IT'S WRITTEN IN THE STARS!

OVERVIEW:  What sign are you?  What does your horoscope say?  Do Pisces get along with Aquarians?  How many times have you been asked questions like these?   Children as young as 7 or 8 are familiar with the signs of the Zodiac.  The Zodiac exists in many cultures; Chinese, Greek, Roman, etc.  This unit on Astrology attempts to familiarize students of elementary age with the science of astrology.  It will explain what astrology is, the mythology associated with each sign, what the signs of the Zodiac are, the character traits associated with each sign, and vocabulary associated with the unit.  The children will create narrative accounts about their character traits, illustrate the constellation of each sign of the Zodiac, and write and illustrate their own creative myths about an original "Zodiac Sign".  They will use the computer as a technological tool; researching, drawing, using word processing programs, and the Internet to complete the unit.   This unit will help give students a better understanding of how important the stars were to ancient people, and how we still let the starts influence our lives. 

STUDENT LEVEL:   Grades 3-5

MAJOR GOALS AND INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES: 

1.  Students will become familiar with the vocabulary associated with the character traits as described in the astrological signs.

2.  Students will become familiar with using technology to research information.

3.  Students will become familiar with using technology to illustrate pictures.

4.  Students will become familiar with word processing programs to write stories.

5.  Students will learn the use of astrology in the modern world.

6.  Students will become familiar with overhead projectors to create artwork.

TIMELINE:  6-8 classroom periods (45 minutes each).

SETTING:  Science classroom, homeroom classroom, Hayden Planetarium, and the Liberty Science Center.

ASSESSMENTS: 

1.  Vocabulary data sheets and book.

2.  Computer illustrations of the Zodiac signs.

3.  Knowledge of the history of the Zodiac signs as evidenced on their reports.

4.  Narrative accounts.

5.  Creative stories.

STANDARDS:

1.  Read and comprehend informational materials.

2.  Produce a report of information.

3.  Produce a narrative account (fictional or autobiographical).

4.  Produce a narrative procedure.

5.  Participate in group meetings.

6.  Demonstrate a basic understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work.

7.  Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

8.  Demonstrates understanding of position and motion of objects.

9.  Demonstrates understanding of objects in the sly.

10.  Uses technology and tools to gather data and extend the senses.

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND TEACHERS:

The following books are available from Amazon.com

1.

"The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need"  by Joanna Martine Woolfolk

 

 

2.  "Astrology Encyclopedia"  by Patrick Moore and Leif J. Robinson

3. 

 

Chart Interpretation Handbook: Guidelines for Understanding the Essentials of the Birth Chart
by Stephen Arroyo, Jerilynn Marshall

 

WEB SITES:

http://astrologyparlor.com/features/history-astrology.html

This site offers a brief history of astrology from the dawn of mankind until present day.

http://astrology.about.com/library/weekly/aa101599.htm

This site also gives the history of astrology.

http://touregypt.net/astro/

This site gives the history of astrology in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt.

http://astroenergetics.com/HTML/History.html

An excellent site with pictures, that breaks down the history of astrology into different time eras.

http://nickcampion.com/nc/history/history.htm

This site has a history of astrology, but gives more links to books, magazines, articles, etc.  for further research and information. 

http://astrology-online.com/persn.htm

This site has excellent graphics.  It gives the meaning and character traits of each sign. 


http://factmonster.com/ipka/A0770377.html

Explains the meaning of the Zodiac signs and the "glyphs".

http://astrologycom.com/signs.html

This site explains how to read your birth chart.

http://mooncatsastrology.com/webpages/astrology.htm

This site explains the history, birth signs, zodiac signs, and the four elements- earth, fire, air, and water.

http://eslus.com/Gizmos/astrolog.html

This site gives you an interactive chart, where you can enter your birth date and year and get all the information on your sign.

http://c-c-c.org/chineseculture/zodiac/zodiac.html#Sign%20Background

This site gives information on the Chinese Zodiac.  Includes the wheel, and animals of the Chinese zodiac.

http://chinatoday.com/culture/zodiac/zodiac.htm

Beautiful site with great animated pictures of the Chinese Zodiac that gives the character traits for the year you were born.

http://jksalescompany.com/dw/zodiacsigns.html

This is the site where we got the zodiac pictures that the children used in their illustrations. 

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THE SITE!

 

Lesson 1 Lesson 2

Lesson 3 Lesson 4

Assessments

Rubrics

Overview

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