Resources

Liz Berlinger, Chris Copeland, Janie McMillin, Meagan Vickers

Supplies:

Classroom set of TI-83 calculators

TI-overhead projector instrument for teacher use

Geometer’s Sketchpad Software and licenses for classroom set of computers

SmartBoard

Sundial building materials:

5 sheets 4’ x 8’ x ¾” plywood

4 Jig saws,

4 power drills and bits

1 box 100 count nails

1 box 100 count screws

Web Resources:

The following website is a great simulation that can help students understand the basics of sundials and how they work. This is incorporated in the unit calendar on Day one.

http://www.jgiesen.de/sunshadow/index.htm

The following website contains another simulation used in the calendar. It helps students explore triangles and use trig functions.

http://argyll.epsb.ca/jreed/math9/strand3/3103.htm

This website will help our students develop knowledge in the design, principle, and orientation of sundials as well as the gnomon. It will also provide them with the procedure for creating a sundial from paper if they wanted to further their explorations at home.

http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Lsundial.htm

This website contains a lesson that will teach students how to make a sundial at home with household materials. The purpose is stated for students to build sundials and observe changes in shadows over the course of one or more days. They will be able to identify patterns in the shadows and discuss how shadows may be used to tell time, which could serve as great background knowledge as well as provides an idea for an extension.

http://www.eyeonthesky.org/lessonplans/14sun_sundials.html

This website contains important vocabulary terms for students know about the sundials. It is a two-part lesson plan that serves as important background information for students.

http://www.ioncmaste.ca/homepage/resources/web_resources/CSA_Astro/files/content/html/unit1/lessons/lesson1_sundial/lesson1.html

This website provides additional information on sundials that will be useful for extensions on the different types of sundials.

http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Classroom/Lessons/Sundials/dialprint.html

Because our students will be using Geometer’s Sketchpad, we have included this website that explains how the program works as a trouble-shooting resource for the students.

http://www.keypress.com/sketchpad/getting_started/product_info.php

This website contains information on the history of sundials which will be beneficial during the first few days of the calendar where the students are working on their “history of time/sundial” projects.

http://www.abirdshome.com/sundials.html

This website will also serve as a resource for students during their history project.

http://www.davidharbersundials.co.uk/history.htm

This website is basically the central sundial website for our students. It includes important links and FAQs that our students will undoubtedly ask.

http://sundials.org/

This website contains a fun activity that could serve as an extension for the sundial unit.

http://kyes-world.com/suntime.htm

This website contains important information on the history of clocks that will help students compare and contrast differences in telling time as technology developed.

http://www.arcytech.org/java/clock/clock_history.html

Print materials-

Sullivan, Michael, and Michael Sullivan Iii. Precalculus; Graphing and Data Analysis. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998.

We will reference several chapters in this book covering the following content: Trig functions, Inverse Trig Functions, Unit Circle, Law of Sines and Cosines.