Earth and the Year

Kathy Taft and Dawn Alexander Standard: E.ST Describe the orbit of the Earth around the Sun as it defines a Year. Grade Level: 4 th

Lesson Title Lets be Earth for a Year

The Teaching Process Lesson Overview After completing this lesson, students will be able to describe the earths orbit. SWBAT describe the earths axis and that it never changes. SWBAT predict what would happen if the earths axis was changed to a different degree.

List of Materials For groups of four students: graph paper for each student, red and blue crayons, one replica of the earth, and one flashlight.

Phase one: Engage the Learner Ask students to make some descriptive comments about the earths orbit, the seasons, direct/indirect light and what defines a year is on earth. Tell the students that they need to make a “Thinking Map” using all of their ideas. This will be used as a pre-assessment tool and will be collected by the teacher. Students will also watch a short video of the earth orbiting the sun.

Phase Two: Explore the Concept Working in groups of 4 students begin to look at what the concept direct and indirect light means. They will record their findings on the graph paper using red for direct light and blue for indirect light. They will understand that when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted farthest from the sun we experience indirect light. And when we are tilted closest to the sun we are experiencing direct light.

Phase Two: continued Next the students will use their findings and apply them to the next experiment. The groups will take the earth replicas, their flashlights which represent the suns light and now have the earth rotate around the sun tilted to the right degree (23.5). The students should now see what they just learned about direct and indirect light. This should also provide them with an understanding of a earth year and why we experience four different seasons.

Phase Three: Explain the Concepts and Define the Terms When all groups have finished, ask the students to make observations about the experiments they just did. Call on each group. Teacher will lists all observations on a overhead or white board. Students will then be asked to infer what would happen if we changed the tilt of the axis one way or the other. Teacher will record information on overhead or whiteboard.

Phase Four: Elaborate on the Concept Students will create a pamphlet on one of the four seasons. They will have to include the date it takes place, the climate during that time, where the earth is compared to the sun and whether it is experiencing direct or indirect sunlight. They will also have to take that same season and show how it would change if the axis was tilted to a different angle.

Phase Five: Evaluate the students’ Understanding of the Concept Participation: as the teacher walks around the classroom are all of the students engaged in the activity? Pamphlets: Are they being correctly made? Does the student demonstrate an understanding of the concept that was taught? Is their selected season accurately portrayed?

Other Information URLs ualizations/es0408/es0408page01.cmf ualizations/es0408/es0408page01.cmf References Dr.D.Jacobs, Astronomy for Elem. Teachers Professor