If your experience is anything like mine, your students will struggle to understand why the Sun is the brightest star in our night sky, even though it is neither the largest nor the brightest star in the universe. How could that be?
No worries. I’ve got ya covered! Here are five easy ways to help teach the apparent brightness of stars.
1. Picture Book
This book helps students (and adults) make sense of the size of the universe.
It makes a great introduction to your study of the stars.
Try Your Place in the Universe by Jason Chin. It works up from the tiniest things to the largest.
2. Stars Phenomenon-based 5E Unit
Why is the Sun the largest and brightest star seen in our sky? This phenomenon-based unit helps students investigate the brightness and relative distances of stars through hands-on activities, a reading passage, a CER, and models.
“These are amazing. I use these as labs for whole-class instruction. The phenomenon actually hooks students, something our science curriculum is lacking. I feel this is helping prepare them better for state science testing in NY. I have now bought multiple items from this seller. My principals and superintendent have walked by student work completed in the hallway, and all have loved it.”
See it on TPT: Stars Unit
3. Stars Slides and Notes
Sometimes you need to directly teach concepts with visuals. That’s where these slides come in. Differentiated notes are included!
Topics
- What are Stars?
- The Sun
- Viewing Stars
- Brightness of Stars
- Energy of Stars
- Size of Stars
- Distance of Stars
See it on TPT: Stars Slides and Notes
4. Stars Flipbook
Who doesn’t love a good flipbook?!
We create a Stars Flipbook together after we’ve settled into our unit.
The flipbook has five tabs. We talk about what a star is, life cycles of a star, apparent brightness, constellations, and of course our Sun! My students love being able to create their own book with drawings and notes that they can share with their caregivers. It’s a handy tool for studying and preparing students for assessments.
See it on TPT: Stars Flipbook
5. Stars Task Cards
Review vocabulary and content with rigorous task cards. Vocabulary Task Cards focus on vocab, while Test Prep Task Cards focus on tricky content.
“My students LOVE task cards! I hang them up around the room and let them explore and answer. These cards allowed my students to really think about what was being asked and helped them persevere and use test-taking strategies.”
“This was such an easy way to review content before tests. The format is very easy to read and the content covers everything I’ve taught! Will definitely use these again!”
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