Teach middle school children about stars, planets and constellations during the day with a field trip to a local planetarium. Universities, science centers and museums typically provide student discounts to classes attending the planetarium and children enjoy the break from routine. A planetarium allows an instructor to illustrate basic astronomical concepts like lunar phases and mapping planetary movements against fixed constellations. The planetarium director can show these phenomena vastly accelerated so that they appear to take minutes within the planetarium instead of the months of observation that they would otherwise require.
Scientists have observed sunspots for at least 2,000 years. Although teachers should emphasize the importance of avoiding naked-eye solar astronomy today, they can use a telescope or binoculars to project the image of the sun on a piece of paper and have students observe the dark sunspots on the bright image. A less expensive option is using a pinhole projector or camera obscura to project the sun's image for safe observation. Students can draw sunspots and chart their growth and decay over successive days and weeks. Sunspot lessons fit well with solar astronomy coursework, but they also mesh with lesson plans involving magnetism and electromagnetic radiation.
The word "planet" means "wanderer," and people have charted the planets' wanderings through the night sky since the rise of the earliest civilizations. Connect students with this rich tradition and give them a long-term lesson plan on charting the planets' movement over the course of a quarter or semester. Students will familiarize themselves with the naked-eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) and with the concept of the ecliptic plane. A simpler planetary lesson plan might involve drawings or photography using a fixed point of reference. More in-depth plans could require a compass and a star chart so that students could measure planetary movement against fixed stars more precisely.
Models have helped astronomers illustrate the motions of celestial bodies for centuries. Have students create their own from three-dimensional foam spheres or from two-dimensional paper cutouts affixed to a mobile. A more sophisticated model incorporates movement to show how certain astronomical phenomena occur. Moving models allow students to make solar and lunar eclipses happen and understand why an earthly observer sees retrograde motion in the outer planets.
Have students record moon phases through observation and use their observations to explain how these phases happen. Students can also use this data in conjunction with newspaper or online references for tidal information in local waters. They should be able to gain an understanding of spring tides and neap tides, synchronous orbits and gravitational pull. Synthesizing direct observation with data also sharpens students' critical thinking faculties and introduces them to the process of science.
Talking about astronomy opens the door to discussing astrology. Students can use star charts to pick out the 13 constellations that lie along the plane of the ecliptic and discuss why the 12 signs of the zodiac no longer fit the current night sky. Have the kids collect horoscope readings from at least five sources including the local newspaper and newspapers from the library or online; compare the horoscopes and see how different they are for each day. Hold a classroom discussion about why Pluto is no longer a planet, yet astrologers still associate it with the sun sign Scorpio. Let students calculate their own sun signs according to modern constellations and see how far off they are from the ancient star signs; this teaches about astrology's unscientific basis and about how the universe changes over time.