Lesson Plan: Comparing the Sun to Other Stars
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to compare the size, warmth, and brightness of our Sun to those of other stars.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- describe a method to explain the relationship between distance from an object and the size it appears,
- explain why the Sun appears bigger than other stars,
- describe a method to explain the relationship between distance from a light source and its brightness,
- explain why the Sun appears brighter than other stars,
- describe how to observe the heat from the Sun and other stars,
- explain why we can feel the Sun’s warmth but not other stars’.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the fact that the Sun is a star,
- the fact that the Sun and the stars are light sources.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- how light travels from the Sun to Earth,
- measuring and recording quantitative data,
- different sizes and types of stars.
