January Technology Bits and Bytes

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Theme: Space Volume III, Issue 5

2001, is here! It may not appear to be a space odyssey at this juncture but students born at the end of the last century are very eager to learn about the universe they live in today as the older generations were decades ago. What lies ahead for this young generation? What discoveries will be made, what new destinations will be explored and what creative ideas will turn into the latest invention. It is hard to fathom what these young minds will experience as the travel into this new millennium. Will marvels of science improve their life expectancy so they will be venture into the year 3001? We can only imagine and prepare them for this road ahead. Many of the ideas below focus on the primary learner but with some imagination and creativity, these ideas can intrigue the older learner as they journey into this millennium.

Orbits of the Earth and Moon

Kindergarten students begin to learn about space by learning about the most familiar objects, the earth, moon and sun. Students can create this easy KidPix slide to understand more about the orbits of the earth and moon.

Prior to the computer, read Moon Bear, by Frank Asch. Children love to hear stories about Moon Bear and his antics with the moon. Moongame, Happy Birthday Moon and Bear Shadow are three more books to tie into your science curriculum as shown below. Many language arts activities such story sequence, fantasy versus reality, or vocabulary study can be tied to the curriculum.

KidPix Orbits Lesson for Students
The Teacher's Lesson (coming soon)

Template 2

More KidPix Templates for Kindergarten and First Grade Students
Use the simple templates below with your younger students. The first two are math templates that utilize the stamp tool. The fourth one is an art starter(similar to a story starter). Students are encouraged to draw themselves as a creature with antenna eyes. The last two are simple writing activities. To save these to your computer, click to enlarge the slide. Next right click and save to your computer. You will need to import them into KidPix since they are gifs.

Birthday Moon Phases
Activity for Second and Third Grade

Students can make a clearer connection to the phases of the moon when you tie a real life experience, their own birthday, to the lesson. After reading Happy Birthday Moon, discuss the eight phases of the moon. Visit Moon Phases, and print out the current calendar month. Moon facts to use in your discussion can be found here.

Guide the students in searching their birthday at this site to find out which moon phase occurred on their birthday. Supply the students with an index card to draw a picture of their birthday moon phase. Use the cards to make a large floor or wall graph. Then use Tom Snyder's, Graph Club or make a template in Excel to share their information. The following

The Lesson(coming soon)
How to Import Icons Into Graph Club
Moon Log Template

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Classroom Connect's Sun Gazers
Something For All Grade Levels

This lesson from Classroom Connect provides a visual of the earth so that students
can understand day and night. The links at this sight take the students to sites that are appropriate for the younger student.

Sun Gazer's Lesson pdf. file
Activity Sheets pdf. file

Earth View - A fantastic site that shows the earth as it appears from space. You can use the map view to show students how to complete the activity above.

The Sunrise - A computer sunrise! This site also contains lots of information on our nearest star!

Sunrise and Sunset Calendar - Select your city to get a calendar that shows sunrise and sunset times.

Ask Eric Lesson (Grades 4-12) Here is a lesson utilizing sunrise and sunset data.

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What do you see during the day or at night?
This is an easy template for students using stamps.

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What does the earth look like from space? See what your young artists can create!

Fun in the Sun with Shadows
An Excel is Elementary Activity for Third and Up

Here is a fun activity to do on a bright sunny day. Select a tree, building or flagpole to measure. You will need two rulers, pencil and paper and the following Microsoft Excel template.
1. First hold one ruler up next to the tall object and use the other ruler to measure the ruler's shadow. Record.
2. Measure the shadow of the tall object. Record that measurement.
3. Select other tall objects to measure and follow the same procedure.
4. Calculate the height of the tall objects by:
     -multiplying length of tall object by 12
     -dividing the answer by 14
     -multiplying that answer by 12 to get the answer in feet.
5. Better yet use the Microsoft Excel template to quickly do the calculate the height of the tall objects.

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Some Online Tools
Create an alien with the antenna eyes as shown at left in KidPix or try the online version below. The other sites below offer more ways to tie space into your science, math and language arts curriculum.

Create Your Own Alien
NASA's Observatorium Postcards
Online Solar System Coloring Book
NASA's Concentration Game
Space Kids - Your Weight On Other Planets
A Virtual Journey Into The Universe

Starchild - A great learning center for the young student provided by NASA. Check out the ABC Glossary that can be used as a guide to create ABC Slideshow or other multimedia project.

AstroKids - This site is simple but delivers information about the nine planets in an easy to read format. Make a data sheet with information you would like your students to gather in a word processing program.

Windows to the Universe - Kid's Space - This site can be viewed in three different formats to appeal to the different ages of the learner.

Planet4kids.com - Another easy to read site for the early learner. This site certainly has kid appeal and useful information.

Space Encyclopedia - The Solar System - Easy navigation to the planets of our Solar System puts your student at information quickly.

Space Day - May 3, 2001 will be the fifth Annual Space Day! Be sure to come back and visit this site for the celebration! More online activities are located here.

Kathy Adkins
The Technology Loop
Instructional Technology Specialist
Forsyth County Schools
Midway Elementary

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