Science, Earth and Space Science, Science and Technology

Grade 3- 5

Objective

In this activity, students will use a Web site to connect with a satellite and view Earth at any moment, and use their knowledge of latitude and longitude to view different positions of Earth.

Directions

The students can work on this activity independently or with a partner. Begin by giving an introductory lesson showing the Web site and the variety of activities one can do with it.
Demonstrate for students how to access the Earth and Moon Viewer Web site through the
Teacher Created Materials Web site for this book:
Go to http://www.teachercreated.com/books/3032
Click on Page 89, Site 1
Once the Web site opens, show the students where to click in order to complete Earth Viewer Welcomes You activity page (pages 89-90).
It is important to note that this lesson is set up for January. The questions may not coordinate with views from other months. However, the teacher may want to have the students view this once a month or every other month so they can literally see the rotation of the earth. Make sure the altitude, latitude, and longitude positions stay the same to create an accurate comparison of the different months.
When the students work on this, they should either answer the questions in a word processing program or simply write the answers on paper.
Extension
Have the students use the Web site to view the region where they live.
Students can extend their research to looking at Moon Viewer using the same Web site. They can look at the various longitudes, latitudes, and altitudes of the lunar satellite.

Resources

• Microsoft Word, AppleWorks, or other word processing program
• Internet connection
• copies of Earth Viewer Welcomes You (see link below) for the students