Name: Jennifer Jamison
District: Marqate Email:jjamison@margat.org
Title Of Lesson: "Creating the Night Sky with Corel Photo Paint"
Subject: Science
Category: Grades 3-5 "Project can be modified/ changed grades 6-8
Dates that Lesson was conducted: Mar20 & 21

Goals and Objectives of Lesson:

  • Investigate the characteristics of stars
  • Identify constellations in the Night sky
  • Explain why the stars appear to move
  • Create a tool to predict the location and model the movement of constellations
  • Use specific technology to illustrate a view of the Night sky with constellations that the students choose
  • Create myths using Microsoft Word

NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards addressed:

5. 11 Aft Students Will Gain an Understanding Of The Origin, Evolution, and Structure of the Universe. Indicators #4-6

Summary of Lesson: To assist in the creation of the culminating technology project for the study of constellations; my students were involved in three prior lessons that incorporated the classification, origination, and the characteristics of constellations. We began with the making of a hand held tool called a Planisphere wheel, which identified constellations that appeared during particular times of the year during Earth's rotation around the sun in the Northern Hemisphere so as to personalize the subject matter. The second lesson focused on uses of constellations for navigational purposes and how they aided primitive peoples. We discussed how primitive people would make up stories to help them remember the places of the constellations in the night sky during times and seasons. The following books were read to the class to illustrate my point:

  • They Dance in the Sky- Native American Star Myths by Jean Guard Monroe and Ray A. WIlliamson
  • How the Stars fell into the Sky-A Navaio Le-gend by Jerrie Oughton DAulaires'Book of Greek Myth by Ingri and Parin D'Aulaire's

As the culminating technology project; students created a visual picture of the night sky with a minimum of three constellations that must appear in their illustration. This technology project used the information they learned from the planisphere tool, books, and previous lessons. Utilizing the software program Corel Photo Paint, students created a computer drawing using the tools provided in the program. Students were handed directions instructing them how to go through and create their picture step by step. I used the LCD Panel and the TV Tutor to model the directions to choose the tools, colors, and background appropriate to illustrate their picture. Upon completion of the visual picture, students wrote a myth how their constellation was placed in the night sky using Microsoft Word. This myth was then pasted to the back of the picture and mobiles were made to hang from the science classroom ceiling.

Equipment, materials, and other technology needed:

  • 24 IBM compatible PC's ( DELL) 0 LCD Panel 0 TV Tutor 0 Corel Photo Paint software package
  • Microsoft Word software package
  • Planisphere
  • Rough draft of the myth the student created

Details of Activities:

1. Prior to the project Students must have been able to: o Distinguish between stars and planets in the Night sky

  • Identify constellations in the night sky, specifically the Northern Hemisphere skies.
  • Create a planisphere wheel that students could take home and use to locate constellations that are visible to them.
  • Determine the importance of Earth's rotation and revolution to explain why Stars appear to move.
  • Logon and Logoff the computer
  • Use Microsoft Word

2. Students will read several stories of familiar constellations to help them understand how primitive peoples explained the movement or placement of star patterns in the sky.

3. We then created a myth that we created as a class about the Big Dipper/ Ursa Major.

4. Independently, students choose three constellations and make up a myth using the constellations as their main characters.

5. Using a worksheet outlining that provided the student with a step by step direction to use Corel Photo Paint, and the LCD Panel and TV Tutor as a way to visually model each step, students worked independently to create a picture of a constellation. "Directions are attached

6. Students type a final copy of their myth story.

Student Feedback and Assessment:

Students were evaluated on the following criteria:

  • Students chose 3 constellations appearing in the night sky using their planisphere tool
  • A grammatically correct hand written rough draft of their myth
  • The class was evaluated for successful progress of each step before moving on to the next step using the computer directions as a guide
  • The Corel Photo Paint project had three different constellations
  • The final copy typed by the student included the three constellations as the main characters to their myth and explained how the constellations were placed in the sky

Additional comments & Suggestions:

  1. As a way to tap in to all areas of learning abilities, the visual aids such as the computer, LCD panel, and the TV Tutor allowed all students to create their project with great success!
  2. The constellations could be drawn to face any direction, turned upside down, etc. as that truly demonstrates Earth's rotation and revolution around the sun.
  3. The students could work in pairs and create the picture together.
  4. The LCD Panel and the TV Tutor must be in full view for every student to follow along step by step.
  5. The books provided an excellent example to explain to the students how to create a myth.
  6. The worksheet listing the instructions for the students to follow is a MUST!