Lesson Planning

Discover how the Ancient Sumerians studied the night sky and used this knowledge. Explore the star constellations and how this relates to the zodiac. Learn how to make a star constellation viewer or a planisphere.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To understand that the Ancient Sumerians were the first known astronomers.
• To understand that the movement of the Earth relative to the Sun and the Earth’s rotation explain the apparent movement of stars across the sky.

Children will:

• Explain that the Ancient Sumerians studied the movement of the Sun, Moon and inner planets.
• Know that the Ancient Sumerians saw pictures in the stars and identified some constellations.
• Understand that the apparent movement of the stars (including the Sun) across the sky is due to the Earth’s movement relative to the Sun and its rotation on its tilted axis.
• Create a star constellation viewer or a planisphere.