There you are in the middle of the ocean. Nothing to see but water in every direction. How do you know which way is north? Or any other direction!? But the sun isn't so easy. The trouble with the sun is that its position is always changing - it changes with the time of day and it changes throughout the year! But when it's at its ZENITH, the highest point that it reaches each day, it is directly south if you're north of the equator, and directly north if you're south of the equator!
But how easy is it to know when it's reached its highest point? Avoid saying that the sun is moving. It will probably appear to students that the sun is moving, not the Earth, but it is not age appropriate for students to try to conceptualize the movement of the Earth on its axis or around the sun yet.
The goal is to have students understand that east is a certain direction and the sun always rises in the east in the morning. Observe the sun again at end of the school day and ask students if it is in the same location as earlier in the morning. Track the sun's location in this way for five days and then ask students if they have noticed a pattern.
Together write a sentence that explains what they have observed and what they would expect to see in the future. Add the north and south labels to the classroom walls:. Have students use cardinal directions to talk about movement also. Play Simon Says and have them take steps in different directions.
As a final game of practice, send a volunteer to the hall and hide an item so the class sees the hiding place. Discuss with students why we use special words to tell directions. Elicit from students that they help us to explain to one another where things are. Direction words also help us to read maps. Have them orient their maps by placing them on their desks so that north, south, east, and west on the map match the directions labeled on the wall.
Discuss together where things are on the map of the farm. Ask: Is the pig pen closest to the north, south, east on the map? On which side of the farm is that pig? As needed, provide examples such as:. Have students continue to practice the directions of N, S, E, W by having them pass their papers in to the north, south, east, or west. You can also have them line up on the north side of the room, the west side of the room, and so on. Ideally, this activity will take place over 5 consecutive days to allow students to make their observations and identify patterns.
North, east, south, and west are the four cardinal directions, often marked by the initials N, E, S, and W. East and west are at right angles to north and south. East is in the clockwise direction of rotation from north. West is directly opposite east. In the morning, the sun rises roughly in the east and tracks upwards. In the evening it sets roughly in the west. The concepts of cardinal directions and Earth-sun relationships may be challenging for students, so this activity is designed to help students connect the abstract terms of north, south, east, and west with their known world.
Be safe when looking in the direction of the sun, and make sure that students do not stare at the sun. Have them quickly point in the direction of the sun, and then move their arms down from the direction of the sun to where the sky meets land. That direction should be east. Label it with N, S, E, W and then each day place a sun in the morning and afternoon as noted above. You can use an image of the wind for north and south. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Lindsey Mohan, Ph. Attach the string to the stick and pole. With this method it is important that the top of the stick, the part that casts the shadow, is directly over the part of the stick that is in the ground.
Draw a circle around the pole. With the rock as your starting point, use the sharp stick that's attached to the pole to draw the circle in the ground around the pole. When the shadow from the pole finally touches this circle again, mark the point where it connected with the other rock. The straight line that connects the first rock with the second rock is the true east—west line, where the first rock represents west and the second rock represents east.
Method 3. Look for the sun at noon. At noon, the sun can point you in the general direction of north and south, and consequently east and west, but it will not tell you due north or due south.
In the Northern Hemisphere, walking directly toward the sun at noon will lead you south, while walking directly away from the sun will lead you north.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite is true: toward the sun will lead you north, and away from the sun will lead you south. Use sunrise and sunset for approximate directions. The sun rises in the general direction of east and sets in the general direction of west every day, so you can use the location of sunrise or sunset to get an approximate idea of direction. Face the sunrise and you are facing east; north will be on your left and south will be on your right. Face the sunset and you are facing west; north will be on your right and south will be on your left.
The location of sunrise and sunset only provide an approximate idea of direction days of the year, because the sun rises due east and sets due west only on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes the first day of spring and fall.
Look at how vegetation is growing. Living north of the equator, the sun is usually in the southern part of the sky, and the opposite is true south of the equator. This means that leaves and foliage will tend to be thicker and denser on the southern side of a tree or bush. Many guidebooks will note that moss only grows on the north side of a tree in the Northern Hemisphere, but this is not true.
However, while moss can grow on all sides of a tree, it is true that it will often be denser on the side that is shadier the north in the Northern Hemisphere and the south in the Southern Hemisphere. Calculate direction with an analogue watch and the sun. The sun can be used in conjunction with a non-digital wristwatch to provide an approximate idea of the cardinal directions if you find yourself lost in the woods but at least have a wristwatch.
In the Northern Hemisphere, point the hour hand on your watch at the sun. When you are facing south, east is on your left and west is on your right. It can also have a margin of error of about 35 degrees, so this method is only reliable for an approximate idea of direction. Method 4. Recognize Polaris. Polaris, also called the North Star, can be used in the Northern Hemisphere to help you find north. Polaris, or the North Star, is not one of the brightest stars in the night sky it clocks in at 48th brightest.
It is, however, the brightest star between the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia. Locate Polaris. Think of the Big Dipper like a ladle hence the name , where the handle holds a cup, and the outer edge of the cup the farthest from the handle points out into the sky and toward Polaris. For confirmation, Polaris is the last star that makes up the handle of the Little Dipper.
Draw an imaginary line from Polaris to the ground. This is approximately true north. When you face Polaris, you are facing due north; behind you is due south, and due west will be on your left, while due east will be on your right. Method 5. Recognize the Southern Cross. In the Southern Hemisphere, the constellation of the Southern Cross aka Crux can be used to guide you in a southerly direction. Five stars make this constellation, and its four brightest form an angled cross.
Use the Southern Cross to find south. Find the two stars that make up the lengthwise portion of the cross and imagine a line that extends out four and a half times greater than the full length of the cross. When you reach the terminus of that imaginary line, draw another imaginary line that extends to the ground. This is, in general, the direction of south. When the cross is lying horizontal, the "four and a half times" mark will be less than one degree from true south.
When the cross is vertical or upside down, the mark will be about two and a half degrees about a thumb's width from true south. Choose a guiding landmark. Method 6. Gather your tools and equipment. A compass is a round instrument with all the cardinal directions printed on it.
You can make your own rudimentary compass if you have a few items available. You will need: [13] X Research source A metal sewing needle and magnet A bowl or cup filled with water Pliers and scissors A cork or just a leaf. Rub the needle against the magnet. Do this at least 12 times if you are using a weak magnet like a refrigerator magnet, or about five times if you have a stronger magnet. This will magnetize the needle.
Cut a one-quarter-inch disk of cork. Then, use the pliers to push the needle through the cork disk. If you don't have a cork, you can place the needle on a leaf. Place the cork disk in the center of the bowl of water. The needle will be free to spin around like a compass needle, and will eventually align itself with the poles. Wait for the needle to stop spinning.
0コメント