To support your astronomy curriculum, check out the following Websites for science project ideas, lesson plans, and more. Note, while Spaced Out: A Cosmic Scene provides links to these web-based resources that we feel are appropriate, we cannot guarantee that all the content presented in these web resources is scientifically accurate. As an educator it is your responsibility to verify the accuracy of all resources used with your students.

Ask an Astrophysicist:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/ask_an_astronomer.html

Background Information for Teachers on Light and Sound Waves:

The Nature of a Wave – with animations
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/waves/U10L1a.cfm

Wave Content Outlined – great teacher resource
http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/feschools/waves/waves.htm

Wave Propagation – great animation and slow motion video

1. …breaking of a light bulb
2. …inverse square law
3. …ripple by a milk drop
4. …shock wave

http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/feschools/waves/propagation.htm

Waves on a String – great animation and slow motion video
http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/feschools/waves/string.htm#elastic1

Lesson Ideas on Electromagnetic Spectrum – waves of energy
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/activities/electromagneticspectrum/#aca

Electromagnetic waves – has an applet to show different frequencies and explains what a wave is:
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/waves_particles/index.html

Good Vibrations -- Waves all around. Background information and lesson ideas to help students master the notion that waves are vibrations and travel in all directions. Document is 37 pages in length with teacher background information, student activities and assessment suggestion. Answers provided for all student questions presented. http://www.bishopmuseum.org/education/pdf/tsunami-lesson1.pdf

How can wave behavior help us find planets around distant stars?
http://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/bitstream/2014/16872/1/99-0281.pdf

This lesson introduces students to the electromagnetic spectrum (focusing on visible light) and the wave nature of light. Students will be introduced to the idea that all light travels as waves, and that wavelength defines the various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Interactive Internet resources are used in this lesson. Found at Ohio Resource Center - ORC# 4642
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?DocID=182

Sun As a Star: Science Learning Activities for Afterschool - The Sun As a Star activities teach concepts related to the sun with opportunities for the students to investigate each idea. Most of the nine sequential activities can be completed in about one hour.
Here you can download a 37-page teacher resource guide, which suggest 9 activities you can do with your students, many of these activities support information presented in Spaced Out: A Cosmic Scene episodes.

• Activities 2, 3, 7, 8 can be used with Spaced Out episodes 6 and 8
• Activity 4 can be used with Spaced Out episode 1 and 2
• Activities 5 and 6 can be used with Spaced Out episode 4

Bringing in the Mathematics of Wave Propagation

Resource for explaining light and sound waves. Has an applet which shows how waves move up and down and not laterally. Good use for mathematics graphic interpretation.
http://home.cord.edu/faculty/manning/physics215/studentpages/angieevanson.html

On-line Physics Tutorial – look to chapters 8, 9, and 10 for waves, sound and light.
http://library.thinkquest.org/10796/index.html

Overview of waves, types of waves and measuring waves with a self-quiz at the end.
http://library.thinkquest.org/10796/ch8/ch8.htm

Overview of sound waves: measuring and Doppler effect (introduces some math) with a self-quiz at the end.
http://library.thinkquest.org/10796/ch9/ch9.htm#Doppler

Overview of light waves and description of dispersion in all directions and use of the inverse square rule, with a self-quiz at the end.
http://library.thinkquest.org/10796/ch10/ch10.htm

Geometry and Algebraic formula for spherical point wave source. Teachers can adapt the mathematics to meet student skills.
http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/pasp/Spherical_Waves_Point_Source.html

Explanation and diagram for inverse square law of acoustics
http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/acoustic_IOI/101_5.htm

Inverse square law calculator and explanation for light
http://www.intl-lighttech.com/library/calculators/inverse_calc

Inverse Square law calculator and explanation for sound (added dimension of sound measured in decibels).
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-squarelaw.htm

Understanding Science - How Science Really Works

This web resource is excellent for bringing into focus Ohio’s science standards History and Nature of Science, Science as Inquiry, and Science and Technology. This website provides exemplary lessons by grade bands, research findings on how students learn science and suggestions for adapting lessons to meet student needs.
http://undsci.berkeley.edu/

Sound travels better through solids? No.
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/miscon/miscon4.html#sound

Light and Radio waves always travel at the “speed of light”.
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/miscon/miscon4.html#radio

Common misconceptions about sound and light: Children’s ideas of science – AAAS developed
http://homepage.mac.com/vtalsma/syllabi/2943/handouts/misconcept.html#sound

Student’s ideas about sound and suggestions on correcting misconceptions
http://www.rpdp.net/sciencetips_v2/P12C1.htm#misconcept

List of misconceptions in Physics – page 4 identifies misconceptions for waves
http://phys.udallas.edu/C3P/Preconceptions.pdf

Common Misconceptions in Astronomy

The table provides common misconceptions and explains the correct reasoning. Scroll down through table to find misconceptions of distances in the universe to star spectrum. Table produced by Cengage Learning to supplement textbook on astronomy.
http://www.brookscole.com/astronomy_d/templates/student_resources/053439549X_pasachoff/miscon/miscon.html

Ohio Resource Center has identified misconceptions which may relate to content taught in earlier grades. ORC recommended resources to help correct student misconceptions. These resources and lesson ideas should be incorporated into instruction in a way that is developmentally appropriate and that corrects misconceptions as a part of standards-based instruction.
http://www.ohiorc.org/pm/science/SciCDMisconceptions.aspx?cid=10

Students should have some prior knowledge of atoms, elements, periodic table, use of prisms, and the electromagnetic spectrum.

Here are a number of strategies and activities you might use to help uncover student misconceptions, the level of student learning and areas in which students might need further instruction.

The use of graphic organizers can be used as pre-assessment activities (or formative assessments, if we use the results to help us plan!), as embedded assessment strategies and even as final assessment assignments. The most common graphic organizers are the KWL charts and Venn diagrams. The “freeology” website (http://freeology.com/) has a large variety of graphic organizers that are downloadable. This site also provides a very brief explanation of how to use each graphic organizer.

Video Post-Viewing Assessment:

The "Give One; Get One" (http://freeology.com/graphicorgs/page6.php) summary strategy is a useful tool to identify what the students have retained from the information in the video. Provide the students with a grid of twelve squares. In any three squares, the students record three different facts or ideas that they remember from the video. The students then begin to ask their classmates to fill in the other squares with information from the video that has not yet been recorded on the grid. Each classmate can fill in only one square on an individual's grid, but students can add information to as many different grids as they want. The grid can now be used in a variety of ways, such as notes for the students as they write a summary of the information addressed in the video.

Pre-Assessment:

Waves and Vibration -- sound pre-test ideas - https://www.msu.edu/~sampeerk/Me/Portfolio%20docs/waves/pre_test_interviews.htm

After the first viewing of Episode 1

Video Talking Points:

Show Episode 1 again, this time stopping the video at some of the Talking Points mentioned in the teacher video. Engage and challenge the students to explain what was just said. Ask them if they can provide any proof to validate the statements.

Brainstorming:

We suggest teachers engage students in an open discussion about light and sound waves. For example, you could ask questions like -

• Can light harm you? If so, How? Why?
• Can sound harm you? If so, How? Why?
• Can you feel light? Can you see light? If there is no light, what can you see?
• Can you feel sound? Can you hear sound?

All About Waves - http://www.teamvideo.net/notes/waves2.pdf
This site could be used as a self-paced review for students. The web link is in the form of a Powerpoint presentation. Suggest teachers review resources to determine its appropriateness for class.

Embedded Assessment:

• As you enter into discussion with the students at the various talking points of the video you should take note of student responses. Their responses can provide you with valuable insight on what they already understand, what misconceptions they have and what is of greatest interest to them.

During every lesson and activity you do with the students ask them to explain what they are doing and what they are learning about light and sound waves. Ask them to relate this knowledge to things they have experienced.

Gorilla Re-enactment:
Take the students to the gym and have them form a circle around you, say ten feet away from you. Draw a 3’ circle around yourself and drop a box of paper (10 reams) from a height of 3 feet in this circle. Have the students share what they experience. Make sure to solicit from them “how do you know?” for each of their observations.

Have the circle of students move out to 20 feet from you. Drop the box again from the same height. This can be repeated again at 30’. You should anticipate that the students will agree that the vibrations felt are getting less intense. Now ask the students what moved? Did the floor within the 3’ circle move towards them?

This particular demonstration develops the concept that waves carry energy and it is the energy wave which moves outwards.

Throughout this unit of study student/teacher interaction is encouraged at every stage. Thus, teachers will know when and to what degree students grasp the concept. After the hands-on activities, students should be provided with some articles which speak to propagation of light and sound waves. Through group reports or demonstrations, students can explain how astronomers are able to determine distances in the world around us.

Doing a web-quest unit with your students could serve as either a form of embedded assessment or a final project. Self-paced directed web-quest lesson on Waves: Light and Sound. Internet treasure hunt. Students maintain note books and look for answers to questions. Might need to adapt to level of students’ ability.
http://www.schenectady.k12.ny.us/users/title3/Future%20Grant%20Projects/Projects/waves/Final%20Project/light%20and%20sound.htm

Stunt Park and Wave Hero In Stunt Park: Students get to drive a car through a bunch of different stunt maneuvers and answer science questions as they proceed. Wave Hero helps students to visualize the propagation of energy through a medium in the form of a wave. In this game students get to play a guitar and see the sound waves move through the air. Visit the 3D Stand-alone Educational Module Website

Post- Assessment:

NAEP assessment question on energy waves: This constructed-response question asks students to explain what causes the sound made by a bell and how the sound travels across a room. A completely correct response for this question demonstrates understanding of how sound is produced and how sound travels.
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrls/portal.asp?questionlist=2000-8S21:7

OGT Spring test item question:
https://ims.ode.state.oh.us/ODE/IMS/Assessment/Web_Content/CSC_AI_200803_GR10_14.pdf
http://ims.ode.state.oh.us/ODE/IMS/Assessment/Content/CSC_AI_200603_GR10_40.pdf
http://ims.ode.state.oh.us/ODE/IMS/Assessment/Content/CSC_AI_200603_GR10_33.pdf

Benchmarks and Grade Level Indicators Addressed In Video and Related Activities:

SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS

Waves in the Standards:

Grade 8:

1. Demonstrate waves transfer energy
2. Demonstrate that vibrations in materials may produce waves that spread away from the source in all directions. (e.g. earthquake waves and sounds waves)

Grade 9:

1. Demonstrate that electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy. Recognize that light acts as a wave. Show that visible light is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays)
2. Show how the properties of a wave depend on the properties of the medium through which it travels. Recognize that electromagnetic waves can be propagated without a medium. (This seems to be the first real talk of ‘properties’ and inference of wavelength, speed of propagation. In 5th grade there is some talk of frequency in terms of vibrations and pitches.)
3. Describe how waves can superimpose on one another when propagated in the same medium. Analyze conditions in which waves can bend around cornets, reflect off surfaces, are absorbed by materials they enter, and change direction and speed when entering a different material.

MATHEMATICS CONTENT STANDARDS

Number, Number Sense and Operations 8-10

Data Analysis and Probability 8-10

E. Evaluate the validity of claims and predictions that are based on data by examining the appropriateness of the data collection and analysis.

F. Construct convincing arguments based on analysis of data and interpretation of data.

Grade Level Indicators – grade 8

9. Construct convincing arguments based on analysis of data and interpretation of graphs.

Science and Mathematics Standards Addressed through Suggested Teacher Interaction with Students:

Science and Technology

Students should recognize that science and technology are interconnected and that using technology involves assessment of the benefits, risks, and costs. Students should build scientific and technological knowledge, as well as the skill required to design and construct devices. In addition, they should develop the processes to solve problems and to understand that problems may be solved in several ways.

Scientific Inquiry

Students develop scientific habits of mind as they use the processes of scientific inquiry to ask valid questions, and to gather and analyze information. They understand how to develop hypotheses and make predictions. They are able to reflect on scientific practices as they develop plans of action to create and evaluate a variety of conclusions. Students are also able to demonstrate the ability to communicate their findings to others.

Scientific Ways of Knowing

Students realize that the current body of scientific knowledge must be based on evidence, be predictive, logical, subject to modification, and limited to the natural world. This includes demonstrating an understanding that scientific knowledge grows and advances as new evidence, is discovered to support or modify existing theories, as well as to encourage the development of new theories. Students are able to reflect on ethical scientific practices and demonstrate an understanding of how the current body of scientific knowledge reflects the historical and cultural contributions of women and men who provide us with a more reliable and comprehensive understanding of the natural world.