2017 Solar Eclipse

Our entire school system received eclipse viewing glasses, so August 21st it was game on!  We only saw a 90% eclipse, but it was still exciting.  Students in grades 2-5 went outside, while K-gr.1 stayed inside watching live feeds and eating Moon Pies and drinking Capri Suns!  I really enjoyed seeing the students’ amazement and surprise as they watched the progression of the eclipse.  I had practiced with nearly all of the classes in the 2 weeks leading up to the eclipse.  They used glasses and pin hole cameras made of cereal boxes.  We also practiced directing the sun through binoculars onto paper for a different view.  They used all of these methods on the day.

 

Nothing says “solar eclipse” like a t-shirt and a special eclipse doughnut from Krispy Kreme! Chocolate glazed…mmmm.

It was very hot and humid so standing around in black t-shirts was a questionable decision, but hey, it’s only a once in a life time event for many.

I like the expression on their faces!

One 5th grade class made eclipse t-shirts for the occation.

Students used the cereal box pin hole cameras they made to get a different view of the sun.

We also used binoculars to get a glimpse of the eclipse.

I used white paper to show the eclipse shaped projected through the leaves of the tree.

I showed students how to create the sun’s image through their crossed fingers.

We will be gathering students and staff reaction to the solar eclipse experience using Flipgrid and will share the link as more responses are ready.

Preparing for the Solar Eclipse 2017

We, in Albany, Georgia, are not in the path of totality of the August 21st solar eclipse, but the sun will be 90% eclipsed here.  Our school system has decided to extend the school day for students from 2:30 to 3:30 to avoid children being transported on buses during the eclipse.  I wanted to get the students excited now!

I’ve adapted this lesson for the different grade levels and varying amounts of time I have with a class.  I’ve now decided that all classes grades 1-5 will practice viewing the sun safely up until the day of the eclipse.

I started out with a fifth grade class on Monday and they used my Livebinder to access a online dictionary to look up the word eclipse and view a brief video from USA Today.  They recorded one fact they learned from the video.  I did this as a whole group activity (using the projector and screen) for the younger grades or if I didn’t have sufficient time with the older students.

One student made a cereal box eclipse viewer, which we then used to view the sun.

I’ve adapted this lesson through out the week and of course some days we couldn’t practice because it got cloudy!  But hopefully all the classes will have the opportunity to practice with the eclipse glasses (which they will all have on the 21st), a cereal box viewer, and binocular viewing before eclipse day.

Almost every time they see the sun through the glasses, they say “Wow,” “Cool,” or “Whoa!”  (By the way the boys not using the glasses are swatting away gnats….it’s a south Georgia phenomenon).
We experimented to see if you could take a photo of the projection of the sun inside the cereal box viewer and you can!  We’ll be ready to record the different shapes of the sun as it makes it way to 90% of being obscured.The binocular projection method is trickier, but they all loved it when we were successfully in projecting the sun on the paper.

I can’t wait!