Category: astronomy

Setting Up Your High School Astronomy Curriculum

December 8, 2021 / dina

I’ve had a lifelong passion for Astronomy. I was extremely fortunate that in my third year teaching, I was able to petition my school to add an Astronomy course to our curriculum offerings. The challenge, though, was setting up a high school Astronomy curriculum from scratch. I previously wrote about my top resources for teaching Astronomy, but let’s take a look at the basics. What should you teach in a high school Astronomy course?

Well, that might depend on your district/state standards. My state does have standards for Astronomy, but they are mostly Physics or general science standards. However, this meant I had a lot of flexibility in what to teach and how to organize my course.

My school is a daily 50 minute period. We marketed Astronomy to primarily seniors, so I had approximately 8 weeks of instruction in quarters 1-3 and 6 weeks in quarter 4.

Quarter 1 – Observational Astronomy

I begin my high school Astronomy curriculum with some basics of Astronomy and focusing on what we can observe in the night sky. As my state standards are based on Physics standards, we hit a lot of the motion and Kepler’s/Newton’s laws standards here in the first quarter. For instance, I invested in some simple Galileoscopes to have students practice building a telescope and use them outside. Also, check out my lesson plan and activity on the Moon phases I use in this unit.

Image of an assembled and unassembled telescope called a Galileoscope. — Galileoscopes are easy to use and assemble, as well as affordable, refracting telescopes. Image courtesy of Galileoscope.

We typically spend 1-2 days practicing using the telescopes in the daytime and recording what we can observe just around the school courtyard. Since this is in the fall/winter and sunrise isn’t usually until after school starts, we also typically have at least a week of before-school observations. As a result, the timing is perfect to usually observe some major known constellations and the Orion Nebula, Pleiades, and other easy-to-find celestial objects.

The Night Sky
- Celestial sphere, constellations, orbital motion, moon phases, eclipses

History of Astronomy
- Ancient astronomy, Copernicus and Galileo, Brahe and Kepler, Newton

Light and Telescopes
- Early telescopes, light and electromagnetic spectrum, practice using telescopes, space telescopes

Quarter 2 – The Solar System

Here we focus on all aspects of the solar system, starting with the solar system as a whole, then Earth, then each group of planets. I try to focus on comparative planetology – comparing the planets and their properties to each other, rather than memorizing facts about each planet.

Image of a data sheet to be filled out about each planet. — Here is a sample data sheet I have used to help students organize their notes about each planet.

For the Jovian planets, I also like to include some information about the major moons. We typically discuss the Galilean moons, along with Titan, Enceladus, and Triton (sorry, Uranus).

The Solar System and Earth
- Layout of the solar system, solar nebular theory, Earth as a planet, Earth’s interior and atmosphere

Terrestrial Planets
- Moon and Mercury: comparisons, surfaces, atmospheres; Venus: greenhouse effect, volcanism, atmosphere, interior; Mars: atmosphere, interior, volcanism, missions and rovers

Jovian Planets
- Jupiter and Saturn: comparisons, atmospheres, interiors, missions, major moons; Uranus and Saturn: comparisons, atmospheres, interiors, missions, major moons

Beyond Planets
- asteroid belt, Kuiper belt, Oort Cloud, major asteroids and dwarf planets

Quarter 3 – Stars

Stars are definitely my favorite topic, and it is also usually a big hit with students. We spend a lot of time on the different life cycles. First, we look at the Sun and its properties as a star. In the low mass stars section, we focus on stars that end as white dwarfs. I typically spend the most time in the high mass stars section, as nuclear fusion, supernovae, and black holes tend to be high-interest areas.

Image of questions gathered from students about black holes. I try to dedicate ample time in my Astronomy curriculum to high-interest topics. — Real questions from students about black holes. I always try to dedicate 2-3 days to a black holes research project as its a high-interest topic.

We usually wrap up this quarter with galaxies, though time-dependent I have moved it to quarter 4.

The Sun as a Star
- Sun surface, interior, properties, sunspots

Low Mass Stars
- Red dwarf and Sun-like main sequence stars, Sun-like star life cycle

High Mass Stars
- High mass main sequence, supernovae, black holes

Galaxies
- Galaxy types, galaxy classification, Milky Way galaxy properties

Quarter 4 – Cosmology and Spaceflight

Cosmology is the outlier here, but it fits where it fits, especially as we have just studied galaxies. We focus on the history of Cosmology and how the model of the Universe has changed over time.

Image of a sample assignment on the origin of the Universe. — Sample from an assignment on the origin of the Universe. Students read an excerpt from Stephen Hawking’s “Origin of the Universe” speech to gather their evidence.

As I am based in Florida, we have A LOT of state standards related to the space program. As a result, I decided to end the year with this as we wind down the year by building bottle rockets. The history of human spaceflight is a topic I am very passionate about and it’s a little less rigorous, so it’s a great way to send off the year. We focus on the different eras of the US Space Program and the major achievements of each.

Cosmology
- Expansion of the Universe, Big Bang, eras of the early Universe, Universe models

Rocketry
- Principles of rocketry, aerodynamics, Newton’s laws revisited, building a rocket

Human Spaceflight
- Early spaceflight, projects Mercury and Gemini, project Apollo, Space Shuttle and beyond

Building your high school Astronomy curriculum

I hope this breakdown is helpful as you build your own high school Astronomy curriculum. Depending on your state and standards you may have different focus areas, but these are the major topics any Astronomy course should address.

Don’t forget to check out my tips and resources for teaching Astronomy, as well as my ideas for teaching a more engaging Astronomy course. Good luck and ad astra!

High School Astronomy Ideas – Less Lecture, More Engagement!

April 29, 2020 / dina

I’ve talked in previous posts about my hatred of lecturing. I end up doing all the work, while students sit passively. Sure, there are ways to make lectures more engaging. However, I discovered with a particularly challenging Astronomy class last year that lectures simply weren’t working. I stopped lecturing. I stopped pretty much all teacher-led instruction. What did I do instead? I created student-led, student-centered activities. I posted about student-centered instruction before, but now I want to share how I did it in my Astronomy class. Here are five high school Astronomy ideas, along with example lessons you can use in your Astronomy class.

Gallery Walks

Astronomy is definitely a very visually important subject. Looking at photographs is a major part of my class. However, instead of looking at pictures as a class and discussing them, break the discussions into smaller groups with a gallery walk. I call these Astronomy Art Galleries. They are one of my favorite and most engaging high school Astronomy ideas. I have done them virtually with Google Slides/PowerPoint and with physical pictures around the classroom.

Here is my Galaxy Gallery assignment I used this school year. Click here for my full lesson plan. This activity was done with laptops (one laptop per group of 3-4 students)

Here are some easy topics to create your own Astronomy Art Gallery:

Types of galaxies (shown above)
Types of eclipses (check out my free Teachers Pay Teachers lesson plan!)
Moons in the Solar System
Nebulae and supernovae
Planets
Constellations

Station Rotations

Station rotations are not only engaging but a great way to cover a lot of content in a short amount of time. I tend to do four stations in a 50 minute class period (~7-8 minutes per station). There are eight total groups in my classroom, so I do mirrored stations.

I usually have at least one station where students are using a laptop or phone. Some types of stations you can include are:

Watching a short video
Playing a Quizlet game
Coloring/labeling a diagram
Using question dice
Reviewing work with the teacher
Reading a news article
Completing practice questions/problems

One of my favorite high school Astronomy ideas is to incorporate station rotations - get those kids moving! — Here is a brief station overview of an activity I did on the terrestrial planets. Click here for the more in-depth station directions.

I like to have one station with new information, one with review information, one with a video, and one with a group discussion. That’s not a perfect, works-in-every-lesson formula, but it is my skeleton I start with!

Questioning and Research

Students tend to be interested in Astronomy, even if they aren’t always engaged with every lesson. I like to give them the opportunity to ask questions. Then, we structure a research activity based on their research.

For this lesson on black holes, I asked students to write something they want to know about black holes. I used the Nearpod Collaborate tool so I could see who wrote what, but it was anonymous to other students. The next day, I brought out every book I own that mentions black holes, along with laptops. Students were tasked with trying to answer some of the questions they asked. The culminating assignment was to write a news article about black holes.

Sample student work of a news article about black holes — One of the news articles my students produced. I encouraged them to think of a creative, “click bait” title and I love this one!

Simulations and Virtual Labs

Labs in Astronomy can be difficult, but there are many you can do. However, I often use simulations and virtual labs to do what we can’t in class. I’ve talked about PhET simulations many, many times, but a lot of teachers don’t know that they have a lot more than just Physics!

This PhET simulation on blackbody radiation is a great way to introduce stars! — I use this simulation from PhET to introduce the H-R Diagram and different types of stars. Here is a sample worksheet to go along with it.

Some of the more Astronomy appropriate simulations PhET has are:

In addition to PhET, I have also used simulations from UNL, eduMedia, Stellarium, and Celestia.

News Articles

I feel like every single day I find a news article about something we are learning about in Astronomy. There is always new information and celestial events going on! I use news articles all the time in my classroom. This is another one of the most engaging high school Astronomy ideas!

For example, I found a news article about Mars One, and another describing why it won’t work. Students read those two articles and debated whether we should go to Mars. Here is the lesson plan for that activity.

Some other topics you could use news articles with are:

Comparing types of supernovae
Exoplanets
Meteor showers and what causes them
Types of eclipses
Discoveries from probes such as Juno and New Horizons

I hope these ideas have inspired you to rethink your classroom!

High School Astronomy: 5 Free Resources for Teachers

June 7, 2017 / dinacav

When I first began developing the curriculum for my high school Astronomy course, I realized that there are very few resources out there. Many things I found on the Internet were geared towards elementary. Anything more in depth was geared towards college. Through some searching and adapting, I found a few indispensable things for my classroom.

1. MinutePhysics

Oh, how I love MinutePhysics. Simple, engaging, and brief. These short videos often work as lead-ins to more in depth discussions in my classroom. Some of my favorites to show in class are:

Why is the Solar System Flat? I show this one when we learn about solar nebular theory and the structure of the solar system. This comes after we do a lab to simulate the formation of planets from an accretion disk. Watch below to see what you think!

His very first video was What is Gravity?, which is a classic even if it isn’t as polished as later videos. Why is it Dark at Night? is a great video to use during a Cosmology unit.

There are hundreds of videos to chose from, and they are all excellently done.

2. APOD

I wrote an entire post about using APOD in the classroom, but it’s simply too good to leave off this list. Read that to see more detailed on how I use this resources in the classroom.

APOD is a great resource for high school Astronomy classes!

The main reason I love APOD is that my students learn something new every single day from it – even on test days or whatever other distraction the school has planned. The Astronomy Picture of the Day is often related to current events, which is great to show students how Astronomy is relevant right now.

You can also search through the archive of pictures to find the perfect image to illustrate whatever you are trying to teach. They have an archive that goes back to 1995.

3. Twitter

I love including current events in my class. APOD is one way I do that, another is Twitter. Usually at the beginning of the year, I will find news articles and tweets to share with students. After the first quarter, I put this responsibility on students. While all regular news outlets have accounts, I like to find Astronomy specific accounts.

NASA runs several accounts to share information. I recommend NASA Astronauts, International Space Station, and NASA History Office. There are many more official accounts, from each individual space center to astronauts’ personal accounts.

There are also great accounts by individuals. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield runs a wonderfully curated account, with posts ranging from news stories to things about his everyday experiences. Chris tends to be a class favorite. Emily Lakdawalla, senior editors at the Planetary Society, also shares a wealth of great information and insight.

I tend to assign students a day, and on that day they share something they found on Twitter. I have also tried having students create an account and share, reply, and generally engage with real science on Twitter. Both are excellent ways to bring real experiences into the classroom.

4. McDonald Observatory Outreach

For more traditional resources, McDonald Observatory out of The University of Texas at Austin runs an excellent site. They have lesson plans, labs, course outlines, activities, etc. This was pretty instrumental in helping me get started developing my course.

I used the Scale Solar System activity in the first week of school to give an introduction to the course. I like the Observing the Moon activity as an introduction to observational astronomy also at the beginning of the school year. This activity on Kepler’s Laws is also one that I still use.

Many of the resources here are excellent and can be adapted to fit your course and style.

5. VCPS Curriculum Map

Last, and probably the most important, is this Volusia County curriculum map. My school district does not have any set curriculum or guide for Astronomy. This made planning a bit difficult in the beginning. I organized the order and structure of my course based on this map. The state standards are also helpful to demonstrate that your course meets state guidelines. Even if you are not in Florida, this map is immensely helpful!

I hope you find these resources useful, as they were all instrumental in setting up my course.

Using APOD in the Classroom

May 9, 2017 / dinacav

NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day, also known as APOD, is one of my favorite Astronomy resources. Though I wrote about APOD in my high school Astronomy resources post, I wanted to talk more about how I use it in the classroom. The subjects and sources vary greatly, and pictures are often topical to things happening in space news.

I begin my Astronomy class every single day with the APOD. It gives the class a routine, but students also find it fascinating. They especially love the amateur astronomy photos – showing that these things are real and you don’t always need super sophisticated equipment to see them. We often delve deeper into how and where photos were taken and research more on the background of the subject. It’s a great way to learn something new every single day.

One of the very first APODs, a photograph of the Pleiades, way back from 1995!

I also love that the pictures are very topical. We will discuss a meteor shower, or rocket launch, or nearby comet, and the very next day the picture of the day will be of that. It gives such relevancy and realism to what we are studying in my Astronomy class. One day, I got carried away and forgot to show the picture of the day. My students were legitimately upset!

Here is one of my recent favorites, of the Cygnus spacecraft taken from the ISS. We watched the launch together, so it was exciting for my students to see the craft actually in space.

A sample APOD taken from the ISS — **Image Credit:** ESA, NASA

Check out APOD at https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html