by Francie Kugelman

I cover the clock with a piece of paper. I ask the students how the ancient people knew what time it was before clocks were invented.

Students usually mention the sun, sun dials.

Then we talk about seasons, and the need to know when to plant and harvest.

The discussion leads to Stonehenge, the Aztec temples aligned with the stars. We look at pictures of various ways people have told time. We look at pictures of Stonehenge, and ancient monoliths. I discuss with them the difficulty of moving these huge rocks, lifting them up high, and how they may have been used in religious ceremonies.

We discuss the constellations, and how the stars helped to guide people sailing years ago.

There is a great DVD clip from Mysteries of the Aztecs that explains how the Aztecs created a precise calendar. It shows the different wheels of the calendar spinning.

Another good DVD clip to show during the unit would be: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when the light hits the temple on one special day. This is an excellent prelude to the Circles, Squares and Daggers.

I like to stress in that story that it is artists, not scientists or anthropologists that have discovered many of the ancient Native American sites. If you can get the students excited about the idea of coming across a cave during the Winter Solstice, and being the first person in years to see the beam of light stream across, the students enjoy this story very much.

Here are some other free films you can show your students about space and space exploration.

During this unit I also enjoy playing David Bowie’s song, “Space Oddity”. I ask the students to tell me what happens to Major Tom. They often ask me if this song is true… Hear song in iTunes | See lyrics

Here are additional unit opener ideas for Astronomy unit.

Here are additional research links.