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Basic Coordinates and Seasons Lab
http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/motion1.html

David Hudgins, Kevin Lee, Edward Prather, University of Nebraska-Lincoln astronomy education group

This interactive activity, in applet form, guides students through the motion of the sun and how they relate to seasons.

Activity takes about two forty-five minutes periods.

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Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

  • Educators should play with the interactive prior to implementing with students to be prepared for student questions. There are a lot of resources here with a lot of depth. Educators need to pick the pathway before implementing.
  • Educators should encourage students to play on their own with the various controls on the simulators to develop an intuitive understanding of the coordinate systems and the seasons, before asking probing questions.

About the Content

  • Applet produced by the Nebraska Astronomy Applet Project (NAAP), and is used in introductory astronomy courses at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  • Activity explores terrestrial coordinates (including longitude and latitude, basic named coordinate features, reading flat maps, coordinate conversions); the Celestial Equatorial Coordinate System (including the celestial equator, declination, right ascension) and the ecliptic and how it relates to seasons.
  • Comments from expert scientist: It is a very well prepared program for the introduction to Astronomy and Solar Energy. The virtual study is an important source of information for students, but it must be also considered in parallel to observe the sky and to do experiments.

About the Pedagogy

  • The four well-designed and implemented "explorer" simulators (e.g., flat map, globe, flat sky map, sky map) allow students to manipulate controls to develop an intuitive understanding about how terrestrial and celestial coordinate systems work.
  • Students are able to manipulate elements on three panels to develop an understanding of how seasons arise and how they change on different latitudes and times of the year on the planet; accompanying worksheet helps ensure that the basic ideas are understood.
  • Activity includes excellent pre- and post-tests to probe for student preconceptions.
  • Supplemental background materials provided.
  • Complete teacher materials and prompts provided.
  • Teachers may find this updated video useful if not familiar with google earth- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZHmtssIzgg

Technical Details/Ease of Use

  • A script is provided to educators that outlines key questions that might be asked when going through the activity with students.
  • The simulators require Flash Player, available on all major platforms.
Entered the Collection: February 2015 Last Reviewed: February 2015

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