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There Are Stars All Around Us

Nature has many mysterious ways.  One of them is the presence of stars, or the appearance of pentagonal symmetry. This is due to the inherent nature of light and the way it is diffracted around objects.

The students will be able to recognize star shapes in foods and nature by particpating in center activities.

1) Magnifying Glasses
2) Paper and Pencil for Student Observations.

Items to include that have star shapes in Nature:
1)Appleslice (cut apple along equator)
2) Pear
3) Blueberry
4) Carambola (Starfruit)
5) Starfish
6) Sand dollar

Examples of Non-Star items:
1) Pebble
2) Leaf
3) Carrot
4) Feather
5) Mushroom

After students have visited all of the stations, have students return and share their observations where they found stars in nature.

Create a Star Center: There are Stars All Around Us

Set up a couple of stations around the room with various items from nature, mixing a variety of star shape and non-star shape items for each station.

Have students visit each station in small groups, after about 5 minutes at a station have the groups rotate to the next stations.

Students will investigate on their own which items they can find a star shape present.

A paper and pencil should be taken with students to the different stations for students to record their observations.

Encourage students to draw pictures with the star shape they observed in the item.

Read the book A Star in My Orange: Looking for Nature’s Shapes, by Dana Meachen Rau

Encourage students to discuss shapes they may see in nature. Point out to students that all flowering plants that produce fruit we eat have five petals. Often times we can see the evidential remnant of the five-petaled flower at the bottom of the fruit. After reading the book, students can investigate some of the items in the center for other objects in nature that have a star shape present in them.

Ask students to keep their eyes open for different shapes they may see in nature.  Allow students to taste some of the fruits featured in their center.