About

My name is Megan Czarnecki.  I am studying to be an Elementary Science teacher.  This site was created as a collection of the resources I have found and used for my college course on teaching astronomy.  My hope is that I and other teachers can look back on this site as a helpful tool for teaching.

A guide through the site:

• By clicking on the Science Standards tab, you will find a description and links to the Next Generation Science Standards and the Michigan GLCES.
  
• By clicking on the Astronomy Activities tab, you will find a document defining common astronomy terms such as: horizon, zenith, meridian, ecliptic, zodiac, celestial equator, altitude and azimuth.
  
• If you place your cursor over the Astronomy Activities tab and allow the additional tabs to roll down you will find tabs for Objects in the Sky, The Sun, The Moon, The Solar System and Stars.
  
• By clicking on Objects in the Sky, you will find a method for measuring the altitude and azimuth of objects in the sky; you will find a worksheet for students to describe different objects in the night sky and how they appear different, to identify three constellations, identify the moon's phase, and to describe celestial objects using their eyes and a small telescope or binoculars; you will find instructions on how to use a planisphere to predict when a given star is visible; and you will find information on portable planetariums.
  
• Under the Sun tab, you will find a cute story comparing local time, solar noon, and daylight saving time; you will find graphs showing how the sun's annual motion is different from two locations and relate that to the seasons; 
• By clicking on the Moon tab, you will find a 2013 calendar of the moon's appearance and explaining why the moon's motion.  You will also find a moon phase activity that explains why the moon exhibits phases and requires students to identify the moon phases.  This activity also helps students to understand solar and lunar eclipses.  You will also find a short video explaining eclipses and why they are rare. 
• Under the Solar System tab, you will find a fictional debate between Ptolemy and Copernicus with their evidence to conclude that the sun is the center of the solar system; you will also find a link to a Fakebook on Pluto explaining the properties that classify it and other solar system objects.  There are also cool links to site explaining more about the solar system.
• By clicking on the Stars tab, you will find a fictional story telling about a star's life cycle and the characteristics for each classification of the star; you will find a diagram explaining the nuclear processes that fuel a star; you will find a video documentary telling of the history of the universe and what historic people and evidence was involved in the theories of the universe evolution and components.
• Buy clicking on the External Links tab, you will find links to various sites and online sources for gathering information about the sun and moon for various locations and times of the year.  You will also find links to interactive sites that can be integrated into lessons.