Social Studies Integration

Social Studies Integration

There is a myth from Africa about the power of the moon, sun, sky, passion, and love. Mawu, the moon god, is linked as one with Liza, the sun goddess. The myth states the lovemaking of this celestial couple is related to lunar and solar eclipses.

There is a Mayan moon goddess named Ixchel who is linked to the waxing of the moon. Ixchel is the fertility goddess, but she may really be the grandmother of the moon that represents the drying up of fertility and aging.

A Chinese myth states a woman named Chang’e lives on the moon. She was once immortal with her husband, Houyi, but because of bad behavior, they were made mortal. They both tried to become immortal again with the help of a pill. Chang’e was greedy, supposedly took too much of the pill, and floated up to the moon where she is stuck. Each fall she is celebrated during the Chinese moon festival.

To integrate historical events related to space exploration, kindergartners can create a timelines using long strips of bulletin paper. On this website there are important dates for space exploration written in a child friendly fashion: http://www.spacekids.co.uk/spacehistory/.

References

SpaceKids. Retrieved from http://www.spacekids.co.uk/spacehistory/.