Teacher's Guide

Astronomy Links

Use the links for your
own information, or
pass them along to 
students working on
research projects/
individual challenge
projects.

If you find a "broken
link," let me know!

Thanks - Sharon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Back to Contents Page

 If you would like more information on a topic dealing with space, space science, astronomy, or any related topic, please contact the Planetarium.

NASA, of course, is the first place to look for information about astronomy/space and  provides a wealth of information online.

One of the best NASA sites is SpaceLink, its on-line educational resource. A variety of curriculum materials, lesson plans, teacher activity guides and video resource guides are available on all grade levels relating space science to art, geography, history, language arts, math, the sciences and technology. In the sciences, the focus is on astronomy, chemistry, environmental science, geology, life sciences, microgravity, physical science and physics. If you want to obtain educational materials (videos, slides, printed material) at a nominal cost, then go to NASA's CORE - Central Operations of Resources for Educators.

Another excellent NASA site is Liftoff to Space Exploration, sponsored by the Marshall Space Flight Center. I also like Star Child: A Learning Center for Young Astronomers at the Goddard Space Flight Center, which provides two levels of activities. For ages 14 and up, check out Goddard's Imagine the Universe.  The Space Place at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is really kid-geared, with lots of web-based activities.

Many of these sites provide teachers' guides in PDF format, which you can download and print on your own printer. To do this, you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader - which can be downloaded for free.

 

I will be adding more teacher resource links as I come across them.

    Local/YSU
  • The Curriculum Resource Center - Be sure to visit the CRC in its new home in the Beeghly College of Education. If you haven't been there for a while, be sure to check it out . . . you'll be surprised at the wide range of teaching tools available.
  • The Youngstown Area Physics Alliance - if you're a beginning teacher or have been teaching for years, YAPA has something for you!


    • Research Links

  • ARROW - "Astronomy Related Resources on the Web"
  • Universe Today - space news from around the Internet, updated every weekday - maintains an extensive and comprehensive list of links in about any area of space science you can think of. The direct "link" to the link page is http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/.
  • Astronomical Pseudo-science: A Skeptic's Resource List from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
  • From Astronomy Picture of the Day, a list of links that excell in astronomy education
  • Science links from Bonnie - a pretty good list


    • Solar System/Earth Science/Space Science

  • NASA is My Playground
  • Exploring Planets in the Classroom - hands-on activities

    • The Solar System in Pictures - A site devoted to the solar system that contains more than 50 web pages, 200 pictures, and quizes on the solar system.
  • The Center for Science Education at the U.C. Berkeley Space Sciences Lab, along with its award-winning page Science On-Line
  • The Lunar Prospector project's Teacher's Guide to the Moon
  • NASA's Educational Program, a good starting page
  • One of the best sources on solar system information: The Nine Planets
  • The Education Forum from the NASA Office of Space Science and the Space Telescope Science Institute
  • Windows to the Universe, simply an excellent resource on Earth and Space Sciences from the University of Michigan: http://www.windows.umich.edu/
  • UNIVERSE: An educational forum exploring the horizons of time, space and matter; for high school or advanced middle school students
  • Solar System Live: An interactive orrery (model of the solar system). View where the planets are at this moment, or at any time in the past or in the future
  • Edu.space - Launched from the Hubble Space Telescope's educator page
  • Amazing Space: a set of web-based activities primarily designed for classroom use
  • The Challenger Center on-line - teacher resources for space science, including online links, student activities, classroom clip art, and much more
  • The Internet Space Station - Space science resources and activities for Grades K-6
  • Cosmic Kids - all about the Hubble Space Telescope
  • Think Space - a ThinkQuest student project; a good starting point for basic information
  • Solar System Exploration from the Jet Propulsion Lab - that's the NASA lab that manages most of the missions
  • Plugged In from the Girl Scouts - science topics with girls in mind
  • The StarDate Guide to the Solar System is a nice one-stop site for solar system information
  • Astronomy Magazine offers a quick introduction to the solar system on its Astro for Kids page - for upper elementary grades and older, nice graphics and clear information
  • K-12 activities, lesson plans and more from the Lunar and Planetary Institute


    • Stars, Constellations, Mythology

  • For basic information about stars and constellations, there's a nice page at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Characters of Greek Mythology - an extensive site and, from what I read, fairly accurate; I'd feel better if the author more clearly identified herself
  • The Mythology of the Constellations
  • Bullfinch's Mythology - online! The standard reference on mythology - now searchable, browsable, and on your desktop whenever you need it


    • Science Education

  • For lesson plans sent right to your mailbox, sign up for Science@NASA's Thursday's Classroom. Check out the web page at http://www.spacescience.com/
  • A Science Odyssey, from the PBS program produced by WBGH in Boston
  • KidSpace, from the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
  • The Exploratorium in San Fransico has several good spots; be sure to check out their Hands On Science Section
  • Frank Potter's Science Gems - covers all areas of science (and they're really gems!)
  • Astronomy Workshop from the University of Maryland - good refresher for teachers, has some hands-on activities
  • Teacher's guides from Netwon's Apple - a wide range of science topics
  • The Why Files - stories behind the headlines
  • Bill Nye the Science Guy - fun site
  • QUIA - an on-line quiz and game creation page for a variety of topics
  • The Space Science Education Resource Directory - an easy way to find NASA space science products for use in classrooms, science museums, planetariums, and other settings
  • The educational resource page from the American Astronomical Society; includes suggestions for grant writing
  • The Hands-On Technology (HOT) Program is a collaborative effort between AT&T and the Colts Neck , New Jersey public school system to expand their science program and introduce new technology into their curriculum. The page offers activities for the lower grades that have been tested in the public school system to ensure that they are interesting and reliable for children with a range of abilities. Lesson plans are included for physical sciences, earth sciences, life sciences, and math.


    • MISC

  • Tracking satellites - a great class project; customize for your grade level. Start at the new GSOC satellite predictions home page hosted by Heavens Above.
  • Need images from space? A good starting point is A Space Library, a mixture of space-related images and programs that will help you visualize the Solar System and NASA space missions using computer graphics.
  • For images of the planets, go to NASA's Planetary Photojournal.
  • For images of almost anything else space related, go to NASA's Image Exchange

    • WebBrain.com - a great search engine with extensive science links