Make sure to click on photos and links for additional information!
lower grades (k - 2)
Standards:
Night Wonders written by Jane Ann Peddicord and photos provided by NASA. When you shine a flashlight into the night sky, the light speeds away from you at 186,000 miles per second. If the light escapes the Earth's atmosphere, it can soar through outer space and on to the stars. How would you like to stow aboard that flight? In this book, you can catch a ride on a light beam as it travels across our solar system and through our galaxy. Head to the distant edges of our universe--and find out why you might just end up back home! Stunning images give you a close-up view of the Moon, Sun, stars, and more.
Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations written by Jacqueline Mitton and illustrated by Christina Balit. This award-winning book capturing the glittering light show of the constellations is now available in paperback. Take an illuminating ride through the starry night sky with National Geographic's Zoo in the Sky! Little Bear and the Great Bear in the Northern Sky; the scaly dragon winding his long tail; the Great Dog chasing the Hare in the Southern Sky; all are beautifully rendered in Christina Balit's vibrant art, studded with shiny stars, which perfectly illustrates Jacqueline Mitton's rich text.
Activity:
Students will create existing constellations, or invent their own, using mini-marshmallows and write a poem or narrative describing their constellations.
Click Here for Lesson Plan
- 1st Grade Reading: LAFS.1.RI.3.7 - Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
- 1st Grade Reading: LAFS.1.RL.2.4 - Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses
- 1st Grade Writing: LAFS.1.W.1.3 - Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
- 1st Grade Science: SC.1.E.5.1: Observe and discuss that there are more stars in the sky than anyone can easily count and that they are not scattered evenly in the sky.
Night Wonders written by Jane Ann Peddicord and photos provided by NASA. When you shine a flashlight into the night sky, the light speeds away from you at 186,000 miles per second. If the light escapes the Earth's atmosphere, it can soar through outer space and on to the stars. How would you like to stow aboard that flight? In this book, you can catch a ride on a light beam as it travels across our solar system and through our galaxy. Head to the distant edges of our universe--and find out why you might just end up back home! Stunning images give you a close-up view of the Moon, Sun, stars, and more.
Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations written by Jacqueline Mitton and illustrated by Christina Balit. This award-winning book capturing the glittering light show of the constellations is now available in paperback. Take an illuminating ride through the starry night sky with National Geographic's Zoo in the Sky! Little Bear and the Great Bear in the Northern Sky; the scaly dragon winding his long tail; the Great Dog chasing the Hare in the Southern Sky; all are beautifully rendered in Christina Balit's vibrant art, studded with shiny stars, which perfectly illustrates Jacqueline Mitton's rich text.
Activity:
Students will create existing constellations, or invent their own, using mini-marshmallows and write a poem or narrative describing their constellations.
Click Here for Lesson Plan
upper grades (3 - 5)
Standards:
The Moon Book written and illustrated by Gail Gibbons. Identifies the moon as our only natural satellite, describes its movement and phases, and discusses how we have observed and explored it over the years.
Activity:
Through a series of activities students will learn the different moon phases, and using Oreo cookies and technology they will generate videos that depict the proper transitions of the moon.
Click Here for Lesson Plan
- 4th Grade Reading: LAFS.4.RI.2.4 - Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words of phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
- 4th Grade Language Arts: LAFS.4.SL.2.5 - Add audio recordings and visual displays to a presentation when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
- 4th Grade Science: SC.4.E.5.2 - Describe the changes in the observable shape of the moon over the course of about a month.
The Moon Book written and illustrated by Gail Gibbons. Identifies the moon as our only natural satellite, describes its movement and phases, and discusses how we have observed and explored it over the years.
Activity:
Through a series of activities students will learn the different moon phases, and using Oreo cookies and technology they will generate videos that depict the proper transitions of the moon.
Click Here for Lesson Plan