Official Kids Mag www.kidscoop.com © Vicki Whiting August 2023
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Standards Link: History/ Social Science: Understanding
enduring contributions of ancient civilizations.
The hottest days of the year in the
Northern Hemisphere are usually
from early July to mid-August.
They are often called the dog days
of summer.
A long time ago, people believed
this was an evil time. The hot
weather made food go bad and
people got sick. A book written in
1813 described this period as the
time "when the sea boiled, the wine
turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all
creatures became languid, causing
man burning fevers, hysterics and
frenzies."
In ancient Egypt, people noticed
that the hot weather and the
flooding of the Nile river came at
the same time as the star Sirius was
visible in the morning sky. Sirius is
the brightest star we can see in the
Northern Hemisphere. Since it
shines most of the summer, ancient
Egyptians thought it caused the
summer heat.
The Egyptians named this bright
star after their god Osirus, whose
son Anubis had a head that was
said to resemble that of a dog. The
star became known as the dog star
and the hot weeks when it was
visible became known as the dog
days of summer.
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Sirius is the brightest star in
the constellation Canis Major.
Canis Major means large dog.
Connect the stars by spelling
the word "CONSTELLATION"
to see if you can see why it got
this name.
Standards Link: Follow simple directions.
The 'Dog' Star
Beat the Heat
Help the kids at Camp Kid Scoop find their
way to the lake for a refreshing swim.
Standards Link: Eye-hand coordination.
Whew, it's hot!
These are the
dog days of
summer!
What are
the dog
days?
