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Sun-Earth Day Presents: Eclipse, In a Different Light

ECLIPSE LESSON PLANS

All About a Solar Eclipse
It is fun to read the journals of those who are there for an exciting event like a total solar eclipse. Wendy shares her excitement and students can learn what an eclipse is all about.
An Invitation to the Stars
You are invited to travel to the edges of our galaxy, to visit planets and stars and other galaxies beyond. This is not science fiction, it is a real invitation. With just a few tips, you can visit space on your own or with friends.
Colored Shadows
When two different-colored lights shine on the same spot on a white screen, the light reflecting from that spot to your eyes is called an additive mixture because it contains the colors from both lights. We can learn about human color perception by using colored lights to make additive color mixtures.
Definition of Illuminate
Eclipsing the Sun
Use this physical model to demonstrate how an eclipse occurs.
Explore a model of Earth’s yearly revolution around the sun
Students are introduced to day and night through a whole class reading of F. Branley's What Makes Day and Night. A kinesthetic modeling of day and night allows students to experience the spinning Earth and the day/night cycle.
How Astronomers Use Spectra to Learn About the Sun and Other Stars
Learn how astronomers get information about the Sun and other stars!
Imagine the Universe Lesson Plans
This resource provides several lesson from Imagine the Universe.
Moon Glow
This activity will help student identify the relationship of the Earth and the Moon, identifying the alignment that causes an eclipse.
Moon Orbit and Rotation
Read about the Moon Orbit
NASA Eclipse Home Page
Main directory for NASA's Solar Eclipse Page.
National Geographic News Article
Have your students read the article to describe illumination versus a shadow.
Our Solar System
Read about the Moon Orbit
Stories from the path of totality.
Telescopes from the Ground Up
"Telescopes from the Ground Up" traces the history of telescope development and highlights the interplay between technological and scientific advances.
The Moon: Earth’s Satellite
Read the article to gain understanding about the Earth-Moon relationship.

GENERAL SUN-EARTH CONNECTION LESSON PLANS

All About the Sun
From NASA’s Quest's Learning Technologies Channel (at NASA Ames) and the Stanford Solar Center, learn more about the sun from this impressive archive of video clips and materials from past webcasts.
Building a Simple Sundial
This activity from NASA’s Marshal Space Flight Center will show you how to construct a working sundial of your own! Visit Spanish Resources to view this activity (Construyendo un Reloj Solar) in Spanish
Magnetic Field Activities for the High School Classroom
This unit is designed to acquaint the student with the magnetic field. The assumed average student has some familiarity with the uniform gravitational field of classical Newtonian dynamics and kinematics lessons. This is not required however. The unit is meant to introduce the idea of a field through investigations of magnetic fields as produced by various common magnetic materials and direct currents.

HOT SPOTS

Eclipse Fact

Eclipse shadows travel at 1,100 miles per hour at the equator and up to 5,000 miles per hour near the poles.

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