Teacher Resources The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. Find Library of Congress lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards, and the standards of national organizations. Discover and discuss ways to bring the power of Library of Congress primary sources into the classroom. Go to the blog Subscribe to the blog via e-mail or RSS. Using Primary Sources Discover quick and easy ways to begin using primary sources in your classroom, with teachers' guides, information on citing sources and copyright, and the Library's primary source analysis tool. TPS Partners The Teaching with Primary Sources Program builds partnerships with educational organizations to support effective instruction using primary sources. The Teaching with Primary Sources Journal
Your Age on Other Worlds Want to melt those years away? Travel to an outer planet! <div class="js-required"><hr> This Page requires a Javascript capable browser <hr></div> Fill in your birthdate below in the space indicated. (Note you must enter the year as a 4-digit number!) Click on the "Calculate" button. The Days (And Years) Of Our Lives Looking at the numbers above, you'll immediately notice that you are different ages on the different planets. The earth is in motion. The top-like rotation of the earth on its axis is how we define the day. The revolution of the earth around the sun is how we define the year. We all learn in grade school that the planets move at differing rates around the sun. Why the huge differences in periods? Johannes Kepler Tycho Brahe Kepler briefly worked with the great Danish observational astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Here you see a planet in a very elliptical orbit. Kepler's third law is the one that interests us the most. The Gravity Of The Situation Isaac Newton ©2000 Ron Hipschman
Bad Astronomy A new paper just published in the prestigious Astrophysical Journal makes a stunning claim: There are 10 times as many galaxies in the Universe as we previously thought. At least. The total number comes in at about 2 trillion of them. Now, let me be clear. This doesn’t meant the Universe is 10 times bigger than we thought, or there are 10 times as many stars. What the astronomers did was look at extremely deep images of the Universe taken in surveys, for example the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. That’s a lot of galaxies. Surveys like the UDF are limited. The astronomers who did this research had an interesting problem. The answer is two-fold. Those numbers change with distance. At the same time, these faint galaxies are easier to see close to us, and harder farther away. They calculated this for all kinds of galaxies, right down to really small ones with about a million times the mass of the Sun. And that’s how they found that there are at least 2 trillion galaxies in the Universe.
The Earth and Beyond Welcome to The Earth and Beyond Hello, my name is Tim O'Brien. I'm an astronomer working at The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory. As an astronomer my job is to try and understand how the universe works and my main interest is why some stars explode - more about this later! I also get to visit lots of schools and share amazing facts with children and teachers about the Sun, Earth and Moon, the stars and planets, and the Universe as we know it! Now, in the Children’s University, I can share the excitement with you. Exploding stars You may know the names of some patterns of stars (called constellations) such as Orion or the Great Bear. This picture shows Orion the Hunter and Taurus the Bull with the position of an exploded star known as the Crab Nebula. We're all made of stars Understanding why stars explode is very important because most of the chemical elements (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and so on) were made inside stars and are spread out into space when they explode.
Lesson Plans - Lesson Plan Back to Classroom Materials Teacher-created, classroom-tested lesson plans using primary sources from the Library of Congress. African American History American History American Indian History American Revolution Arts & Culture City & Regional History Civil War Culture & Folklife Discovery and Exploration Government, Law & Politics Immigration & Ethnic Heritage Maps & Geography News, Journalism & Advertising Oral Histories Photographs, Prints, and Posters Poetry and Literature Science, Technology & Business Sports, Recreation & Leisure Women's History World History & Cultures World War I World War II Top Three Worlds Meet, Beginnings to 1620
Your Weight on Other Worlds Ever wonder what you might weigh on Mars or The Moon? Here's your chance to find out. <div class="js-required"><hr> This Page requires a Javascript capable browser <hr></div> Fill in your weight below in the space indicated. You can enter your weight in any unit you wish. Click on the "Calculate" button. Mass and Weight Before we get into the subject of gravity and how it acts, it's important to understand the difference between weight and mass. We often use the terms "mass" and "weight" interchangeably in our daily speech, but to an astronomer or a physicist they are completely different things. Weight is an entirely different thing. If you are in a spaceship far between the stars and you put a scale underneath you, the scale would read zero. The Relationship Between Gravity and Mass and Distance As stated above, your weight is a measure of the pull of gravity between you and the body you are standing on. The two "M's" on top are your mass and the planet's mass. Isaac Newton
Peering into the darkness: modelling black holes in primary school By Monica Turner Black holes Close to the singularity, gravity is so strong that nothing can escape. The escape velocity would need to be higher than the speed of light – so not even light can escape, which is why the black hole is black. (It is not actually a hole, though: there is a lot in there, although we cannot see it.) At a certain distance from the singularity, gravity is weak enough to allow light to escape, thus objects beyond this distance are visible. Activity 1: Modelling the formation of a black hole This activity will demonstrate to students how a black hole is formed through the collapse of a massive star, once the core of the star is unable to support the weight of the outer layers of gas surrounding it. Materials Each working group will need: A balloon A few sheets of aluminium foil, each approximately 30 cm square A pin for popping the balloon. Method Have the students inflate the balloon and tie it closed. Discussion Activity 2: Modelling the action of a black hole Review
Mapping History | DocsTeach: Activities: Create Choose a set of documents to locate on a historic or outline map. Plot primary sources around the map and ask students to form geographic conclusions; ask students to analyze documents and position them on the map; or use the drawing tools to visualize geographic or manmade features. Learning Objectives and Historical Thinking Skills Mapping History activities teach students to use geographic information and information gleaned from primary sources to formulate historical conclusions. Mapping History activities teach students to use geographic information and information gleaned from primary sources to formulate historical conclusions. Mapping History activities can help students visualize geography and understand the themes of place and location. A teacher may choose a historical map or a blank outline map as the background for the activity. Students can practice forming historical conclusions about geographic regions through Mapping History.
Leva i rymden - Tekniska museet Livet på en rymdstation kan låta lockande och häftigt men det är dock väldigt speciellt och krävande av individerna som tränas långt i förväg. Tyngdlösheten påverkar allt astronauterna gör ombord, hur de äter, dricker, sover och arbetar. Rymdstationen ISS befinner sig 400 km från jorden, vilket är ungefär samma avstånd som mellan Stockholm och Göteborg. För astronauterna ser vår planet ut som ett blått klot omgivet av atmosfären. Tyngdlösheten påverkar kroppen Livet på en rymdstation blir väldigt speciellt på grund av tyngdlösheten. Rymdmaten Christer Fuglesangs granola från en av hans rymdresor. Astronauterna äter frystorkad eller konserverad mat. Vatten i rymden Vatten som behövs för astronauternas överlevnad måste fraktas från jorden till ISS. Rymdstationernas framtid Astronauternas liv i rymden kan bli annorlunda i framtiden. Textbearbetning: Alexandra Selivanova
ConnectED – Déjà vu All Over Again Earlier this week, I was fortunate to have an invitation to the White House to attend the President Obama’s announcement of the Future Ready Schools Initiative as part of the administration’s ConnectED program. One hundred school superintendents were also in the audience as part of the first-ever Superintendents’ Summit at the White House, which served as the kickoff to the initiative. During the ceremony the superintendents signed a pledge – on their tablets – that proclaimed their commitment to ensuring their districts were Future Ready with broadband connections to the classroom, digital content for their students, devices to support the curriculum materials and professional development for their teachers so they are supported in using technology effectively for teaching and learning activities. What this part of the administration’s ConnectED initiative recognizes is that leadership counts when change is happening. Image by K.W.
Google Sky Image may be subject to copyright Terms of Use Bild från: DSS Consortium, SDSS, NASA/ESA