Unit/Lesson Plan Title:
Primary Subject
Integrated Subjects
Grade Level(s)
Length of Unit
Research Sources
Unit Summary
Science
Math, ELA, Literacy, Writing
First grade
12 days
http://fliiby.com/file/886951/g9u8ec15xo.html
http://www.eia.gov/kids/resources/teachers/pdfs/
SolarBeadsPrimary.pdf
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?
video_id=9797&title=The_Phases_of_the_Moon
http://www.nasa.gov/
Day 1- Pre-test and prior knowledge discussion
Day 2- Day and night observations
Day 3- Comparing/contrasting day and night sky
Day 4- Astronomers and stars
Day 5- Stars and constellations
Day 6- Shadows and sun patterns
Day 7- Sun patterns
Day 8- Heat
Day 9- Light
Day 10- Moon
Day 11- Moon phases
Day 12- Post-test
Key Vocabulary
astronomer, astronomy, star, sun, moon, phase, day, night, telescope,
light, sky, solar, shade, shadow, constellation
NC Essential Standards For
Science
Commor Core Standards for
Mathematics
1.E.1 Recognize the features and patterns of the earth/moon/sun
system as observed from Earth.
Math:
1.MD.3. Tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and
digital clocks.
1.MD.4. Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three
categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data
points, how many in each category, and how many more or less are in
one category than in another.
ThompsonCassie
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Common Core Standards for
ELA & Literacy
ELA:
R.I.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
R. I. 10 WIth prompting and support, read informational texts
appropriately complex for grade 1.
S.L. 1.
a. Followed agreed-upon rules for discussions
b. Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the
comments of others through multiple exchanges.
. c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics
and texts under discussion
S. L. 5. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when
appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
S. L. 6. Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and
situation.
Essential Questions
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Writing:
2. Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic,
supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of
closure.
Day 1, 2, 3: Compare and contrast the day and night sky.
Day 4: What is an astronomer?
Day 5: What is a star?
Day 6, 7: What changes do you notice about the sun?
Day 8, 9: What do we get from the sun?
Day 10: What is the moon?
Day 11: How can you describe the changes you see in the moon?
Materials & Resources
Safety Requirements
Activities/Procedures
• Essential Question
• Explore/Engage
• Explain
• Elaborate (Inquiry)
• Evaluate
Accommodations for
Differentiated Instruction
Cross Curricular
Integration
Created by
Email
ThompsonCassie
Friday, May 10, 2013 9:05:46 AM ET
Vernier Labquest
Astronomy Lab Notebook
Sun, Moon, and Stars flipchart
supporting documents
The Star Gift by Flavia Weedn
Moonbear’s Shadow by Frank Asch
The Moon by Melanie Chrismer (or access to Bookflix)
solar beads
pipe cleaners
di-cut stars (150 for 25 students)
Six 2-bar graphs
incandescent bulbs
CFL bulbs
nightlights
flashlights
laser pointer
black construction paper
yarn
Unit Vocabulary Cards
see day-to-day instructions below
Students will work in whole group, small groups, as well as with partners
to enhance learning
Hands on materials and inquiry based lessons
Vocabulary is printed on cards that include pictures and written
definitions
Student notebooks can be modified using pictures rather than words
Pre/Post assessment can be read aloud
Document camera can be used when completing lab notebook
Visual by teacher modeling, pictures, lab notebook, movie clips, and flip
chart.
Information and Technology1.TT.1.1
Use a variety of technology tools to gather data and information (e.g., Web-based
resources, e-books, online communication tools, etc.).
1.TT.1.2
Use a variety of technology tools to organize data and information (e.g., word
processor, graphic organizer, audio and visual recording, online collaboration tools,
etc.).
thompsoncs@rss.k12.nc.us; carterma@rss.k12.nc.us;
lesleycm@rss.k12.nc.us
Supporting Documents
Teacher Notes, Flipcharts, Labs, Data Sheets, Rubrics, etc.
Day 1
Administer pre-assessment multiple choice test. Also have students draw pictures in
their Astronomy Lab Notebook of the sun, moon, star, and earth as part of an openended pre-assessment.
Discuss the pre-assessment just to see what knowledge/questions students gained.
Write down questions students have on an anchor chart.
EQ: Compare and contrast the day and night sky.
Create anchor charts on the flipchart as a whole group, “Daytime Sky” and “Nighttime
Sky” of the children’s prior knowledge about what they observe in the sky.
Pass out and explain the moon journal for homework. Students will observe the moon
nightly during the unit, and they will color in the moon phase. (This is for a later
discussion/lesson).
Day 2
EQ: Compare and contrast the day and night sky.
Students will use science journals to draw and write about their observations of the day
and night sky. The students will go outside at three different times of the day during
school. At each time, they will draw a picture and write about what they see and hear in
the daytime sky. That night, the students will take their journals home to draw and write
about what they see and hear in the nighttime sky.
Day 3
EQ: Compare and contrast the day and night sky.
Show the short film Day and Night by Pixar (5 minutes).
(http://fliiby.com/file/886951/g9u8ec15xo.html).
Discuss short film. Discuss observations from the day before.
Discuss definitions for day and night. (introduce the vocabulary cards that contain each
definition and display on a science word wall)
Day is: The time that is light between sunrise and sunset.
Night is: The time that is dark between sunset and sunrise.
Students will write definitions in their science journals.
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Add to the anchor charts (if necessary), and then combine them to make a Venn
diagram that compares/contrasts day and night sky on the flipchart. Copy Venn
diagram into science journal.
Day 4
EQ: What is an astronomer?
Teacher will ask if anyone knows what an astronomer is. Tell students that they’re
already astronomers, and they didn’t even know it! Explain definition of an astronomer
to students.
An astronomer is: a person who studies the day and night sky. (use vocabulary cards)
Students will write definition in science journal.
EQ: What is a star?
Students will make predictions about stars by moving around the room
answering questions (Question stem posters attached along with answers). They
will graph their answers using die cut stars and place them under Yes or No after
reading each question. They will then create a bar graph showing what they think
prior to reading the story. After they have placed their star on the bar graph, they
will record their answer that stems from the question in their science journal.
Read The Star Gift by Flavia Weedn. After reading the story, refer back to the questions
by visiting each bar graph. Was the students prediction right or wrong? They can then
self assess by looking at their answers in their lab notebook.
1. Do stars fall from heaven and land on the ground?
Answer: No. They are not solid like a desk or the floor. They are made up of invisible
gases.
2. Could you possibly catch a star?
Answer: You could not catch a star in an apron because most stars are huge. They just
look tiny because they are so far away.
3. Are all stars warm?
Answer: No. Stars are different temperatures. The hottest stars are blue but some
others are white, red, or yellow-orange. It all depends on how hot they are. Stars are
fiery hot balls of gas.
4. Do stars only come out at night?
Answer: No. Stars shine all the time but during the day the light from the sun is so bright
that the light from the stars cannot be seen so people might think they vanish.
5. If this is a story about the stars, what about the sun? Is the sun a star?
Answer: Yes. The sun is a star. It is our closest star and looks like the biggest star
because it is to close to us but it is only a medium-sized star.
6. Do stars really twinkle?
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Answer: No. They only seem to twinkle when we look at them from Earth.
Day 5
EQ: What is a star?
Teacher will refer back to the questions and answers that were taught in previous
lesson pertaining to stars.
Discuss the definition of a star. Students will write it in their journals.
A star is: a distant point of light. (Show the vocabulary card)
Use the flipchart to show that there are patterns in the stars. Show the constellation
map and have students “connect the stars” in their journal to make the big dipper.
Students can write the name and definition of constellation.
A constellation is: a group of stars that forms a picture in the sky. (refer to vocabulary
cards)
Teacher will then have students view other constellations using images online.
Day 6
EQ: What changes do you notice about the sun?
Remind students that they learned the sun is a star. Have different size balls to have
students guess how big they think the sun is. Tell students the sun is actually not the
biggest star, but just the closest to the Earth.
Go over the definition of a shadow. (use vocabulary cards)
A shadow is: a dark shape made on the ground when you are between the sun the
ground.
Take the students outside in the morning and have them work in pairs to trace one
person’s shadow. Mark the “model’s” heel with chalk on the ground. Then students will
write a prediction in their science journals about what will happen to their shadows later
in the day. Students will go back outside in the afternoon and re-trace. After the
students re-trace they will record their observations and explain why they think their
shadows are different.
Teacher will model the concept of day and night using a flashlight and a student (then
globe). As the flashlight shines, the student turns. Teacher emphasizes that we get
light from the sun and that the EARTH rotates not the sun. Students will write the
answer in their science journal about the earth moving, not the sun.
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Day 7
EQ: What changes do you notice about the sun?
Read Moonbear’s Shadow by Frank Asch
Talk about the pattern of the sun across the sky. Refer back to their drawings of the
daytime. On the flipchart, have students move the sun to different times of the day.
Have students sort photos. Show photos of sunrises, noon, sunsets, and night on the
flipchart and have students sort.
Students will draw pictures of four different times of the day (sunrise, noon, sunset,
night) on white paper. They will cut out the illustrations and glue them in the correct
order to a sentence strip. They will staple the sentence strip together to form a “sky
patterns” headband to wear.
Day 8
EQ: What do we get from the sun?
Teacher will prompt students- What have we learned we get from the sun? What else
do we get from the sun besides light? Students will use the Labquest to measure the
temperature in the direct sun and shade. They will record their observations in their
science journals.
Day 9
EQ: What do we get from the sun?
“I have these special beads that only change color with UV light. But you have to
discover which source has UV light.” Each student will receive 10 solar beads and a
pipe cleaner. They will put the solar beads on the pipe cleaner to make a “detector
bracelet.” Students will test the beads under different kind of light (flashlight, lamp with
CFL, lamp with incandescent bulb, overhead projector, laser pointer, nightlight, sunlight,
etc.). Students will predict in their science journal whether or not their beads will
change under the different sources of light. Then they will record their findings as they
test each source of light.
After students discover the beads only change under the sunlight, the teacher will
explain that there is one type of light that we cannot see called UV or ultraviolet light. It
is called ultraviolet because it is past violet on the rainbow. It only comes from the sun.
Participants may know that UV light causes our skin to burn. If UV light is invisible, how
can we find out more about it? Explain that scientists have built instruments that allow
them to detect some kinds of light that our eyes cannot see, just like we built and used
some personal UV light detector bracelets.
UV light is: light that is beyond violet in the rainbow that we cannot see.
http://www.eia.gov/kids/resources/teachers/pdfs/SolarBeadsPrimary.pdf
ThompsonCassie
Friday, May 10, 2013 9:05:46 AM ET
Day 10
EQ: What is the moon?
Refer back to “What Can We See in the Sky?” Venn diagram. Discuss the parts of the
day and night sky of which they’ve already learned. Talk about the moon is the last
thing in the night sky that we need to discuss. Ask students what they know about the
moon. Have them refer to their moon journal they’ve been keeping at home. See what
patterns they’ve noticed and what they think is happening to the moon. What do you
think the moon is?
Listen to Bookflix The Moon by Melanie Chrismer or another non-fiction book about the
moon. Students will complete Moon tree map (is, can, has) in their science notebooks
as the teacher does this on the flipchart.
Day 11
EQ: How can you describe the changes you see in the moon?
Watch “The Phases of the Moon” video clip.
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=9797&title=The_Phases_of_the_Moon
Teacher will demonstrate the phases of the moon with a lamp and styrofoam ball.
Students will be able to see the change in the reflection of the light on the styrofoam
ball.
Students will assemble moon mobiles (see moon mobile directions).
Day 12
Review flipchart.
Post-assessment
Extension Activities
Additional relevant literature:
Stargazers by Gail Gibbons
What Makes Day and Night by Franklyn Branley
The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons
- Use UV probes with same sources of light as used with the solar beads to compare
the UV readings.
- Place some solar beads in bags with different strengths of sunscreen to test UV
protection.
- Have children create a brochure about the importance of wearing sunscreen.
- Oreo cookie moon phases http://www.sciencebob.com/blog/?p=828/
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- Students can revisit their original drawings of sun, moon, star, and earth in their
journals. Then they can draw again with their new knowledge and write about each
term to display in the classroom.
ThompsonCassie
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