This activity is an opportunity to explore observations of the Sun in the past and present. You will be introduced to a variety of images, ideas and the new NASA Connect program, "Ancient Observatories, Timeless Knowledge". This particular NASA Connect program is not just about math! It also includes Science, Geography, History, Cross-Cultural Connections and Technology.
This lesson introduces the topic of the Sun. Students also begin making entries in their Science Journals.
The over-arching question addressed by these units is "Why do daylight hours vary in length where we live?" All activities have been arranged for convenience into three interchangeable units.
Students will explore the relative sizes of the Sun, Earth and Moon as they make an impressive large-scale model for classroom use throughout the unit.
Students learn about shadows as they observe and draw the shadow of a classmate.
In this demonstration of day and night, students learn kinesthetically as they take on the role of the Earth orbiting the rotating Sun.
Students build sundials and observe changes in shadows over the course of one or more days.
Studying Our Scintillating Sun: Students will construct an edible model of the Sun denoting surface and interior feature.
From NASA's Quest's Learning Technologies Channel (at NASA Ames) and the Stanford Solar Center, learn more about the sun from this impressive archive of video clips and materials from past webcasts.