Interdisciplinary Exploration: The mystery of the constellations and the universe
浩瀚星空是人类奇妙想象的源泉。每一片土地都流传着星辰的故事，从古到今讲述着星群和星座传说，吸引着人类去研究大自然的奥秘与文明的变迁。任何一个现象的背后都隐藏着无数的知识，而在我们的课堂里，知识也在不同学科之间互通和往来，构成一个系统融合的整体。最近，五年级的孩子们就把目光投向星空，驾驶着不同学科的“知识之船”，开展了一场星空探索之旅。
The stories of the stars are passed down in every land, telling the legends of stars and constellations from ancient times to the present, and attracting humans to study the mysteries of nature and the changes of civilization. Behind any phenomenon lies a myriad of knowledge, and in our daily classes, knowledge interchanges between different subjects to form a complete body of knowledge. Recently, G5 students set their sights on the stars, sailing their "ship of knowledge" from different subjects on a journey of discovery to the stars.
在进入STEM课“星座”主题学习之前，五年级孩子们率先在语文课里进行了一番别有趣味的探究。从第三单元《牛郎织女》这个民间故事出发，大家将目光聚焦于故事背后的文化和科学知识，着手开展了一次综合性学习。同学们收集了许多与乞巧节有关的习俗和古诗词，还针对《牛郎织女》这个古老故事里与现代价值观不符的或描述不详细的部分，进行了创造性的复述。
Before moving on to the "Constellations" studying in STEM class, the students had a fun exploration in Chinese class. Starting with the folk tale "The Niulang and the Zhinv" in Unit 3, they focused on the cultural and scientific knowledge behind the folk tale and started a comprehensive study. The students collected many customs and ancient poems related to the Magpie Festival, and creatively retold parts of the folk tale that were inconsistent with modern values or were not described in detail.
居住在不同地区的人们，对于星座有着不同的想象。为此，孩子们开展了一次对东方二十八星宿与西方星座的研究，对比了东西方星座的区别，还特别求证了故事里遥遥相望的牛郎星和织女星到底对应哪个星座。通过在天文学网站的搜索，大家发现织女星属天琴星座，而牛郎星则名为河鼓二、天鹰座α（Altair）。更令人惊喜的是，它的旁边还有两颗小星星，就如同故事里所说的坐在扁担里的两个小孩一样！这一发现让孩子们都不禁惊叹于古人的想象力，也对STEM课上即将进行的星座学习产生了浓厚的兴趣。
People living in different regions have different imaginations about constellations. For this reason, the students conducted a study focused on the Chinese Twenty-Eight Mansions and the western constellations, comparing their differences and seeking to find out which constellation corresponds to the "Cowherd" and the "Zhinv" in the folk tale. By searching astronomy websites, students found that the "Zhinv" belongs to the constellation Lyra, while the "Niulang" is named River Drum II, α Aql/Altair. What's more surprising is that the "Niulang" has two small stars next to it, just like the story about the two children sitting on a stretcher! This discovery made the children marvel at the imagination of our ancients, and they were also very interested in learning about the constellations in the STEM class.
在英语课里，信息文本（Informational text）是目前单元的学习主题，学生们需要学会区分虚构与非虚构文本，理解分析矛盾、因果关系等这类文学赏析技巧。一些班级的老师选择了以《Dwarf Planet（矮行星）》这本著名的非虚构题材（nonfiction）书籍作为阅读材料。从英语文学赏析的角度，老师带领着孩子们理解关于宇宙的科学事实，总结了非虚构写作的文本的特征、搜集了轨道、航天器、九大行星等科学词汇，还鼓励大家积极提出心中关于矮行星的疑问。
In English classes, Informational text is the topic of the current unit. The students need to learn to distinguish between fictional and non-fictional texts and to understand a variety of literary analysis techniques. Some teachers chose to use Dwarf Planet, a well-known nonfiction book, as reading material. From the perspective of English literature analysis, the teacher led the children to explore scientific facts about the universe, summarized the characteristics of non-fiction writing texts, collected scientific vocabulary such as orbits, spacecraft, and the nine planets, and also encouraged them to ask questions about dwarf planets in their minds.
课堂里，孩子们分享的问题五花八门：小行星带为什么出现在火星和木星之间，而不是太阳系的其他位置？为什么矮行星是水平自转的？为什么在太空待一年双胞胎宇航员和地球上的兄弟变得有所不同？带着对于宇宙的好奇心，他们继续阅读了两篇关于宇宙的文献，并将信息汇总成阅读报告。
The students shared a variety of questions in class: Why does the asteroid belt appear between Mars and Jupiter, and not elsewhere in the solar system? Why do dwarf planets rotate horizontally? Why do twin astronauts become different from their brothers on Earth after spending a year in space? With curiosity, they continued to read two pieces of literature about the universe and summarized the information into a reading report.
有了这些探索与研究，孩子们已经对于“星座”主题产生了浓厚的兴趣。在随后的STEM课上，老师带领大家共同解读了牛郎织女一年相见一次的秘密：通过对天鹰座的Altair（牛郎星）和天琴座的Lyra（织女星）一年中的运动进行追踪，学生们发现它们代表的牛郎和织女每年都在八月（农历七月）相见！这一科学规律的背后，也反映出地球的自转和公转都在深刻影响着古往今来的人们对于不同星座的观测。
With all this exploration and research, the children were already very interested in the theme of "Constellations". In the following STEM lesson, the teacher led the class to unravel the secret that the "Niulang" and the "Zhinv" meet once a year: by tracking the movements of Altair and Lyra in the constellation of Lyra throughout the year, the students discovered that they represent Altair and Lyra, who meet every year in August! This scientific pattern reflects the fact that both the rotation and revolution of the Earth have profoundly influenced the observation of different constellations throughout time.
随后，孩子们开展了更深入的星座主题调查。他们共同研究了星座的中英文名称、最亮星、最佳观测时间，调查了古往今来关于该星座的中西方神话故事等等知识点。结合着自制的简易星座模型，大家还录制视频分享了自己丰富的调查结果！
Then, the children conducted a more in-depth investigation on the theme of constellations. In addition, the children did a survey about constellations, including the Chinese and English names of constellations, the brightest star, the best observation time, and the Chinese and Western myths about constellations. Combining the simple constellation models they made, the children recorded videos to share their findings.
在各个学科里进行的“星空探索”，让孩子们得以从不同的知识角度出发，搭建对于这一主题全面而系统的了解，不仅感受着学科知识的融会贯通，也体会到繁星之下世界文明的多样性。期待未来他们能够继续汲取更多知识，“升级”自己的“宇宙飞船”，开启更多奇妙的探索之旅！
The "Constellations Exploration" in each subject allowed the children to build a comprehensive and systematic understanding from different perspectives. They not only to feel the integration of subject knowledge but also to experience the diversity of world civilizations under the stars. We hope they can continue to acquire more knowledge and start more amazing explorations in the future!
感谢五年级语文、英语和STEM组老师的分享以及对本文提供的支持！