StarsTechnology Integration Designed

For 5th Grade.

By: Nicole Arata

Stars are easily visible from anywhere on Earth. We see them every night, when we

look up high in the sky. They are a reminder of all the wonders and mysteries that go

beyond planet earth. By using multimedia technology we can learn more in-depth

about these beautiful starts and their features, along with viewing them up close. Three- dimensional digital models, pictures

and videos will bring to life the student’s imagination more than a picture in a book

and a teacher’s descriptions.

Rationale

Internet Images

When searching “stars” on Google, there are many amazing images for the students to observe.

Internet Blog

This blog is written by Don Pettit, who is an Astronaut at NASA. He brings starts to a whole new level of excitement when he describes how he can examine and take photos of stars using a special camera.

Internet Podcast

http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2013/01/01-17-2013Kelly1_mixdown-1.mp3

YouTube Content

A YouTube video made by a student a little older than the children themselves, will grab their attention on learning about the stars. This video is full of information that is taught in a fun way, encouraging the students to get involved in their learning without them even knowing it. This is a perfect way to incorporate digital and analog mediums.

Video from Khan Academy

This video goes into detail on massive stars. What fifth grader would not want to learn about this!? The video gives a visual on the different stages it takes to become a massive star.

Massive Stars

Internet Resources

nasa.gov also known as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is a great internet resource that allows the students to collect a ton of information/pictures on anything to do with space.

Internet Resources Continued

The Hubblesite allows students to experience a journey to a black hole by creating their own destination. They choose what path they want, and get to ride in their own stimulation spacecraft to get to their black hole. This website is extremely fun for kids!

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum allows students from out of state be able to take a online fieldtrip to the museum itself! It also offers different activities and videos to do with your class!

Inspiration

This is a graphic organizer from Inspiration, explaining the life cycle of a star.

Teaching Materials

The students will be able to record their own data on stars by using the stars location and magnitude on the chart provided. They can experience what it feels like to work at NASA themselves. This activity will use spreadsheets and Microsoft Excel, allowing students to also work on their technology skills.

This worksheet shows the different constellations that can be viewed during the different seasons. This is a fun activity that the teacher can put up on her projector. He/She can block out the names of the constellations to see if the students can name them and find them. They can turn out the lights and turn their classroom into a mini planetarium. This is also a great activity that will want to make their students go home and show their parents..

Teaching Materials Continued…

This kid friendly video explores the life cycle of stars with not only information to be heard, but with visuals. It also asks questions on the side of the video for the students to answer while watching to keep them alert. At the end, there is a quiz the students can take as a class to test how much they have learned.

This is a fun activity that gets the whole class involved. They are not only learning science, but also working on their math skills. The students will get to figure out how old they are based on light years.

Subject-Specific Resource

Science NetLinks has many different resources such as tools, activities and lessons on space related topics. This website is great because it allows one to narrow their search to the topic and grade they are looking for. This website is a fast, reliable source to make teaching fun!

Uses of the Internet

Think Quest is a great educational website that both the students and teacher can use to explore all about stars! There are many different links that the students can click on to get different information they wonder about stars!

Uses of the Internet Continued

Enchanted Learning is an amazing website filled with tons of useful and educational learning for the students. They can get their questions answered about almost anything, and have so many different options to explore.

Web 2.0

How else is there a better way to enhance collaboration between the teacher and students than facebook! Facebook is what almost every kid has these days. NASA’s facebook page is constantly adding new photos, videos, and information to their page about what is going on in space!