Understanding the apparent motions of the Sun and stars – A Teachers' Guide to the resources of the project TASTE

Understanding the apparent motions of the Sun and the stars in the sky is fundamental for understanding our place in the cosmos. These motions link our direct experience – observing the Sun by day, the stars at night – with the basic geometry and motions of our home planet, both Earth's rotation and its orbital motion within the solar system. In consequence, these motions are a staple of teaching about astronomy in both primary and secondary schools. This document presents resources and insights related to this topic from the project TASTE ("Teaching Astronomy at Educational Level"), an EU-funded project involving schools and science centers from Italy, Greece, Belgium and Germany. TASTE combined educational research with development, and we believe the results should be of interest both to experienced teachers and to those who are just starting to teach astronomy.