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Lesson Plan: Science and technology ages 13-16
Aim of lesson
- To be able to understand the role Polaris/the North Star plays in celestial navigation in the northern hemisphere.
- To be able to comprehend the importance of measuring latitude when determining one’s position on Earth.
- To be able to understand how a simple navigational instruments such as the kamal works.
- To be able to research the use of a GPS (Global Positioning System) and compare it with the kamal as a navigational tool.
Success criteria
- Can explain the importance of Polaris for early navigators estimating latitude.
- Can make and use a kamal to determine latitude.
- Can use research skills to compare a modern navigational tool, the GPS, with a kamal.
Thinking skills
- Evaluating: appraise, judge, select, value, assess
- Applying: use, demonstrate, operate, procedure
- Analysing: compare, distinguish, examine, contrast
Resources
- Stiff card.
- Scissors.
- String.
- A sharp thin object e.g. a nail.
- Large sheet flip chart paper.
- Markers.
- Notebook pen and pencils.
- Access to the Internet or a library.
- Post-It stickers
Starter activity
- Students to read through the information page to prepare for a class discussion of the question: ‘What role has the North Star (Polaris) played in celestial navigation over the centuries?’
Main activities
- Guide and monitor the students through the activity sheet.
Plenary
- Discuss: What thinking skills did you use in this lesson? How did you use them? How did they help you learn?
