A Self-Tutoring Observational Astronomy Course. The following are a set of exercises suited to junior high through college level to learn where objects are in the heavens. It can be used for home schooling, private or public schools. It was designed to be used with my college astronomy course, but many of the exercises are suitable for elementary school level, with parental aid.
Rising Stars
Will a star by the old church tower always be there? If not, how fast does it move?
Measure Altitude of Polaris
Build a real quadrant and use it to measure the altitude of the North Star to determine your latitude.
Learning the Constellations
A map to learn the figures of the constellations and a quiz to see if you can recognize them as they appear in the sky.
Learning the Star Names
A map to learn the figures of the constellations with the names of 25 important stars and a quiz to see if you can recognize them as they appear in the sky.
HR-Diagram Exercise
Discover just where all the nearby stars, as well as other interesting stars lie on the HR Diagram. This exercise assumes you have had at least an introduction to that diagram.
Learning Objects for Binoculars and Small Telescopes
Discover just where all the nifty things are to see in binoculars or a small telescope. They are mostly chosen from Messier's list of things are were not comets. They include star clusters, nebulas and galaxies. It is good to memorize where they are in the sky so you can find them when camping out without needing a star map.