Storytelling
Activities
To help you get
started we are providing you with three short pieces to use with your students.
As you begin to find your own niche as a storyteller and astronomer, you will
gravitate toward the type of story with which you are most comfortable and eventually
build your own repertoire of stories. We've also included a bibliography of
resource material that will provide you with the background knowledge to the
principles that you and your students will be investigating. Don't be afraid
to learn and wonder along with them. Rather, embrace that opportunity!
Moon
Story
 |
Oh, glorious
Moon!
As I gaze on your face
It comes to my mind
That never shall I gaze
On your glorious behind.
--Anonymous
|
The above ditty will
make children giggle, and they'll learn to retell it in no time. There is a lesson
in the poem, however: We on Earth always see the same side of the Moon because
the Moon rotates exactly once and revolves exactly once in a month. Below is a
plan for using this poem as a viable teaching tool with your students.
Grades
K-2
| Knowledge
Objectives: |
- the Moon
is a sphere, and when we look upon a sphere we are only able to see
a circle (or a "face" )
- from night
to night the Moon might look different, but it is always the same Moon
- we always
see the same side of the "Moonball"
|
| Story setting: |
|
| Characters: |
|
| Problem: |
- why do
we only see one side of the "Moonball"?
|
| Solution: |
|
| Activities: |
- have children
make a styrofoam ball with a creative face of the Moon on one "side"
and a behind on the other
- have children
hold the ball out in front of them and rotate around in a circle
- to see
that although they will always see only the face, the ball's behind
does exist
- have children
retell the rhyme
|
| Outcome: |
- children
learn that the Moon is a sphere, and we always see the same side
|
Grades
3-5
| Knowledge
Objectives: |
- the spherical
Moon rotates exactly once and revolves around the Earth exactly once
per month as the Earth rotates on its own axis and revolves around the
Sun
|
| Problem: |
- why do
we only see one side of the Moon?
|
| Solution: |
|
| Activities: |
- have groups
of students build models of the Earth/Moon system (see references for
classroom activities to find suitable activities of this sort)
- using
the model, have students simulate the coordinated movements (rotations
and revolutions) of the Moon and Earth to discover the phenomenon of
always seeing the same side of the Moon from Earth
- have children
retell the rhyme
|
| Outcome: |
- children
learn that the same side of the Moon always faces us because of the
Moon's monthly cycle of rotation and revolution
|
Grades
6-8
| Knowledge
Objectives: |
- the light
from the Sun is responsible for the amount of the Moon we actually see
from night to night
|
| Problem: |
- why do
we only see one side of the Moon?
- why do
we not see the whole face of the Moon every night?
|
| Solution: |
|
| Activities: |
- have children
build the model suggested for grades 3-5 and include a flashlight to
simulate the Sun's light
- have students
use the model to coordinate the motions of the Earth and Moon with the
Sun's light to discover not only why we see only one side of the Moon,
but also why we see different Moon phases from Earth
- tell a
story about the phases of the Moon
- challenge
children to invent their own stories about the Moon's patterns of motion
and how we are affected by them on Earth
|
| Outcome: |
- children
learn that the Moon is always facing us because of its monthly cycle
of rotation and revolution, and that the Sun affects how much of the
Moon we see each night
|
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