Stellarium

Stars in the sky: what's up?

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Lesson idea. Lesson plan and suggested activity to explore the use of a planetarium to encourage students to think about astronomy.

Teaching approach. This activity offers an opportunity for whole class^(ta) discussion^(ta) and questioning^(ta) centred around the use of the Stellarium. It also affords good opportunities for self-directed study or homework^(ta) extensions, including perhaps the use of free mobile apps^(tool) (see below). There are also opportunities for some cross curricula⁽ⁱ⁾ discussion of geography (navigation by stars) and history or literacy in relation to the ancient world.

Resource details
Title	What's up?
Topic	[[Topics/Astronomy|Astronomy]]
Teaching approach	[[Teaching Approaches/Homework|Homework]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Questioning|Questioning]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Whole class|Whole class]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Discussion|Discussion]]
Learning Objectives	Students will learn that: That we can see stars in the night sky, as well as the moon and some planets; Some ways in which stars, planets, and the moon differ from each other; The difference between reflecting and emitting light; The definition of a constellation; and The shapes and stories of some currently visible constellations.
Subject	[[Resources/Science|Science]]
Age of students / grade	[[Resources/Primary|Primary]]
Additional Resources/material needed	You need planetarium application, like Stellarium. If you want to use/encourage students to continue to explore some apps for astronomy some examples are: Google Sky (for Android), SkyMap (for Windows Phone), Astro App (for iphone/ipad). There are almost certainly others available (and this selection only offers free apps).
Files and resources to view and download	Suggested Activity Stellarium/activity Suggested Activity Stellarium/about