As far as our memory can trace, we are fascinated by the astronomical phenomena around us. It is a good step to introduce astronomy into our Form Three Science Syllabus.

At present, the concepts to taught in the Form Three Science Syllabus are :

a) The rotation of the earth causes day and night as well as the rising and the setting of the sun, moon and the stars.
b) The formation of the solar eclipse and the lunar eclipse.
c) The occurrence of the four seasons is due to the revolution of the earth around the sun and the tilting of the earth's axis.
d) The calendar

The disadvantages of this method are:

a) Students who are standing around the teacher are observing the globe at different angels. Thus they cannot get the same view as the teacher wanted (refer 2-P1).
b) It is difficult for the teacher to maintain the globe to be tilted at a fixed angle and at the same time pointed to a specific direction all the time. Any alteration of the two factors will affect the result.
c) While the globe is being carried around the lighted electric bulb, it is difficult for the student to inter-relate the date, the position of the earth, and the amount of light received by the hemispheres and the name of the season experienced by a particular area.

After the lessons, students still have a vague concept about how the four seasons are formed.

At the moment, teachers are using all the methods suggested in the text book such as :

• Shining a torch light on a globe to explain concept (a) and concept (b) ( refer diagrams 2-D1 and 2-D2).
• Concept (c) is taught by the help of a four seasons formation chart (refer 2-D3) or by demonstration by the teacher as shown in photograph 2-P1.
• The two dimensional diagrams does not truly show the amount of light received by each hemisphere.
• The dates for the solstices and the equinoxes are merely taught with facts only.

• The Moon-Earth-Sun Carton Box Teaching Aid is a simple and cheap device made of carton box created to overcome the above-mentioned problems.
• It does cause light interference to other groups' experiments.
• It does not need a total dark room.
• It can be used to study the above-mentioned concepts.
• It gives all the students visual aid and time allowance to inter-relate the calendar with the four seasons.
• It helps the students to understand how the four seasons are formed and why the duration of day and night changes with the four seasons at a particular place.
• It makes science lesson more interesting and meaningful to our daily life.
• Each student can have a hands-on experience.
• Each student is given a chance to construct the concepts in their mind.

1. Students are able to acquire new and hands-on experience to understand more about the solar and lunar eclipse, the day and night phenomena and the formation of four seasons.
2. Students are undergoing and using the scientific skills as well as the creative thinking skills to construct better understanding of the above-mentioned concepts.
3. Students are greatly encouraged to learn and do activities in a small cooperative learning group.

1. It enables each student to observe and to have a hands-on experience in order to understand the concept more clearly.
2. Students are greatly motivated and have fun whilst carrying activities.
3. The teaching and learning will be more effective and meaningful as the students can discuss and relate the phenomena one by one.
4. The teaching aid is cheap and easy to build.
5. Students carry out the activities in a small group and thus allowing more individual participation in the activities (See 2-P5).
6. It does not cause light interference to other groups since the light source is not strong and is confined to the box only.
7. The teaching aid seems to be useful, as most of the students do not have the opportunity to experience the four seasons and the long nights in winter.

• A carton box
• Black paper
• Glue
• 5 polystyrene balls
• 1 electric bulb (6V)
• Electric wire
• Battery or power pack
• 8 metal rods (12.5 cm)
• Coloured pins

1. The teaching aids consist of three main parts.They are :

• a black carton box
• the stands and
• models of the moon (a plasticine ball), the earth (a polystyrene ball) and the sun (an electric bulb )

2. Black carton box (refer 2-P2), which the inner surface is glued with black paper to prevent or reduce reflection of light.

3. The stands (refer 2-P2) is made up of three layers (cut out from a carton box) and stuck together with the middle one having a part being cut off at an angle of 66.50 with the horizontal line (refer 2-D4).

4. The models of the moon, the earth and the sun are constructed as shown in 2-D5.

1. Students have to insert the earth axis into the stands.
2. When the electric bulb is switched on, certain area on the surface of the polystyrene ball will be lighted up.
3. Insert a coloured pin on the surface of the polystyrene ball to represent human being and rotate the earth's axis. The formation of day and night, the phenomenon of the position of the sun, the moon and the star experienced by human being (represented by the colour pin) can be studied (refer 2-P3 and 2-P4).
4. Student can also observe the formation of the eclipses by rotating the plasticine ball around the polystyrene ball.
5. Each student of the group can do the experiment on his own since there are eight polystyrene balls available in the box. (Refer 2-P5).
6. Students can investigate and compare the gradual change in the distribution of light at the Northern Atmosphere and the Southern Atmosphere by observing the polystyrene balls.
7. Students can calculate the dates of the solstices and equinoxes by fixing one of the dates for them.
8. Students can also observe the difference between the duration of time for the day and night at one particular place during the different seasons by rotating the earth's axis.
9. Moon-earth-sun carton box teaching aid can be used together with printed out questionnaires as a guard especially for slow students or students with low imaginary power.

The bulb used for this model should be made translucent. If the translucent bulb is not available, translucent paper can be used to cover it.

This model explains well about the 4 seasons, day and night and the eclipse of the moon. For the purpose of day and night, teacher may use light from the OHP for better ray effect on the earth model.