Technical Tips

On both the Carl Sandburg Sky Poetry (http://www.wsanford.com/~wsanford/exo/sandburg_poems.html) and Sandburg Sky Poetry Scavenger Hunt Web pages, hyperlinks will open automatically in an external window; subsequent clicks on hyperlinks will replace the contents of the external window. Quickly find text strings (words or phrases) by using your Web browser's Edit/Find command; this command searches the active window.

For several questions, you may need to refer to a Calendar of Moon Phases (http://www.ameritech.net/users/paulcarlisle/MoonCalendar.html). By default, the Moon Calendar displays the current month; if necessary, reset the month and/or year.

Activity Questions

1. During which month is "National Poetry Month?" [Hint: From the Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness Home Page (SCSA Home), follow the hyperlink to "Special Events" (located in the menubar at the top of the page). If necessary, follow the hyperlink to Special Events for the preceding school year.]
   
   
   
2. Refer to the poem Fog.
   1. What kind of cloud is fog?
      
      
      
   2. Refer to current surface weather maps showing air temperatures and dew point temperatures.
      1. For Northern Virginia, what is the approximate air temperature and dew point temperature?
         
         
         
      2. Based upon the current air temperature and dew point temperature, explain why it is or isn't foggy outside.
         
         
         
   3. Click on the hyperlinks "little cat feet" and "harbor and city." List two ways in which fog is cat-like.
      
      
      
3. Refer to the poem Valley Song.
   1. Sandburg writes, "The frost was on." How does frost form? During which season (winter, spring, summer, or fall) is frost most likely to form overnight?
      
      
      
   2. What is the name of the "burnt blue" star to which Sandburg may have been referring? What is special about this star? [Hint: This star is part of a prominent winter constellation.]
      
      
      
   3. What are the "rings on a moon?"
      
      
      
4. Refer to the poem Stars.
   1. "The stars make sixes...." Which six-star cluster shares its name with a famous Japanese car company? What is the Greek name for this group of stars?
      
      
      
   2. "The stars make...sevens." Name the famous artist who painted a seven-star constellation. Identify the constellation shown in the painting.
      
      
      
   3. "Stars are so far away." Which unit of length is used to measure interstellar distances (the distance between stars)?
      
      
      
5. In the poem Summer Stars, to what does Sandburg compare the stars? [Hint: The metaphor is implied, but not stated directly.]
   
   
   
6. Refer to the poem Under the Harvest Moon.
   1. What is the Harvest Moon?
      
      
      
   2. On which date did the Harvest Moon occur this year? [Hint: Refer to a Moon Calendar (http://www.ameritech.net/users/paulcarlisle/MoonCalendar.html). Most likely, the Harvest Moon did not occur on SEP 22!]
      
      
      
   3. Click on the hyperlink to "beautiful, unanswerable questions."
      1. Which poetry technique asks unanswerable questions?
         
         
         
      2. What is another beautiful, unanswerable question you might ask yourself as you gaze at the Harvest Moon?
         
         
         
7. Refer to the poem Child Moon.
   1. Why does the color of the Moon appear silvery-white at some times and yellow-orange at other times (e.g., when it is "shining through the branches")?
      
      
      
   2. Which children's story might you read to a child with "babblings of the moon on her little mouth?"
      
      
      
   3. How might the way in which a child sees the Moon differ from the way an adult sees it? [Hint: The answer to this question calls for speculation and is not necesarily found within Sandburg's poems.]
      
      
      
8. Refer to the poem River Moons.
   1. On which days of the current month could you see a "cradle moon?" List at least two dates. [Hint: Refer to a Moon Calendar (http://www.ameritech.net/users/paulcarlisle/MoonCalendar.html). Tilt your head sideways and look for a lunar phase shaped like a baby cradle.]
      
      
      
   2. Why is the river compared to "the upper twist of a question mark?"
      
      
      
   3. During which season (winter, spring, summer, or fall) is the Big Dipper "almost overhead" around 9 p.m.? What is the name of the bright red-orange star to which the handle of the Big Dipper points?
      
      
      
9. Refer to the poem Moon Rondeau.
   1. What does the couple call the Moon when they look at it "late in the hours of the evening?"
      
      
      
   2. Why is the Moon compared to so many different things?
      
      
      
10. Refer to the poem Two Moon Fantasies.
    1. What assumption about the heavens did Galileo challenge? [Hint: Galileo lived in the "past."]
       
       
       
    2. What is the name of the scientific instrument used to observe the heavens which Galileo invented?
       
       
       

Bonus Question

11. Refer to the poem Moonset. Cite one example of each of the following poetic techniques: personification, alliteration, and repetition.