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  Sun, Moon, & Stars
Sun, Moon, & Stars
Level: First Grade
Time Frame: Approximately 1 Quarter 
Description: By observing the day and night sky regularly, children in grades K-4 learn to identify sequences of changes and to look for patterns in these changes.

Overview
Activity List
Learning Objectives
Standards
Resources
 
Unit Overview

As students observe changes, such as the movement of an object’s shadow during the course of a day, and the positions of the sun and the moon, they will find the patterns in these movements. By observing the day and night sky regularly, children in grades K-4 will learn to identify sequences of changes and to look for patterns in these changes. As they observe changes, such as the movement of an object’s shadow during the course of a day, and the positions of the sun and the moon, they will find the patterns in these movements. They can draw the moon’s shape for each evening on a calendar and then determine the pattern in the shapes over several weeks.

These understandings should be confined to observations, descriptions, and finding patterns. Attempting to extend this understanding into explanations using models will be limited by the ability of young children to understand that earth is spherical. They also have little understanding of gravity and usually have misconceptions about the properties of light that allow us to see objects such as the moon. (Although children will say they live on a ball, probing questions reveal that their thinking may be very different.) (National Science Education Standards, pp. 131, 135)

In grades K-2, learning about objects in the sky should be entirely observational and qualitative, for the children are far from ready to understand the magnitudes involved or to make sense out of explanations. The priority is to get the students noticing and describing what the sky looks like to them at different times. They should, for example, observe how the moon appears to change its shape. But it is too soon to name all the moon’s phases and much too soon to explain them (Benchmarks for Science Literacy, p. 62).

Unfortunately, two of the most visible and changing objects in the sky are the moon and the stars, which can be seen primarily in the evening, when students are not in school. The sun, which is in the sky during school hours, cannot be directly observed. Observing seasonal or annual patterns would require that the students make observations throughout the school year. The ability of students to notice these long-term patterns is probably very limited at this grade level, in any case, and the state standards are in conflict here with the Benchmarks, which recommend that seasonal changes be taught in grades 3-5, not K-2.

In order to resolve these dilemmas in this unit, there are alternative activities for the lessons in which students are asked to make observations at home outside of school time. However, it is strongly recommended that students make real observations whenever possible. The lesson for observing the daytime sky is written very carefully to limit the chances of a child looking directly at the sun. It is also strongly recommended that this unit be taught in the fall or spring, when you, students, and their families can comfortably make outdoor observations. Seasonal patterns are addressed in the fourth grade unit rather than in this one.

Activity List

  • The Daytime Sky
  • The Location and Path of the Sun
  • Shadows I
  • Shadows II
  • The Night Sky
  • The Star
  • The Moon

Learning Objectives

Students will observe and know and observe that:

  • There are typically several kinds of objects that can be seen in the daytime sky and many of them move across the sky.
  • The sun appears to change position or move across the sky during daylight hours.
  • The apparent movement of the sun is part of what defines our sense of time, that is, defines our definition of a “day.”
  • Shadows or dark areas are formed when something blocks the light from the sun or another light source.
  • Shadows formed by the sun will appear to move during the day in correspondence with the movement of the sun in the sky.
  • Objects in the night sky include the stars and the moon.
  • There are more stars in the sky than anyone can easily count, but they are not scattered evenly, and they are not all the same in brightness or color.
  • Stars appear to move across the sky.
  • The moon moves across the sky on a daily basis much like the sun.
  • The observable shape of the moon changes from day to day in a cycle that lasts about a month.
  • The moon can be seen sometimes during the day.

Students will practice:

  • Describing observed events.
  • Developing questions on scientific topics.
  • Collecting data for investigations.
  • Recording data.
  • Arranging data into logical patterns and describing patterns.
  • Comparing observations of individual and group results.

    *These objectives are not listed in the individual lessons (to avoid repetition), but all lesson engage students in one or more of these practices.
    *Students will practice one or more of these in all activities; to avoid repetition, however, these objectives are not listed in the activities

Standards

Illinois State Standards: Early Elementary-  As a result of their schooling, students will be able to:

112F. Know and apply concepts that explain the composition and structure of the universe and Earth’s place in it.

  • Identify and describe characteristics of the sun, Earth, and moon as familiar objects in the solar system.
  • Identify and simulate daily, seasonal, and annual patterns related to the Earth’s rotation.

11A. Know and apply the concepts, principles, and processes of scientific inquiry

  • Describe an observed event.
  • Develop questions on scientific topics.
  • Collect and record data for investigations.
  • Arrange data into logical patterns and describe the patterns.
  • Compare observations of individual and group results.

National Science Education Standards: Fundamental Concepts and Principles - As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of fundamental concepts and principles:

  • The sun, moon, stars, clouds, birds, and airplanes all have properties, locations, and movements that can be observed and described.
  • The sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of the earth.
  • Objects in the sky have patterns of movement. The sun, for example, appears to move across the sky in the same way every day, but its path changes slowly over the seasons. The moon moves across the sky on a daily basis much like the sun. The observable shape of the moon changes from day to day in a cycle that lasts about a month.

Benchmarks for Science Literacy

  • There are more stars in the sky than anyone can easily count, but they are not scattered evenly, and they are not all the same in brightness or color
  • The sun can be seen only in the daytime, but the moon can be seen sometimes at night and sometimes during the day. The sun, moon, and stars all appear to move slowly across the sky.
  • The moon looks a little different every day, but looks the same again about every four weeks.

Resources

Internet Links

Technology:  What Happened to My Moon?

Play a game about the phases of the moon.
 www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/moon/moon_challenge/moon_challenge.html  

See phases of the moon.
http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/science/phases.htm

  United Streaming Videos

Teachers may find correlating blackline masters at www.unitedstreaming.com.  Accounts for Unit 4 teachers are free. See your school library Media Specialist for assistance in setting up your account. Many videos have audio tracks in Spanish and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

Our Home in Space (15:00)

Moon and Earth (1:43)
This is one segment of Our Home in Space. It is part of the technology lesson listed at the left.

Solar System, The: A First Look (15:00)
 

 
  Untitled Document

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