Allow students to look through the various pictures of the Sun.  What do they observe about the Sun in these pictures?  Allow them to share their connections and previous knowledge.  The Sun is a star, and it is the center of our solar system.  Its heat and light are vital to life on Earth.  The Sun appears to change position throughout the day, and even throughout the Seasons.  But does the Sun ever move from its spot? No, of course, it is the Earth that is moving.  At Sunrise and Sunset, the Sun appears low on the horizon, and during the middle of the day, the Sun is usually directly overhead.  In fact, we can tell a lot about what time of the day it is by where in the sky the Sun is located.  

Before people used clocks, they had devised other ways to tell time, such as Sundials.  Allow students to share what they may know about sundials.  Show them a picture of a sundial, and show them where the shadow falls to indicate the time.  Why does the dial cast a shadow when the Sun shines on it like that?  The movement of the shadow around the sundial throughout the day mirrors the movement and rotation of the Earth throughout the day.  The way that the hands move around a clock is just the same way that the shadow of the Sun moves around the sundial.

Pass a paper plate and a straw to each student.  Place markers on the table.  Show them your finished sundial and tell them that we are going to make a sundial today too.  Ask students to write their names on the front of the paper plate and then turn it over to the bottom.  They should make a short (1") vertical line at the very top of the plate to mark 12 o'clock, and they can even write a "12" under the vertical line. Show them how to insert their straw through the poked hole in the middle of the plate so that it pokes through on the bottom about a 1/2". 

Show them the pictures of other famous and beautiful sundials.
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.Activity 2: Sunspots

Jack setting up his telescope with solar lenses?

Weather permitting, if it isn't too cloudy, we'll try this out.  (Right now it looks like it will be cloudy out - which will be great for the cloud activity!  but not so good for the sun)
One safe way to observe sunspots or eclipses is to project an image of the Sun through a telescope or binoculars onto a white screen

 Never look straight at the Sun!! --
On the screen you should see a bright circle of light. This is the disc of the Sun. Adjust the distance between the screen and the telescope until the disk is about the size of a small paper plate. The image will probably be blurred; focus your telescope until the circle becomes sharp. Using this method you can see considerable detail in and around sunspot groups.