Re: Suggestions for new astronomy class

[Rex Snyder <rgsnyder@MACOL.NET>]

David Strasburger wrote:

Next spring I will be teaching a half-year course in introductory
astronomy to high school juniors and seniors.  ....(snip).......
I am working on a proposal for some development money from my school
(natch) and looking for suggestions.

(snip)

2) activity/resource suggestions  --

Check out the Astronomical Society of the Pacific - they have very good literature for free!
 

> 3) text suggestions -- Any texts that people particularly
> like?

The Stars, H. A. Rey;                                 Houghton Mifflin Co.
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1980;                           101 Campus Dr.
ISBN 0-395-24830-2                                    Princeton, NJ  08540
                                                      1-800-733-7075

The Urban Astronomer, Gregory L. Matloff;
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1991
ISBN: 0-471-53142-1

The Practical Astronomer, Brian Jones;                Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1990;                         200 Old Tappan Rd.
ISBN 0-671-69303-4                                    Old Tappan NJ  07675
                                                      1-800-223-2336
 

> 4) Reference books --
A Complete Manual of Am. Astronomy, C. Sherrod;      
Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Prentice Hall Press, 1981;
ISBN 0-13-155359-3

A Brief View of Astronomy, J. M. Pasachoff;           Holt, Rinehart, & .....
Saunders College Publishing, 1986;                    Order Fulfillment Dept.
ISBN 0-03-058422-1                                    6277 Sea Harbor Dr.
                                                      Orlando, FL  32887
                                                      1-800-426-0462

Touring the Universe Through Binoculars, P. S. Harrington; Wiley & Sons, 1990

365 Starry Nights, Chet Raymo; Prentice Hall Press, 1982

Astronomy Magazine, Kalmbach Publishing Co.

Sky & Telescope Magazine, Sky Publishing Co.

Astronomy, An American Nature Guide, Ian Ridpath; W. H. Smith Publishers, Inc., 1990

Passport to the Stars, T. Dickinson; Edmund Scientific Co., 1979

The New Patterns in the Sky, J. D. W. Staal; The McDonald & Woodward Pub. Co, 1988

Star Names: Their Lore & Meaning, Richard H. Allen; Dover Publications, Inc., 1963

Burnham's Celestial Handbook, R. Burnham Jr.; Dover Publications, 1978

Astronomy, Ian Ridpath; Gallery Books, 1990
 

I have found that the more hands-on your Astronomy course is, the more your students will enjoy it.  Regular observation nights are a must.  Keep in mind that you can do quite a bit of Astronomy with either your eyes or a good pair of binoculars!  For instance, your students will find it fun learning Rey's constellations and star names and then going and seeing them in the night sky.  Or they will find it challenging, but doable and fun, locating all of the Messier objects with a pair of 7 x 50 binoculars.  This is a great exercise and doesn't involve much money or supervision!  You can also do a lot of activities with an SLR camera, a shutter cable and a tripod.  I am a strong proponent that introductory courses should teach students how to do Astronomy, rather than just discuss the standard set of topics in a standard Astronomy text.

I have many more ideas having taught a high school astronomy course for eleven years.  I would be more than happy to share them people.

Rex

--
Rex G Snyder                                        rgsnyder@macol.net
St. Paul's School                                   rgsnyder@usa.net
Baltimore, MD                                      410.821.3031 (work)