Schools in the path of April's total solar eclipse prepare for a natural teaching moment
The total solar eclipse expected on April 8 already is inspiring school lessons in... Teachers in or near the path of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse have been teaching about the event, which has inspired lessons in science, literacy, and culture. Some schools in the eclipse's path have closed their doors that day to prevent crowds of people from gathering. Teachers in the path have created educational and engaging lessons for the rare event. The school system in Portville, New York, near the Pennsylvania line plans to load its 500 seventh- through-12th-grade students onto buses and drive them to an old horse barn overlooking a valley to trace the shadow of the eclipse as it arrives around 3:20 p.m. EST. The Dallas science teachers Anita Orozco and Katherine Roberts plan to teach their students about astronomy at the University of Dallas.
Pubblicato : 4 settimane fa di By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press in
Alex Impion, 12, shines a flashlight on a model moon held by Necmeddin Aljabri, 8, at Riverside Elementary School in Cleveland on March 14, 2024. The two were learning about the upcoming total solar eclipse, a topic that has challenged and inspired teachers in and near the eclipse's path. Students don eclipse viewing glasses in Cleveland elementary school teacher Nancy Morris' classroom on March 14, 2014 for a lesson on the upcoming total solar eclipse. Teachers in or near the path of totality say they have worked to come up with educational and engaging lessons for the rare event. Second-grade student Jose Byrd (black t-shirt with sun) and classmates try out eclipse viewing glasses that they decorated at Riverside Elementary School in Cleveland on March 14, 2024. Teachers in or near the path of totality say they have worked to come up with educational and engaging lessons for the rare event. Seventh-grade student Henry Cohen wears a shirt picturing the solar system as he takes part in activities at Riverside Elementary School in Cleveland in preparation for the upcoming total eclipse of the sun. Teachers in or near the path of totality say they have worked to come up with educational and engaging lessons for the rare event. Abdulrahman Aljabri, 14, uses a flashlight as students experiment with shadows at Riverside Elementary School in Cleveland on March 14, 2024. Students are learning about the upcoming total solar eclipse, a topic that has challenged and inspired teachers in and near the eclipse's path. Second-grade teacher Denise Novak watches students decorate eclipse viewing glasses at Riverside Elementary School in Cleveland on March 14, 2024. Teachers in or near the path of totality say they have worked to come up with educational and engaging lessons for the rare event. Planetarium Director Mark Percy leads a lesson at the Williamsville North High School planetarium in Williamsville, N.Y., on March 18, 2024, in preparation for the upcoming total solar eclipse. Teachers in or near the path of totality say they have worked to come up with educational and engaging lessons for the rare event. Students take in a lesson at the Williamsville North High School planetarium in Williamsville, N.Y., on March 18, 2024, in preparation for the upcoming total solar eclipse. Teachers in or near the path of totality say they have worked to come up with educational and engaging lessons for the rare event.
Henry and other classmates at Cleveland's Riverside School were on their feet, dancing during a session of activities tied to April's total solar eclipse. Second-graders invited in for the lessons sat cross-legged on the floor, laughing as they modeled newly decorated eclipse viewing glasses. Dioramas with softball-sized model earths and moons and flashlight “suns” occupied desks and shelves around the room.
For schools in or near the path of totality of the April 8 eclipse, the event has inspired lessons in science, literacy and culture. Some schools also are organizing group viewings for students to experience the awe of daytime darkness and learn about the astronomy behind it together.
A hair out of the path of totality, the school system in Portville, New York, near the Pennsylvania line, plans to load its 500 seventh- through 12th-grade students onto buses and drive about 15 minutes into the path, to an old horse barn overlooking a valley. There, they will be able to trace the shadow of the eclipse as it arrives around 3:20 p.m. EST.
It required rearranging the hours of the school day to remain in session, but Superintendent Thomas Simon said staff did not want to miss out on the learning opportunity, especially at a time when when students experience so much of life through screens.
“We want them to leave here that day feeling they’re a very small part of a pretty magnificent planet that we live on, and world that we live in, and that there’s some real amazing things that we can experience in the natural world,” Simon said.
Schools in Cleveland and some other cities in the eclipse's path will be closed that day so that students aren’t stuck on buses or in crowds of people expected to converge. At Riverside, Morris came up with a mix of crafts, games and models to educate and engage her students ahead of time.
Learning about phases of the moon and eclipses is built into every state’s science standards, said Dennis Schatz, past president of the National Science Teaching Association. Some school systems have their own planetariums — relics of the 1960s space race — where students can take in educational shows about astronomy.
Dallas science teachers Anita Orozco and Katherine Roberts plan to do just that at the Lamplighter School, arranging for the entire pre-K- through fourth-grade student body to watch it together outdoors. The teachers spent a Saturday in March at a teaching workshop at the University of Texas at Dallas where they were told it would be “almost criminal” to keep students inside.
“We want our students to love science as much as we do," Roberts said, "and we just want them understanding and also having the awe of how crazy this event is.”