Happy New Year, everyone! The start of a new year is a good time to consider how and why we use the calendar we do. Here's a link to science teacher David Stern's interesting lesson plan focused on various calendars and how they worked for different populations of people.
The learning objectives for this lesson follow:
- "The differences between solar day, sidereal day and mean solar day, and what each is used for.
- The differences between the solar year, the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar.
- About the Moon cycle ("synodic period"), the orbital period of the Moon, and the reason they differ.
- About the Metonic calendar (used by Jews and Chinese) and the Moslem one, in both of which "one month" extends through one full cycle of the Moon.
- About the Persian calendar, where the new year always begins at the spring equinox.
- Some facts about the calendar of the Maya culture, which thrived in Mesoamerica before Columbus. Also about the Ethiopian calendar, where every month has 30 days, and the remaining 5 or 6 days form a short "13th month."
Let us know your thoughts, especially if you draw upon any of these ideas for a lesson.
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, Teaching & Learning CoP