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OVERVIEW
Level: High School (grades 9 - 12)
PREPARATION TIME:
Approximately 2 hours prep time for the
instructor, and 5-7 class periods for student activities.
CLASS TIME: Approximately 5-7 periods
total: with 2-3 class periods to cover self- guided
sections on History and Modern Research; 1-2 class periods to
conduct research activity and interpret /analyze results; and 1 class
period to report, collect, and discuss results for entire class.
Additional time may be needed to prepare reports or have student
presentations.
VOCABULARY: The Sunspots lesson has an on-line Glossary of Solar Science
Terms.
TEACHER'S PROCEDURES
- Familiarize yourself: Go through the Sunspots lesson's Introduction,
History, and Modern Research sections on-line.
The Sunspots
Content Outline may be of help with this. Use the Java applet
in the Activity section (click the gray "launch
program" button on page 2
of the Activity section). Additional Java activity instructions
are on page 3 of the Activity section.
- Plan a course: Read the Teacher
Resource page which provides suggestions on setup, procedures,
class organization, activities, and
advice on using the Java program. Plan the sequencing and duration of
your lesson based on the material to be used, the time available and the technology configuration of the
classroom. (see example in step 6 and Alternatives
below).
- Print and photocopy: Choose
which student worksheets you need for use with
the History, Modern Research and Activity sections:
- Technical preparation: Bookmark the Sunspots lesson
on all computers. For the Research activity, make sure the
computers have browsers capable of running Java applets, that
Java is enabled. If
desired and needed, install the required plug-ins to
run the QuickTime and RealMedia Player features. It might be
helpful to cache the QuickTime movie and RealMedia Player
interviews by downloading them onto the computer hard drives
ahead of time. School technical support personnel may be
able to assist with this and other technical
requirements.
- Presentation: Below is an example of how the lesson can be
presented in a 7-day period, based on daily class periods of 45 minutes each:
| Class 1:
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Introduce the subject of the sun and the topic of sunspots. Use some of the questions from the
Pre
or Post
Test to engage students in discussing their pre-
existing knowledge and ideas about the sun and
sunspots. Create research teams of 2-3 students. Have students read the History section on-line and
complete the Dawn of Sun Science
work sheet.
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| Class 2:
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Finish the History section and follow-up with classroom
discussion. Begin the Modern Research
section. Students may use the Researcher Qualifications
and/or write a Solar Research Proposal as
a higher-level thinking activity.
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| Class 3:
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Hands-on activity: Use a telescope or
binoculars mounted on a tripod to project the image of the sun
onto paper for safe viewing. See Safe
Sunspot Viewing instructions. (Actual viewing day may
depend on conditions.)
Report, collect, discuss activity results with entire class.
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| Class 4:
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Finish the Modern Research section. Discuss graphing and
the concept of testing for a correlation.
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| Class 5:
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Demonstrate Java applet and have students
begin the research activity.
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| Class 6:
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Students conduct the research activity
using the Java applet in
the Activity section and analyze their team's results.
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| Class 7:
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Class discussion of individual team
findings and differences. Students give presentations. Lesson
conclusion.
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Alternatives:
Jigsaw: Students can use the Sunspots
Researcher Qualifications handout to focus on topics about the
sun and sunspots in the MODERN RESEARCH section. Students or
teams can research one or more questions, and then teach peers what they have learned by making classroom
presentations. Students can make visual aids using butcher paper and
colored pens, clear film and pens for overhead transparencies, or
use PowerPoint (or similar program) if available.
Following Spots: Students can record sunspot observations
for several days and develop theories about what trends they see,
e.g. changes in sunspot numbers, positions, and shapes and what is
happening.
Plotting against time: Students not familiar with
correlation may benefit from making graphs of the total sunspot
or x-ray areas against date first, using the appropriately
labeled worksheets: Sunspot Area vs. Date
and X-ray Area vs. Date. See these
examples using typical measurements: Sunspot
Areas and X-ray
active areas.
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STUDENT'S PROCEDURES
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The students participate in introduction and discussion. Teams log-on
to the Sunspots Web site and use worksheets in a self-guided
exploration of the HISTORY section.
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Students begin self-guided study of the MODERN RESEARCH section.
There are two worksheets students can use in self-guided
exploration of the MODERN RESEARCH section. Students prepare any
presentations for proposals or jigsaw teaching.
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After finishing the HISTORY section, and before
finishing MODERN RESEARCH, students use a telescope or
binoculars mounted on a tripod to project the image of the sun
onto paper for safe viewing and recording. See Safe
Sunspot Viewing instructions.
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Students complete work on the MODERN RESEARCH section. Classroom presentations
and jigsaw activities.
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In the ACTIVITY section, students use the Java program
(applet) to: 1.) measure the areas of sunspots and x-ray active areas in
pairs of visible and x-ray images of the sun, and 2.) compare them to
determine whether they are correlated. Students measure areas by
"painting" with the mouse. The applet provides options of
recording and plotting x-ray vs. sunspot areas. Students can
also make plots
against time using appropriate time-plot worksheets.
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Students make any final presentations on their research. Teams compare graphing results and discuss their
interpretations of the plots, and brainstorm about reasons for
differences, e.g. systematic differences in the way groups
measured.
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