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Smiling in the Sun

Students will explore the Earth's rotation and create a sun-filled piece of art.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Have students learn about the Earth's rotation, both how it rotates on its axis as well as orbits around the sun. Explain that the sun rises in the east, sets in the west, and at noon the sun is high in the sky, causing our shadows to appear very short. Discuss that it takes one year - 365 days - for the Earth to orbit the sun. Ask students to learn about how the tilt of the Earth causes different parts of the Earth to get varying amounts of sunlight throughout the year, which is what causes different seasons around the world.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to think about activities they enjoy in the sun, whether it's swimming during the summer, sledding during the winter, enjoying the colorful leaves in the fall, or tending a garden in the spring.

  • Step 3

    Have students create a painting that shows themselves enjoying the sun. When the art is complete, have them present it to the class and describe the activity they portrayed and why they enjoy it.

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: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

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?