On July 16, 2017, I finished teaching an astronomy course to the upper grades. The topic was "How Many Stars Are in the Sky?" This was the most successful lesson I've taught since I started my volunteer teaching program. The PowerPoint presentation was a huge help; the students loved the pictures of the universe, enjoyed hearing about things beyond the textbook, and loved exploring the unknown.
Perhaps because elementary school classes mostly consist of regular subjects like Chinese, math, English, and music, astronomy is unfamiliar to them. Maybe they only know about Copernicus from their political education classes. What are the stars like in the sky? What is the brightest star in the night sky? No one had ever asked them these questions, so naturally they didn't know, and even if they were full of curiosity, they didn't know where to begin.
The astronomy class was like opening a door to a new world for them, with many new things waiting for them to discover and understand. After
class, many boys surrounded me with questions. Some asked why the eight planets are attracted to Earth, and whether Earth could exist without a sun or a moon. I'm so happy that I was able to open a new world for them and broaden their interests.
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