Ledyard Public Schools

Grade 5 Science Curriculum

Unit of Study: EARTH

Suggested Time: 6 Weeks

Content Standard 5.3 Most objects in the solar system are in a regular and predictable motion. The positions of the Earth and moon relative to the sun explains the cycles of day and night and the monthly moon phases.

Essential Question:How does the position of Earth in the solar system affect conditions on our planet?

Focus Question #1 How does Earth’s rotation cause day and night? Focus Question #2 How does the sun’s apparent path through the sky change during the year?

Expected performances (B22)  The student will be able to:

a. explain that the Earth, moon and sun move in predictable ways.

b. describe how shadows provide evidence of the sun’s apparent movement.

c. explain the cause of day and night based on the rotation of Earth on its axis.

d. describe the movement of the Earth in its orbit.

e. compare and contrast revolution and rotation.

 

Required Activities:

1. Students explore properties of shadows on a flat surface.  “Shadows on a flat surface”  Exploration 1, pg. 3 ARIES  (B22a,b  BINQ1,3,4,5,6)

Teacher notes:  It is suggested that students keep science journals/notebooks.  (Refer to teacher resource Science Notebooks, Writing About Inquiry by Brian Campbell for appropriate models for written response and scientific drawings.)

2. Students compare properties of shadows on a spherical surface to those on a flat surface.  “Shadows on a Spherical Surface” Exploration 2, pg. 8 ARIES.  (B22a,b  BINQ1,3,4,5,6,9)

3. Students use shadow pattern data to make inferences about the shape of the Earth.  “Tracking Outdoor Shadows”, Exploration 3, pg. 15 ARIES  (B22a,b  BINQ1,3,4,5,6,9,10)

4. Students construct a model of the Earth-Sun system.  “Building the Aries Astronomy Lab”, Exploration 5, pg. 37 ARIES  (B22c  BINQ4,9)

5. Students model day and night.  “Using the Lab to Model Day and Night”, Exploration 6, pg. 42 ARIES  (B22c,d  BINQ1,3,4,6)

6. Students investigate how number of hours of daylight and of darkness change at different times and locations.  “Measuring Hours of Daylight and Darkness”, Exploration 7, pg. 47 ARIES  (B22c  BINQ1,3,4,5,6)

7. Students will measure the path of the sun over time.  “The Aries Suntracker”, Exploration 11, pg. 76 ARIES  (B22d  BINQ1,3,4,5,6,9,10)

 

Assessment:

Students illustrate the appearance of a shadow over the course of a day and explain in words what causes day and night.

Exploring the Earth in Motion, pgs. 109 – 112.  (B22d)

 

Optional Activities:

 

Focus Question #3 How does the appearance of the moon change as it orbits the Earth?

Expected performances (B22)  The student will be able to:

a. identify the moon’s phases and describe how the moon’s appearance changes during the lunar cycle.

b. explain why the moon appears in the sky at different times at night, and even sometimes during the daytime.

c. describe the monthly changes in the appearance of the moon, based on the moon’s orbit around the Earth.

 

Required Activities:

1. Students make and record regular observations of the moon over a period of time.  (B22a)

Teacher notes:  As an example in Appendix, see ARIES or http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/moon/moon_worksheet/moon_worksheet.html

2. Using flashlight and balls for models, students draw, label and sequence the phases of the moon.  (B22a,c)

3. Students read informational text and/or use interactive websites to gain information on Focus Question 3.  (Technology standard 3,5)

 

Assessment:

Students illustrate and label the phases of the moon.  Then, they explain in writing how the appearance of the moon changes over time.  Exploring the Moon and Stars, pgs. 194 – 195, (No. 6 – 9).  (See Appendix)

 

Vocabulary

• Earth – third planet in order from the sun

• Moon – a natural object that orbits a planet

• Moon phases – regular changes in the moon’s appearance as seen from Earth

• Revolution – one orbit of an object in space around another object in space, such as the moon around the Earth

• Rotation – the spinning of a planet, moon, sun or other object around its axis

• Shadow – darkness in a place that is being blocked off from direct sunlight

• Sun – the star at the center of our solar system around which the Earth orbits

 

Optional Activities:

 

Resources Needed:

Student:

Teacher:

Internet:

Facts:  http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/phonedrmarc/2004_march.shtml

Facts:  http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html

Interactive phase sequence:  http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_systemlevel2/activity/moonlight.html

Phase animation:  http://www.solarviews.com/cap/moon/vmoon2.htm

Phase calendar for elementary students:  http://www.paulcarlisle.net/old/MoonCalendar.html

Phase sequence hands on challenge:  http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/tools.cfm?DocID=40&Grade=3-5

Facts:  http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/luna.html

Daily phase calendar:  http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon/

Moon music:  http://www.inconstantmoon.com/inconstant.htm

Astronomy With a Stick:  http://www.nsta.org/301

 

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

Art: Display prints of famous paintings to show how different artists work with shadows.

Language Arts: The sun is frequently personified in folktales and legends.  Have students draw or paint a personified image of the sum and explain their images in writing.

Mathematics: Record, graph and analyze data.

Music: Students create a dance or mime for the lyrics of Me and My Shadow.

Physical Ed: Play games such as shadow tag, follow-the-leader, or shadow dodge ball in which they tag, follow or dodge their shadows instead of their bodies.

 

Bold face indicates CORE expected performances to be assessed by CMT.

 

Ledyard Public Schools

Approved by Instructional Council on 4/10/2006