As the end of the year came to a close, we revisited the DQB to see what questions we still had left.  Between various simulators and videos, we did our best to honor student ideas, including a very much needed field trip to CU's Fiske Planetarium!  We ended our unit in typical fashion, answering questions on the DQB!  Here's a sampling of student answers!

8th graders, I am so proud of your hard work this despite so many factors.  You welcomed me to LMS and trusted me to guide your work this year.  Thank you!

We saw how our lunar eclipse model couldn't explain for the color differences we see during a lunar eclipse. Why on earth is it red?!?!?!  We began putting ideas together to recognize that while in the Earth's shadow, the light that reaches the moon passes through the Earth's atmosphere, full of various gases and particles.  Does this do something with the white light from the Sun?

We placed various substances in water (the next best medium to recreate the atmosphere) and saw some pretty incredible things happen when light travels through longer stretches of the atmosphere in order to get to the moon when it's in the perfect spot for a lunar eclipse!

Ideas are flying off the shelves!  Students are seeing that the light "changes" color as it travels through more of the Earth's atmosphere!

Not only did we see patterns with the Earth and the Sun, but we also saw patterns with the Earth and the moon!  We wondered about:

1.  Solar eclipses
2.  Moon phases
3.  Lunar eclipses

Through various investigations and modeling, we figured out so much (Mrs. Brinza didn't take any pics, whoops)!  We saw how using data from NASA, that solar eclipses are much more rare than lunar eclipses. Which also led us to figure out how a lunar eclipse is different than a full moon!

Video footage and real life data from a local lunar eclipse got us wondering about the color difference we see during a lunar eclipse.  The moon appears red like the colors we see at sunrise and sunset!  Next steps, figure out about that color change!

Once students figured out all the patterns with the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, it was time to return to the original launch of our unit and explain Manhattanhenge, along with predict when the second event would be!  We reflected upon each others' predictions to support or refute their claims.  What a great experience 8th graders!

Next steps...figure out patterns with the moon!

Seeing how there is different amounts of light at different times of the year, along with different solar elevations, we sought out to see what happens with the light when it's coming to the Earth at various heights.  

We saw that during summer months, when the sun was "high" in the sky, the area it shines at is greatly reduced, making the sunlight that much more direct and "concentrated" as students mentioned.  During winter months, when the sun appears lower in the sky, we see more indirect light that covers a greater area.  It's all coming together as to why it's warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter!