There's science in that story.

With their series of books for teachers, including the popular Keepers of the Earth, Joseph Bruchac and Michael J. Caduto introduced an innovative way to teach kids science: Start with an engaging story, rich in Native American traditions, and build science activities around it. Here, the authors demonstrate how a traditional tale about the moon can open the door to scientific explorations that are out of this world!

To Native Americans, stories are more than entertainment; they are used to explain how and why the world came to be. Native Americans have long recognized that when children hear a well-told tale, full of drama and humor and rich with vibrant description, they are galvanized into thinking.

This unit provides a model for using stories to teach science. Share with your class the "Moon Mysteries" on this page, then photocopy and read together the Dine (Navajo) story on page 43. Finally, follow up with the activities that start on page 44.

Moon Mysteries: Facts to Share

A Lunar Calendar 

Many Native North American calendars count 13 moons--each with a specific name--in each year. Since 12 lunar cycles equal 354.4 days, there are 11 extra days in every solar year that eventually add up to a 13th moon. Cultures of the extreme North recognize fewer moons because, for several months each summer, the sun never drops below the horizon line and the moon is obscured; for example, the Inuit who live near Point Barrow, Alaska, recognize only 9 moons in a year. For a fuller explanation of these beliefs, read Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back by Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London (Putnam).

Phases and Cycles

Each lunar cycle lasts 29 1/2 days. During the lunar phases, we actually see the varying exposed portions of the light and dark sides of the moon. We can often see a faint image of the part of the moon that is in shadow during the partial phases. This pale side is illuminated by earthshine-sunlight that reflects off Earth onto the moon.

Moon, Sun, and Earth

Although the sun is about 400 times bigger than the moon, the moon is nearly 400 times closer to Earth, so the sun and moon appear the same size. Earth is almost 50 times larger than the moon and, on the average, the moon is about 238,856 miles (384,403 kilometers) away.

Lunar Weather

Lunar gravity, which is one-sixth as strong as Earth's gravity, is too weak to hold an atmosphere. Air pressure is absent and there is no air to transmit sound. The daytime temperature can exceed the boiling point of water and at night the thermometer drops to below 200 |degrees~ F (-128.9 |degrees~ C). No water or life exists on the moon.

The Moon's Landscape

Lunar rocks and dust form a dramatic surface covered with large, flat "seas," or maria (mare in singular); circular craters up to 160 miles (257 kilometers) across and up to 5 or 6 miles (8.0 or 9.7 kilometers) deep; mountains over 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) high; and riverlike rilles. Because the moon lacks Earth's protective atmosphere, meteors crash and form craters. The large, dark maria on the moon's surface contain no water or ice; they were caused by lava that oozed up into craters.

THE CREATION OF THE MOON

Dine (Navajo) Story

After First Man and First Woman arrived in the Fifth World, they decided to make this world brighter than the lower worlds had been. They thought and talked for a long time. At last they decided. They would make a sun and a moon. First they made the sun. They took a piece of rock crystal and made it round and flat. They fastened turquoise around it and around the turquoise they placed rays of red rain. They placed bars of lightning beyond the red rain. They fastened onto it feathers from the flicker, the lark, the cardinal, and the eagle.

Then they made the moon. They took mica and they made it round and flat, as they had made the sun, although they did not make it as large. Around it they placed white shells and then sheet lightning and then water from the four directions. After they had done this, they began to talk again. "Where shall we have the sun and the moon rise and set?" First Man asked. Then East Wind spoke up. "Have sun brought to my direction," East Wind said. "Let it begin its journey there each day."

So it was decided.

Now they needed to give life to sun and moon. They needed someone to carry them across the sky. The young man who had planted the reed that carried the people up into the Fifth World was chosen to carry the sun. The old man who had brought the earth in which the reed was planted was chosen to carry the moon. They were pleased.

First Man and First Woman gave them new names. "You who will carry the sun," they said, "your name will now be Johanaa'ei, The One Who Governs the Day."

Then they turned to the old gray-haired man. "You who carry the moon," they said, "your name will now be Tle'ehoonaa'ei, The One Who Governs the Night."

Now it was time to set the two of them on their paths. First Man decided how they would find their way. He gave them each a fan made of 12 feathers from the eagle's tail, for those are the feathers the great bird used to guide itself across the sky.

Sun began his journey first. Johanaa'ei climbed up into the sky, guided by the eagle feathers, and passed safely across the heavens until he came at last to the west.

Now it was the turn of Moon. Tle'ehoonaa'ei, The One Who Governs the Night, began to climb up into the sky. But because he was an old man, it was harder for him to do this. East Wind saw how hard it was for Moon.

"I will help," East Wind said.

Then East Wind blew as hard as he could to help lift Moon into the sky. But he blew so hard that the feathers of the fan blew into Moon's face. He could not see where he was going. So it is that, to this day, although Sun always follows the 12 paths across the sky, Moon takes a wandering way. Sometimes Moon even becomes lost, turning his face away from Earth as he tries to see his way. If you look carefully at Moon on the nights when his face is fully turned toward the Earth, you may see those feathers on his face.

Start with Questions

Some questions to ask about the story and information before trying the activities:

* How is the moon created in the Dine story we heard?

* Why do Native North Americans use the moon to keep track of time?

* How do you believe the moon was created?

* What does the moon's surface look like? Is is hot or cold? Wet or dry?

Activity 1:

Reading the Moon

Goals: Observe and learn surface features of the moon by studying maps and by viewing the moon at night.

Grade levels: Primary and intermediate

Materials: Binoculars and/or telescope; flashlight; moon map (to order one for $6.75, call the Hansen Planeterium, |800~ 321-2369); moon photos; balloons; papier-mache materials: wheat paste, water, newspaper strips; tempera paints; paintbrushes; construction paper; stapler; pencils; crayons; scissors; tape; glue

Procedure:

This activity works best on a clear night when the moon is at least two thirds full. If you can't do this as a class, send home the activity instructions and a copy of the moon map as a project for kids to do with their families.

1. Take the children out on a clear night and view the moon through binoculars and/or a telescope. Using a flashlight, a moon map or diagram, and photographs of the moon's surface, point out some of the features on the moon, such as the craters and maria, or seas. Find some lunar mountain ranges and look for the riverlike rilles.

2. Ask kids to sketch a simple moon map as they study the various features. When they go back indoors, they'll want to fill in as many details as possible. 3. Back in the classroom, give kids a more extensive understanding of how the moon looks from the perspective of those who've been there. Two notable books on moon exploration are On the Moon edited by Jenny Vaughn (Watts) and What the Moon Is Like by Franklyn Branley (HarperCollins).

4. Ask children to use the information they've learned about the moon so far to write first-person descriptions of what it would be like to walk on the moon--what they would see, hear, and feel, including the sensations of wearing a space suit.

5. Back in the classroom, ask children to use their moon maps to create three-dimensional moons with papier-mache covered balloons. The papier-mache allows children to build up detailed surface features. Kids could also create a mural of the moon showing lunar formations.

6. Display these creations, plus moon sketches from nighttime observations and first-person narratives, on a bulletin board.

Story Extension:

Reread the first several paragraphs of the Dine story, describing the different materials--from mica to white shells to "rays of red rain"--supposedly used in making the sun and the moon. Challenge children to brainstorm some other natural materials they could use to make their own sun and moon. Make a list on chart paper and see how many of these materials your class can collect. Kids could also fill in fanciful descriptions (rays of red rain) with crayons or markers. Let small groups of students make a sun and moon out of natural materials. Activity 2:

Moon Walker

Goals: Demonstrate the relative sizes of Earth and the moon, the distance between them, and the causes of the phases of the moon. Show that the angle at which we view the light and dark sides of the moon causes its appearance to change.

Grade level: Intermediate

Materials: Polystyrene foam ball 2.3 inches (5.8 centimeters) in diameter painted white on one side and black on the other; pencil; tempera paints; brushes; water; large, round, blue balloon 8.4 inches (21.3 centimeters) in diameter with continents drawn in green; green marker; heavy string 21 feet (6.4 meters) long, plus an extra 1-foot (.3 meter) piece; large yellow bail or round piece of yellow paper; round wooden stake 3 feet (.9 meter) long; hammer; masking tape

Procedure:

1. Make a hole from top to bottom through the polystyrene foam ball (moon) along the edge of the black and white zones by gently twisting the pointed end of the pencil through the ball. Be sure the ball spins freely.

2. Plant the wooden stake in the center of an open area. Tape the blue balloon (Earth) on top of it.

3. Tie one end of the long string loosely around the stake so it turns freely.

4. Use the short (1-foot) string to tie the other end of the long piece onto the end of the pencil sticking through the moon.

5. Explain that the relative sizes of the moon and Earth are accurate at a scale of 1 inch = 945 miles (1 centimeter = 599 kilometers). At this scale, the distance between Earth and the moon, as represented by the connecting string, is 238,856 miles (384,403 kilometers).

6. Position the yellow paper or bail representing the sun at any point facing the Earth, as long as it is farther away than the moon. The sun used here simply shows the direction from which it is shining. Point out that, to match the scale of the Earth and moon, your sun would have to be 75 feet (23 meters) in diameter to represent its actual diameter of 850,000 miles (1,367,948 kilometers) and 1.6 miles (2.6 kilometers) away!

7. Have the children sit near Earth at the center stake. Ask a volunteer to walk the moon around Earth and turn the moon on the pencil while he or she walks to keep the light side toward the sun and the dark side (shadow) facing away from it. Ask children to explain what they see during this demonstration. (Children will see that the moon looks full when it is farthest from the sun, new when it is closest, and appears as the various phases in between.) Story Extension:

Reread the section of the Dine story that explains the journeys of the sun and moon across the sky. Ask children to explain what the 12 feathers, or paths, stand for (months). Using the information from the discussion and demonstration above, ask kids to explain what the final paragraph of the story explains. (The sun's strength changes according to the season, but the light of the moon varies throughout each month.)

Activity 3:

Hot Moon/Cold Moon

Goal: Demonstrate the extreme heat and cold of lunar days and nights.

Grade level: Primary and inter-mediate

Materials: Access to a stove (or hot plate), pan of water, cooler holding about 3 pounds of dry ice chunks, gloves or metal tongs for handling dry ice, at least 1 pair of safety goggles or glasses with clear lenses

Procedure:

1. Use the discussion on page 42 to explain the tremendous range of the moon's daytime and nighttime surface temperatures.

2. Boil the water and tell children that on a hot lunar day the water would boil all by itself without the help of a stove!

3. Using the gloves or metal tongs, hold up a piece of dry ice and explain that the ice is made of carbon dioxide, the same compound that makes up most of our breath when we exhale. The surface of the moon at night is much colder than the dry ice, which is -109.3 |degrees~ F. Nighttime on the moon is cold enough to cause the water vapor and some of the gases contained in our breath to freeze solid.

4. Remove the lid from the cooler that contains the dry ice. Have children take turns putting on the safety goggles and exhaling gently but steadily into the cooler. (Caution the children not to blow too hard because small flecks of ice could be carried up on the clouds that form.) Kids will see that their breath is so cold that it forms dense white clouds as it is cooled by the ice. On the moon, which is colder than the ice, their breath would be even denser. CAUTION: Always handle dry ice with gloves or tongs. Direct contact with skin can cause frostbite.

Story Extension:

As a class, pick out the elements of the Dine story that make it a myth; for instance, it explains a natural phenomenon, assigns human qualities to nature (such as the wind talking), and describes fantastical events (like using lightning to create the moon). Then ask students to write a legend of their own that describes why the moon is hot during the lunar day and cold at night.