Astronomy: Earth's motions
These resources support teachers and students as they learn about Earth's motions in high school Earth Science classes.
Included Resources
This comprehensive resource is created and shared by the Earth Science Department of the Hommocks school district in New York. This comprehensive site shares labs, animations, video reviews and handouts. This particular link directs to a page sharing resources that explore major concepts associated with the study of earth's motions, including the rotation and revolution of the Earth, its tilted orbit, the seasons, the apparent path of the Sun, Moon, and stars, and the changing appearance of shadows. Use the menu on the left side of the page to access resources on other topics in astronomy such as the universe, galaxies and stars, the solar system, and the Earth's moon.
This map shows the boundary of where night starts and day begins all over the world. The teacher or the student can interact with this map by changing the month of the year as well as the specific time. Shared by Academo.
Scope and Sequence connection: 8:3 The Sun, Earth and Moon System.
This "Tide-O-Matic" experiment from Exploratorium describes how to build a simple model to explore the influence of the sun and moon on our tides. In most places on the earth, where the ocean meets the land, there are two high tides and two low tides each day. This activity models the equilibrium theory of tides, showing why there are two tide cycles per day, why the heights of the tides change over the course of a month, and why the tides occur about an hour later each day.
Scope and Sequence connection: 8:3 The Sun, Earth and Moon System.
In this unit students study the Sun, the cause of seasons on earth, and the relationship between the Sun and Earth in space. Students learn about solar features, how they are studied and how the electromagnetic spectrum is used to study other objects in space. This guide is written in the format of an interactive notebook; students are encouraged to predict, explore (through labs and drawings) then sum up what they've learned. The lessons are structured to encourage inquiry; activities before teaching concepts and concepts before teaching vocabulary. Provided by NASA.
Scope and Sequence connection: 8:3 The Sun, Earth and Moon System.
This document shares an overview of the WeTeachNYC collection for high school astronomy students learning about Earth's motions.
This collection is also included in these collections: