Note: Moon phases and the Earth/Sun/Moon interactive system is a common topic studied on the observational level by young children. Students at this level are being introduced to changes (phases) that occur. They are not learning the phases of the Moon, but understanding that a change is occurring in a pattern at regular intervals and that these changes can be observed and recorded.
This activity demonstrates the usefulness of models and of collecting data over time. At this level students should be able to understand the observable foundation of rotation and revolving that lead to predictable patterns.
Day 1
Activity 1
Invite students to your meeting area and review the information on the KWL Chart started in the previous lesson. Ask students if they have any questions they wish to add to the chart. Say, “We have learned a lot about our Moon and how its movements affect the light we see on it from Earth. Looking at your questions on our KWL chart, I noticed some of you were wondering about the light Earth gets from the Sun.”
Darken the classroom, as much as you can. Using a globe, put a sticker on it to show where the students live on Earth. Ask a student to stand in front of you and model the Sun (using a light bulb or flashlight). Students may need to arrange themselves so they can observe the light on the Earth. Ask, “Using this globe as a model of our Earth, what happens to the sticker as the globe turns counterclockwise?” Remind them that counterclockwise is the opposite of the way the hands of a clock move. (Students should note that half of the Earth is light and half of the Earth is dark at all times.) “How long does it take for the Earth go completely around? Is the Sun changing positions?” Write the word Rotate and Axis on the board. Define each word and allow students time to record them in their science journal.
Give half of your class a 3-inch Styrofoam ball to represent the Earth and have students sketch out North America and South America. (Note: Depending on the number of students, you may be able to have the entire class do this together, which is the best scenario.) Place a black dot about where they live. Push a sharpened pencil up through the South Pole of the Earth to the North Pole so students have something to hold onto and to demonstrate the imaginary axis lines. (Note: You may want to premake these models.) Have students with models of Earth make a circle as they stand around the light—the Sun.
Allow students time to rotate the “Earth” counterclockwise to help them understand day and night. Say, “This is what happens to cause our day and night. One Earth day is 24 hours with varying hours of light and dark. We are now going to orbit or revolve around the Sun, counterclockwise, following an imaginary sphere-shaped path.”
As students slowly rotate the “Earth,” ask them to also slowly move one step to the right until they get back to where they started. Say, “You have now revolved around the Sun to complete an entire year on Earth. It takes Earth about 365 days to complete one revolution around the Sun.”
Note: Students often misunderstand the tilting to mean that the Earth’s Northern or Southern Hemisphere is closer to the Sun. The distance of different locations on Earth from the Sun is not what affects the warming or cooling. It is the area tilted toward the Sun that receives the most direct rays from the Sun and so gets warmer.
If you needed to divide your class into groups, allow the other group of students to complete the same activity. While students are waiting, you may want them to document their observations on paper or in a science notebook.
Activity 2
Have students collect materials and pass out the Sun, Earth, and Moon activity sheet (S-3-5-2_The Sun, Earth, and Moon Activity Sheet.doc) for students to document their learning. When the activity sheet is completed, invite students back to your meeting area. Review the KWL Chart and add new learning. Ask, “Now what has this activity lead us to wonder?” Guide students to see that day and night, along with seasonal changes, have patterns that can be predicted. Add this to the “W” column of the KWL Chart. Ask, “What might this understanding of the patterns of day and night, Moon changes, and the seasons have led people to invent?” (Guide their thinking to the development of calendars.) Suggest that students view different calendars at home to see what patterns they can learn about; and bring in a variety of samples for discussion.
Day 2
Activity 1
Begin the activity by reading What Makes Day and Night (Let’s-Read-And-Find-Out Science) by Franklyn M. Branley. Stop periodically for students to discuss the reading with a partner and to check for understanding. Select one or two students to share their discussions.
Encourage students to add another stanza to the “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” lyrics (S-3-5-2_Song Lyrics.doc), or to compose a song or poem that includes their learning set to music using a nursery rhyme or another tune. They can work in partners or small groups. Allow time for students to share.
Ask students to write in their science notebook about their new thinking, along with any questions they still may have.
Activity 2
To review prior learning, divide students into groups of three (one will be the Sun, one the Earth, and one the Moon). You will need enough room for students to move safely around each other, so you may need to find an area inside or outside to accommodate this need. Tell the student who is the Sun that s/he is to stand still while the Earth rotates and revolves around him/her. Then the Moon will rotate and revolve with the Earth around the Sun. This will help you determine if students understand the celestial motions. Bring students back together to discuss their understanding and address any misunderstandings.
Put students into groups of three (one student will be the Earth, one the Moon, and one holding a poster of a constellation). Pass out the following materials to students:
- 1-inch Styrofoam balls—one per student (one half of the ball needs to be darkened to represent the dark side of the Moon)
- 3-inch Styrofoam balls—one per student
- light source with clamp or stand
- a pencil stuck into the bottom of each Styrofoam ball
- posters of constellations
Set up the “Sun” (the light source) in the middle of the classroom. Invite students who are the “Earth” to make an orbit or circle around the Sun facing away from the Sun. Ask students to position the Earth just above face level and leave enough space between each of the Earth students for the Moon to pass through. Now invite students who are the “Moon” to pair up with an Earth and face the Earth. They will orbit the Earth, but position the Moon in front and just above each Earth. Last, invite the star constellations to position themselves behind the Moon at varying heights above the Earth. This would look like three orbital circles around the Sun.
Turn the light source on, reminding students that the Sun never goes off and on; this is just a model. Reminding students of this shows them there are limits to the use of models. Ask students to observe all the reflecting light from the Sun. Tell the Earths to slowly turn counterclockwise one step at a time. The Moons will slowly move with the Earths, but at a slower rate than the Earth. When the Earth students take a counterclockwise step to the left, so should the Moon students. Ask the Constellation students to just stay in place.
Have students meet at the meeting area and review the KWL chart, what new learning they have discovered, and what questions they still have about the topic. Guide their thinking to the prior day’s lesson when they demonstrated day and night by the rotation of the Earth.
Extension:
- Students who might be going beyond the standards can research the following questions:
o Does the Moon or Sun rise or set in the same position each day?
o Why does the Sun come up in the morning from one spot in the sky at the start of the school year and come up from another spot toward the end of the school year?
o I know that the Sun rises and sets from east to west, but does it always rise in the same spot every morning, and set in the same spot every evening?
- Students who may need opportunities for additional learning can make four night drawings showing four different views of the Moon.
