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Overview: Students discover that stars are sometimes grouped together to form pictures (constellations) in the night sky.
Booklink: Stars by Jennifer Dussling, Grosset & Dunlap, 1996. ISBN 0-448-41148-2
Science Activity Link: Children create their own "constellations" and create stories to describe their formation or appearance.
Objective: Students will recognize, describe, and construct models of constellations.
Science Processes and Content: Processes-observing, communicating, classifying, inferring, predicting and model building. Content-systems and subsystems, stars and constellations in the night sky, and science-related Native American folklore.
National Science Education Standards: Unifying Concepts and Processes, (1) Science as Inquiry, (4) Earth and Space Science, (7) History and Nature of Science
Materials: Books-Native American Stories and Stars, one piece of black construction paper per child, paper stars, glue, white chalk or crayons.
Procedure:
1. Read the story "How Fisher Went to the Skyland: the Origin of the Big Dipper" from the book Native American Stories by Joseph Bruchac detailing how the Big Dipper came to be. Discuss the children's experiences with the Big Dipper and night-sky constellations that they have observed.
2. Then, follow by reading the book, Stars, and discussing stars and constellations.
3. Give each child a piece of large black construction paper and a handful of paper stars.
4. Have the children place the paper on the floor. From a standing position, the children should drop the stars one at a time and observe where they land.
5. Have the students glue the stars where they landed on their black paper.
6. Students should then connect the stars using the white chalk or crayon to create a picture.
7. Have the students name their constellation and create a short story detailing its origin.
8. Students should share their constellation pictures and stories with the group.
Related Books:
Native American Stories by Joseph Bruchac, Fulcrum Publishing, 1991. ISBN 1-55591-094-7
I Am a Star by Jean Marzollo, Scholastic, Inc., 2000. ISBN 0-439-11320-2
The Big Dipper by Franklyn M. Branley, Harcourt, 1962, 1991. ISBN 0-15-314273-1
The Sun and Other Stars by Richard Harris, Troll Associates, 1977. ISBN 0-89375-044-1
How the Sky Got Its Stars by Gail Tuchman, Harcourt Brace and Company. ISBN 0-15-306425-0
How Many Stars in the Sky? by Lenny Hort, Harcourt Brace and Company. ISBN 0-15-300323-5
Zoo in the Sky by Jacqueline Mitton, National Geographic Society, 1998. ISBN 0-7922-7069-X
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