Sun science is the focus as you explore the Earth's rotation and revolution, the seasons, and night and day.

• 1.

  Explore the concept of the Earth's rotation. With a partner, one of you holds a flashlight (the sun) and the other slowly rotates a large ball (Earth) with a small sticker on it. Figure out whether it is day or night where the sticker is, based on the position of the sun in relationship to Earth.

• 2.

  Draw a 24-hour time line on roll paper with Crayola® Markers. For each hour, decide whether it is day or night where you live, and what you might be doing as the day goes on in summer and then in winter. How does the season affect whether it is light or dark during certain hours?

• 3.

  Choose a time of day and a season. Paint yourself at your chosen time of day in the appropriate clothing and activity for the season on white paper. Where will the sun (or moon) be in your painting? Use Crayola® Washable Paint and paint brushes on paper plates to blend colors. Mix small amounts of paint on paper plates.

• 4.

  Display your paintings in 24-hour order in a hallway gallery. Share observations about your paintings and subjects with visitors.

Standards

• LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.
• LA: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
• LA: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
• SCI: Provide evidence that Earth is spherical and the gravitational force of the Earth causes objects near the surface to be pulled toward the planet’s center.
• SCI: Use a model of a rotating, spherical Earth and the relative positions of the sun and moon to explain patterns in daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the phases of the moon.
• VA: Select media, techniques, an processes; analyze what makes them effective or not effective in communicating ideas; and reflect upon the effectiveness of choices.
• VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.

Adaptations

• Possible classroom resources include: On Earth by G. Brian Karas; Come See the Earth Turn by Lori Mortensen; Earth's Journey Through Space by Trudy E. Bell; Earth is Tilting! by Conrad J. Storad
• Encourage students to expand their investigation into weather patterns. Students sketch illustrations of various types of weather. Gather weather reports and pictures of weather-related events from newspapers. Create a list of vocabulary terms related to weather.
• Students create a calendar documenting weather observed in a given period of time. Provide illustrations of the daily weather. Using what has been observed, students attempt to make predictions of weather patterns
• Students select a favorite landscape painting. Study the painting carefully and note the details in the piece. Students attempt to replicate the painting in a different weather setting. How does this change the picture?