INTRODUCTION

Have you ever looked up at the clouds and seen a formation in the clouds that made you think of an animal or some other object. Did you ever point out your "bear" to someone close by or enjoy finding more familiar objects in the clouds with your family. People from ancient times up through the present have done the same with stars. They have looked up into the night sky and seen groups of stars that seemed to form pictures. We call these groups of stars constellations. The ancient people named these constellations from stories of their time.
Stars and constellations have served for navigation on the world's oceans.
Here is an example of Traditional Navigation in the Western Pacific:

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

This voyager goes the 245 km from Puluwat to Tol, by using the fifth brightest star in the sky, Vega from the constellation Lyra through the rising of the constellation Cassiopeia, the rising of the main star in the constellation Ursa Major, the rising of star, Kochab in the constellation Ursa Minor, Polaris, and on through their respective settings to the setting of Vega on arrival at Tol.

In this Earth and Space WebQuest, you will be researching constellations and in particular, Ursa Major. You will be working with a three person jigsaw group but most of your time will be spent with your expert group. Your jigsaw group will be counting on you to teach them all you have learned about constellations.