K-6 Activities - Dudley Observatory

Materials
• 1 large 9-foot diameter white circle
cut from butcher paper
• 12” x 18” light blue construction
paper (one per child)
• 12” x 18” dark blue tissue paper
(one per child)
• spray bottle with diluted bleach
• newspapers to cover desk, floor,
and/or outside area
• glue sticks
• Post-its
• pencils
• tag board cut-out of a crescent
moon and a sun
Sky
?
Ground
K–6 Activities • B–10 •
Horizon Lesson for Primary Grades
Purpose of Lesson
The purpose of this activity is to clear up misconceptions young children have about
the horizon and the sky. They will often draw pictures like the one shown. This activity
is designed for classroom teachers who have limited access to STARLAB and/or for
planetarium directors to give to classroom teachers in preparation for a planetarium
visit.
Objectives
1. Students will demonstrate by modeling that the sky around us comes all the way
down to the ground.
2. Students will be able to describe the horizon — that place very far away where
we see the sky and ground touch.
3. Students will demonstrate by modeling that the sun, moon and stars seem to go
above the horizon and sink below the horizon.
4. Using a pointer, students will identify the horizon and cardinal directions in
STARLAB and on the paper circle.
Note
Weather permitting, this activity could be done outdoors.
Procedure
Students will make sky cards out of 2 layers of paper. Spray diluted bleach onto navy
blue tissue paper. (The bleach will make spots that look like stars, so use a spray, not
a stream type spray bottle.) Glue tissue paper onto blue construction paper with glue
sticks. (Glue only edges of paper.)
Ask: “Where should this large circle be to represent the ground?” After deciding
it goes on the floor, ask, “Where does your light blue sky card go?”
Most will hold it up in the air.
Ask: “What is in between?” (Air) Discuss possibilities, but come to the conclusion
that the sky is air and the air comes all the way to the ground. Have
the students place their sky card so that it touches the edge of the ground
paper. Discuss that this point is called the horizon.
Ask: “What do we do about all the gaps?” (Because the children are not yet
sitting close together.) Tighten the circle so that the sky cards are touching
with ground underneath. Redefine horizon.
Ask: “How do we know where to put the sun? Where does it rise and set?”
Identify north, south, east and west and label the ground paper with magic
marker. Talk about where the sun comes up in the morning and where it sets.
Have a child lift and carry the sun to show it rising in the east and setting in
the west.
Turn the sky papers around and talk about the night sky. Repeat the process with the
moon and identify the horizon.
Ask: “Does the moon only appear at night? Can we ever see it in the daytime?”
Of course!