Provisioning for Site Visits

Provisioning for Site Visits
by the Sandburg Planetarium Teacher

The most successful site visits (and planetarium visits) will result from a well-planned collaboration between the classroom teacher and the planetarium teacher. Each of us brings something to the lesson--working together, we will achieve more than working alone. While I will provide some instructional materials (as well as a fair amount of content mastery and technical expertise), I need the cooperation and support of the classroom teacher in provisioning for the hands-on activities that I have planned for site visits, and in allowing me to make student assignments that will enable more audience participation during planetarium visits. Your cooperation and support is vital to the success of the planetarium program and is sincerely appreciated!

Grade Level 4 Activities

First, students will construct a "Dipper Finder" for use during the Planetarium Visit (approximately 10-15 minutes). The Planetarium Teacher will provide Dipper Finders and round-head fasteners; teachers/students will need to provide the following supplies:

Scissors
Transparent tape and tape dispenser
Single-hole and three-hole punches (optional)

Teaching Note: Teachers may want to collect students' Dipper Finders and redistribute them at the appropriate time during the Planetarium Visit.

For the remainder of the site visit (approximately one hour), we will play Astronomy BINGO!, an activity designed to familiarize students with astronomy-related vocabulary terms that will be used during the planetarium visit. The Planetarium Teacher will provide activity sheets (including BINGO! cards) and prizes. To facilitate the lesson, approximately one week before the site visit, the classroom teacher should provide students with the Grade Level 4 Astronomy BINGO! Vocabulary List and require them to learn the meaning of the words (as either an in-class activity or homework assignment). You may want to assign 10-or-so words per day over a period of several consecutive days.

Teaching Note: It would be especially helpful if the hosting classroom teacher would set up a videodisc player with a numeric keypad remote control and the "Windows on Science," Earth Science, Volume II videodisc. This will enable me to provide visual clues as well as audio clues for word definitions (remember the visual learners!), and should enhance student interest in the activity.

Grade Level 5 Activities

Students will construct and learn to use a "Starfinder." The Planetarium Teacher will provide Starfinders and round-head fasteners; teachers/students will need to provide the following materials:

Scissors
Transparent tape and tape dispenser
Staples and stapler
Single-hole and three-hole punches (optional)

Teaching Note: Teachers may want to collect students' Starfinders (and "scripts") and redistribute them at the appropriate time during the Planetarium Visit.

With the cooperation of the classroom teacher, groups of students will be assigned to research the mythology associated with numerous prominent constellations (one or two constellations per group). Students should be prepared to use a Starfinder to locate their assigned constellation(s) in the planetarium sky: they will use a pointer to trace the outline of their constellation(s); identify the brightest star(s) in the constellation(s); and spend a couple of minutes presenting the associated mythology. Students should refer to the SCSA Constellation of the Month (CoM) Web page to research their constellation(s); students should use the form, Stars & Constellations - Pattern Recognition to prepare a "script" for their constellation presentation.

Adequate student preparation (including a review of behavioral expectations) has proven to be a critical factor in the overall success of a planetarium program that features extensive audience participation--when properly prepared, all students can rise to the challenge of the assignment! The following instructional strategies have been used by skillful teachers to successfully prepare students for their constellation presentation:

Students practice drawing on the chalkboard "connect-a-dot" pictures of constellations by playing "Constellation Pictionary®," the game of quick draw constellation pattern recognition. [Rules of the Game: Randomly pick a card showing one of the constellations that students will identify during their visit to the planetarium. Set timer for one minute; one student is selected to draw clues (using the constellation card for guidance) while the other members of the class guess which constellation is being drawn (students may refer to their Starfinders). Students compete in teams. Points are earned for correct guesses; the team that earns the most points is the winner.]
Students (or groups of students) practice reading aloud for the entire class the "script" of associated mythology for their constellation(s). This should help to build students' comfort-level with the meaning and correct pronunciation of unfamiliar vocabulary words (refer to A Skywatcher's Pronunciation Guide for stars and constellations), and help students to develop confidence in public speaking.
Students collaborate to prepare posters or multimedia presentations related to their constellation(s)¹.

[¹Additional pointers to related Internet information resources are provided at the Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness Web site. Teacher notes for student-produced multimedia presentations provided courtesy of Joanne Goodwin, School-Based Technology Specialist (SBTS), Churchill Road Elementary School.]

Note:URLs for hyperlinks (underlined text) may be obtained by pointing your Web browser to an electronic version of this document: http://www.wsanford.com/~wsanford/exo/provisioning.html