Didn't catch the last solar eclipse? Now every day can be eclipse day, thanks to an interactive instructional activity from PBS' Space series for middle schoolers! The well-rounded multi-media experience includes video clips, an interactive, and background reading.

Concepts

solar eclipses, the earth, the moon, the sun, the solar system, the earth's axis, rotations, the earth's orbit, orbiting, the earth's tilt

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Perform the modeling activity after the video to give students a sense of the sun-moon-Earth interaction
• Show the portion of the video that includes people's reactions to the eclipse as an opener for instant engagement
  

Classroom Considerations

• Before beginning the lesson, make sure pupils understand that the moon does not give off its own light
• Individuals need computers with Internet access for three class periods
  

Pros

• Amazing images give the activity a big wow factor
• Supplemental materials are easy to locate and well-written
  

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.6-8.2