Black screen on my Nikon D5000 while I'm taking pictures?

I want to look at the screen and not the viewfinder when I'm taking a picture, but the screen is black. How do I change the settings? I know nothing about cameras.

That is normal for the screen to go black.
When you press the shutter button the screen goes black
This is so that it does not detract your eye from the viewfinder.
You need to set your camera to Live View.
To set it to Live View do the following…

Just hit the Lv button on the back of your camera.
That is it!
When you want to exit Live View just hit the button again.
It will automatically exit Live View after 10min. To prevent the camera form over heating.
That is 100% normal.
Here is a good post on all of your camera's buttons and what they do.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/...s-back.htm

Have fun!

There might be a function on the camera to turn the display on and off, to save battery power. I suggest reading the manual.

You can't prevent it - it is all in the nature of how DSLRs work.

You should never use the LCD when taking photos, unless the camera is on a tripod and you are taking photos of landscapes or portraiture (that is - non action photos).

This is because when using the LCD (live view) there's a 1.4sec shutter delay - which is way too long for sports. When using the viewfinder, the shutter delay is 0.25sec - which is still not that great as far as DSLRs go, but a lot better than 1.4sec.

As well, you can't possibly hand hold the camera steady enough when using the LCD to capture blur-free photos.

The LCD should primarily be used for video and tripod photo use. Otherwise you will likely have blurry photos or photos that failed to capture the action.

Using the LCD is a bad habit in a DSLR, and for that reason alone, I dislike articulated/swing out screens like the D5000 has. If you want the best photos, learn how to use the viewfinder, as you pay a huge penalty in performance by using the LCD for everyday use (and drain the battery more quickly as well).