I have always admired the sky. I do not think enough people stop and look up. I am constantly telling my fiancé to look at the sky and how beautiful it is. He often gives me a one-word response such as nice, or yep. I wish more people enjoyed such beauty that nature provides. I think living near the city is often why people often forget to look up because you do not see as much as out in the country. I took a trip to Glacier National Park last year. We always went to bed before the night fell dark except one night. We were driving back to our campsite and had an argument upon arrival. When we stepped out of the car both of us stopped arguing as the view was out of the world. There were so many stars that were filling the night sky it took our breath away. It was so bright and beautiful. I was showing my fiancé the different stars, plants, satellites, and constellations that were visible. I am always amazed by what goes on up there, it truly is remarkable. That is why I chose the topic constellations.
Below is a link to an interactive map to look at constellations in the night sky. There are many out there here is just one.
https://in-the-sky.org/skymap.php
What do I already know about this topic?
I took astronomy in middle school and high school. I also took a course in college. I also enjoy going to planetariums and watching the starry night shows. When there are things happening up in the sky I try to check it out. I know there are 12 constellations in the Western Zodiac. They are, Aries, taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo. Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. A constellation is a group of stars. They move across the sky from east to west and are visible during certain months. People normally associate their birthday with a Zodiac Constellation. Mine is Aquarius. I know the stars are very important to early farmers, explores, and travelers. I know a few other constellations not a part of the Zodiac Sign. They are the Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and Cassiopeia constellations. I did a project in middle school of Cassiopeia. It is a group of stars that forms a "w" stretched out. I feel like I know the some of the basics and maybe can identify parts of other constellations in the night sky but not the mythology.
What is the mythology behind each constellation in the Western Zodiac?
What are the other constellations not a part of the Western Zodiac?
How do/did explorers use the constellations?
Who discovered the Western Zodiac Signs?
Resources to further help my research:
Hi Cassandra! I love this inquiry topic. I know little to nothing about constellations, I could barely tell you where the little dipper is so your blog post will teach me a lot more! Leaving the questions at the end of this blog post gives me some insight on what you will explore moving forward! I am excited to learn more as the semester goes on. Again, I love the topic and the aesthetic of your blog post!
ReplyDeleteHey Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting blog topic! I love constellations, I have the Aquarius one tattooed on my arm, but I don't actually know all that much about them. When I'm outside at night at work I can almost always find the big (or little?) dipper in the sky and I love to sit there for a minute and look up at all the stars so I'm glad I'm going to get to know more about them and hope to be able to identify more soon!
Perhaps a challenge to coordinate, but this feels like a perfect opportunity to schedule field trip with students to the Milwaukee Astronomical Society's Observatory! Or even the one on UWM's campus!
ReplyDeleteI love that idea! Thanks. I remember going to one when I was in school!
DeleteHi Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic, and I'm excited to see your future posts on it. I have also always found astronomy to be interesting. When I was younger my dad would look up when satellites would be passing over our house and we would go outside to see them pass. I also like the style you picked for your blog the pictures are a nice touch.
Hey Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteThis is such a cool topic to be working on for educational texts. I never thought of astronomy in this way before. In addition, there are some many cool projects you could do with your students on this. One that comes to mind is you could have students research stars that are apart of a constellation and at the end have them put them all together to form it. I look forward to reading more!
I didn't think of doing that project! That sounds like a great idea! thank you.
DeleteHi Cassandra. I think the idea of combining constellations with myth and narrative writing has so much potential for literacy learning. I look forward to seeing what texts you gather together in your text set (blog post #3) for students to read/view on this topic.
ReplyDelete