CONCEPT: Day and night result from shadows produced by the earth's rotation.
CONTENT OBJECTIVE: 1J3.00 To understand the relationship of the earth and sun in changing from day to night
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES: The learner will:
3.01 recognize that the earth rotates on its axis.
3.02 understand that when the earth receives sunlight, it is day and the opposite side of the earth is having night.
3.03 understand that it takes 24 hours for the earth to make one rotation.
OUTLINE OF CONTENT:
I. The earth rotates on its axis
II. Rotation causes day and night
TN COMPONENT OF SCIENCE: Habits of Mind
TN GOAL:
To enable students to demonstrate ways of thinking and acting inherent on the practice of science; and to exhibit an awareness of the historical and cultural contributions to the enterprise of science.
TN THEME:
3.2 ASSUMPTIONS - The recognition and the criticism of the validity of an argument through presentation of data and differentiation between fact and assumption in the preparation of an explanation for a natural phenomenon are vital parts of the scientific process.
TN STANDARD(S):
The learner will understand that:
3.2a Science is based upon suppositions derived from observations of natural phenomena.
BENCHMARK Careful observation can yield scientific knowledge.
3.2b Predictions are based on previous knowledge.
BENCHMARK Prior knowledge is the framework for making predictions.
CLASSROOM CONNECTOR
TIME REQUIRED:
Two 30-minute time periods
SET:
Tell the students to look outside. Ask, "Describe what it looks like outside." (response Can you see shadows outside? response) Is your description called day or night? (response) How do you know? (response)
INSTRUCTION:
One way we have of measuring time is by day and night. Our earth turns on an imaginary axis. (spin globe and talk about axis) When the earth where you live gets full light from the sun, it is day. As that part of the earth turns slightly away from the sun, it becomes afternoon. As the place on earth where you live continues to turn, it soon is facing away from the sun. This is night. As the place on the earth where you are, starts to turn back toward the sun, it get lighter. What time of day would this be? (morning)
This process of the earth spinning around causes day and night. When it is day where you live, what are people having who live on the opposite side of the earth? (response)
It takes the earth 24 hours to completely turn on its axis. (Use example "from now until this time tomorrow".) This process is called rotation. The earth rotates once a day. We turn with the earth but cannot feel it turn. It turns all the time.
EXPERIMENT:
Show how the earth moves from day to night. Pretend a flashlight is the sun. Mark where we live on a glove. Turn the globe. See that when where we live gets the light, we are having day and when we get no light, we are having night. Also reinforce that when we are having day, the opposite side of the earth is having night.
CLOSURE:
Think with me one more time, everybody. The part of the earth getting sun is having (response) Good! The part of the earth not getting sun is having what? (response) Great! How long does it take for the earth to spin around one time? Tell your neighbor. Fantastic! You have done a great job.
Have children collect or draw pictures of activities that occur during the day and during the night. They can group pictures in a booklet according to when they occur and below each picture, create a short description related to the concept of day or night. Example: Sky is blue, see shadows. Report to class on characteristics of day (present color of sky, etc.) and of night (no sun, stars in the sky, etc.).
EVALUATION:
1. Day is the opposite of____
2. Night comes after____
3. Day comes after____
4. Our light comes from the____
5. The stars shine at____
6. Where shadows are small, the time____
7. Night is the opposite of____
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time this file has been accessed since 04/10/97.
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