GUEST BLOGGER SUZANNE SLADE
The most powerful telescope in space!
Did you know the James Webb Space Telescope is creating stunning images of space? It’s showing us how stars are born. And how they die. Webb even peeks back in time to look at galaxy clusters as they appeared billions of years ago! Launched in 2021, the Webb Space Telescope is giving us a view of our universe like never before. So why not take your class on a far-out field trip and explore space with Webb?
Activity 1: Learn about the Webb Telescope
Ask your explorers to read the picture book, UNLOCKING THE UNIVERSE; THE COSMIC DISCOVERIES OF THE WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE. To promote interest in Webb, share the UNLOCKING THE UNIVERSE Book Trailer with your students.
Activity 2: Explore Webb’s images
Ask students to select one Webb image in UNLOCKING THE UNIVERSE to research. (There are 17 Webb images in the book.) Students may find more images on NASA’s Webb Image Gallery. Click on an Image to find out more details about it.
Activity 3: Share your cosmic discoveries
Ask students to write two paragraphs with details about their Webb image, This might include: when the image was released, the name of the space item depicted in the image, the space item’s location (light years from Earth), specific features in the image, and what scientists have learned about space from the image. Students might also comment on how the image makes them feel or emotions it sparks (awe, joy, hope, curiosity, etc).
More resources
Suzanne Slade is the Sibert Honor author of over 180 children’s books. As a mechanical engineer who worked on rockets, she ofter writes about space and women in STEM. Other recent titles include A COMPUTER CALLED KATHERINE: HOW KATHERINE JOHNSON HELPED PUT AMERICA ON THE MOON (NSTA Best STEM Book), THE UNIVERSE AND YOU, DARING DOZEN, COUNTDOWN: 2979 DAYS TO THE MOON, and ASTRONAUT ANNIE (Read on the Space Station). Find more fun, free space resources on Suzanne’s website. Twitter: @AuthorSSlade, Instagram: @AuthorSSlade
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with me.