Erika Shenner Grade 6 Sky Science Lesson Plan Final Exam

Teacher:​ Erika McFarlane/Shenner Date:​ September 30th, 2018

Subject:​ Science Grade​: 6

Unit: ​Sky Science Time Frame:​ 50 Minutes

Curricular Outcomes:
● Describe the location and movement of individual stars and groups of stars
(constellations) as they move through the night sky

Lesson Objective ​(​students will be able to…​):

● Properly describe the movement and location of the stars and constellations as the earth
revolves around the sun.
● Understand a new perspective of First Nation culture and history as they look into a
Tradition Story of two seasons were determined based on a star.

Safety Considerations: ​In this particular class there would not be any out of the norm safety
considerations other than perhaps in the discussion of what to bring or wear when looking at
the stars at night during the colder months.

The one discussion that can be had is safe handling of chrome books and treating the chrome
book with care.

Anticipated Learning Activities Materials/Assessment/Notes

Time (Teacher Instruction/Student Activity)

Introduction:
The class will begin with the ​slideshow​ on
Video: 4 the screen stating the outcome that you will
minutes be covering in class today. The next slide
shows a short ​video​ of instruction that
explains in a practical way, the way in
which the stars and constellations ‘move’ in
the sky.

The class will then move to the next slide,

Question stating that it is the earth that does the
Time: 2-6 moving.
minutes Question Time (show of hands):
1. Who thought the stars were moving?
2. Who did not think this?
3. Did you think it was something else?
 Activity:
In the video, she talked about the seasons
and how the stars we see and the season we
are in is all in relation to where we are in
Intro: 1 our rotation with the sun.
minute A traditional story in First Nation culture
gives insight into their beliefs of the seasons
based on a constellation we know as the
‘swan’.

The class will then read the ​story​ together.

Story: 5 (click on Ksiistsikomm (Thunder)). The
minutes website is helpful because it has recorded
versions of the proper pronunciation of the
words if you do not feel comfortable saying
them yourself.

The class can then grab a chrome book of

Website their own and for a few minutes head to the
Search: University of Calgary Website​ that provides
10 minutes all the months of the year with different
constellations and First Nations stories. The
teacher will observe students behavior and
will ensure they remain on task.

Planetarium Once the allotted time has passed, the

Search: 20 students will then have the opportunity
minutes using Planetarium ​(info on Planetarium)​ to
see what constellations are above them,
RIGHT NOW! They can explore on the
website app all the stars, constellations, and
planets that are currently above them.

They must answer the following questions

on the ​questionnaire sheet​:

1. What planets are above us right

now?
2. What constellations are above us
right now?
3. How do they move?
4. When will these stars be above us
again?
 a.) Two months from now
b.) In January
c.) In July
d.) This time next year

Conclusion:
Once the students have put away their
chrome books and settled back into their
Discussion seats, the class can have one final
Time: discussion. If there is no time, skip the
5 minutes questions and end the class by encouraging
students to take a picture tonight (mentioned
below).

1. How else could we see the stars and

planets in the sky without a
computer? What materials or tools
would we need?
2. Who wants to see if they can see any
of the stars they saw on the
computer in real life tonight?
3. Who feels like they can describe the
location and movement of stars and
how they move?

The teacher can end off with encouraging

the students to take pictures tonight and
email the teacher of the sky outside of their
house and see if they can spot any of the
constellations they saw today in class. They
will talk about it and share the pictures that
the teacher gets tomorrow.

Assessment Plan: ​Activity Questions​ & End Discussion Time (Specifically Question #3)

Reflection: ​Thank you for subbing for me! If you feel like great discussions around the topic
are happening, feel free to sit in those moments and allow the students to engage in those
grand conversations. If you notice you went through the first part quickly and the students
remain engaged on their search through either the UofC website of the planetarium, let them
explore! As long as they are on task! If they are not on task, feel free to end the fun. If that is
the case they can each write a one page paper on their description on the location and
movement of stars and constellations and how they move in the sky.
Resources:
Slideshow
Planetarium Chrome Book App​ (information on the app)
First Nations Star Calendar
First Nations Story of the Star
Constellation Location Video
Activity Questions

Why did you choose the lesson plan you did?

I have always had a love for space and sky science. I took an astronomy class in college and it
solidified my love for it. I was also confident that I could safely and properly integrate a First
Nations aspect to this lesson in a way that really highlights the beauty of their culture and
traditional stories in an engaging way for the students.

What is amazing about it?

I really feel the integration of the First Nations history through traditional stories and the
correlation that it has to the unit is an amazing opportunity to integrate their culture into the
classroom. The resource I found online is credible, accessible, and I think the students would
have fun exploring each calendar month and the stories behind the constellations. I also think it
has some real-life elements to it that will get the kids engaged outside of the classroom in their
learning which is huge! This lesson is great because it ties in technology in a way that gets
students involved, as well as it ties in that First Nation piece.