By CAROLYN THOMPSON (Associated Press)
In Cleveland, seventh-grade student Henry Cohen was moving to the music of the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” in teacher Nancy Morris’ classroom, swaying his arms open and close over the planets on his T-shirt.
Henry and his classmates at Cleveland’s Riverside School were dancing during a session of activities related to April’s total solar eclipse. Second-graders invited for the lessons sat on the floor, laughing as they showed off their newly decorated eclipse viewing glasses. Dioramas with small model earths and moons and flashlight “suns” filled the room.
Henry said his shirt showed his love of space, which he called “a cool mystery.” He said the eclipse is “a one in a million chance and I’m glad I get to be here for it.”
For schools in or near the path of totality of the April 8 eclipse, the event has inspired lessons in science, literacy and culture. Some schools are also planning group viewings for students to experience the darkness of daytime and learn about the astronomy behind it together.
The school system in Portville, New York, near the Pennsylvania line, plans to take its 500 7th through 12th graders into the path of the eclipse, to an old horse barn overlooking a valley. There, they will be able to trace the shadow of the eclipse as it arrives around 3:20 p.m. EDT.
It required changing the hours of the school day to stay in session, but Superintendent Thomas Simon said staff did not want to miss out on the learning opportunity, especially at a time when students experience so much of life through screens.
“We want them to leave here that day feeling they’re a very small part of a pretty magnificent planet that we live on, and world that we live in, and that there’s some real amazing things that we can experience in the natural world,” Simon said.
Schools in Cleveland and some other cities in the eclipse’s path will be closed that day so that students aren’t stuck on buses or in crowds of people expected to converge. At Riverside, Morris came up with a mix of crafts, games and models to educate and engage her students ahead of time.
“They really were not realizing what a big deal this was until we really started talking about it,” Morris said.
Learning about phases of the moon and eclipses is included in every state’s science standards, said Dennis Schatz, past president of the National Science Teaching Association. Some school systems have their own planetariums where students can see educational shows about astronomy.
But there is no better lesson than the actual event, said Schatz, who encourages educators to use the eclipse as “a teachable moment.”
Dallas science teachers Anita Orozco and Katherine Roberts plan to do just that at the Lamplighter School, arranging for the entire pre-K through fourth-grade student body to watch it together outdoors. The teachers spent a Saturday in March at a teaching workshop at the University of Texas at Dallas where they were told it would be “almost criminal” to keep students inside.
“We desire our students to have the same love for science as we do,” Roberts stated, “and we just want them to comprehend and also be amazed by how extraordinary this event is.”
Dealing with young children may be difficult, Orozco noted, but “we want it to be a special occasion.”
When training future science teachers, University at Buffalo professor Noemi Waight has urged her student teachers to include how culture influences people's experience of an eclipse. For instance, Native Americans may consider the total eclipse as something holy, she noted.
“It’s crucial for our teachers to comprehend,” she stated, “so they can address all of these aspects when teaching.”
The STEM Friends Club from the State University of New York Brockport planned eclipse-related activities with fourth-grade students at teacher Christopher Albrecht’s class, hoping to share their enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering and math with younger students.
“I want to demonstrate to students what is achievable,” said Allison Blum, 20, a physics major focusing on astrophysics. “You know those prominent jobs, like astronaut, but you don’t really know what's feasible with the different fields.”
Albrecht sees his fourth-grade students’ interest in the eclipse as a chance to integrate literacy into lessons, too — perhaps even ignite a passion for reading.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to read extensively with them,” Albrecht said. He has chosen “What Is a Solar Eclipse?” by Dana Meachen Rau and ”A Few Beautiful Minutes” by Kate Allen Fox for his class at Hill Elementary School in Brockport, New York.
“It’s capturing their interest,” he said, “and at the same time, their imagination, too.”
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