Usually I write about Apps for your classroom. Here are two fun APPS and and a website which could be fun for your students. The first one is only useful at night. Several adult couples were running around my backyard tonight with their phones in the air using these Apps. If you have students interested in astronomy, they might enjoy them as well.
The first App is Starview. Although there is a paid version, the free App was more than entertaining for our group. All you need to do is open the App and SkyView access the camera and identifies the constellations, stars, planets galaxies, satellites, Hubble telescope and Space Station. The app does NOT require WIFI. You can use location services or manually enter your location to use Starview. One of my favorite features was the graphic images identifying the constellations. It is available for both Android and iPhone. You can take screen shots or videos of the stars and constellations. Tapping an object gives you information and will allow you to track them. This is great fun for an evening and gives you lots of useful information!
A second APP that is useful is the ISS finder. When you open the APP it will show when the Space Station will be visible at your location. You can set alarms to notify you on the selected dates. The MAP tab shows the current routes, miles per second, direction, altitude, and information about the current crew members and past team crew members. These are free features.
If you are not familiar with the Sally Ride Project, this is an outstanding free way for your students to sign up and receive images from the coordinates they have selected from the International Space Station. To find out about the missions and information about the blog post, check my past blogpost here.
On your mobile or desktop another fun way to explore is use Google Sky. This will show you the positions of the planets and constellations. If you type in the name of a planet in the search you can find its location. You can click here to be redirected to the site.
If you are looking for a related resource for your class? Try this from Reading Specialty.
The first component of the International Space Station (ISS) was launched November 20, 1998. Students read about the International Space Station in the differentiated passages. Use the questions in standardized test format to check comprehension and help students prepare for high-stakes testing. Each passage contains these types of questions:
- main idea
- vocabulary
- organizational patterns
- inference
- summarizing