Day 2: Day and Night
Objectives
Students will:
Students will:
- define the terms rotate, revolve, and axis.
- model and describe how Earth's rotation causes day and night.
Materials
- book - What Makes Day and Night, by Franklyn M. Branley and illustrated by Arthur Dorros
- video clip -Day and Night on Earth
- students' science notebooks
- North, South, East, and West signs
- lamp
- globes (enough for several groups to work with at the same time)
- colored stickers
Instruction Sequence
- Read aloud book - What Makes Day and Night, by Franklyn M. Branley and illustrated by Arthur Dorros
- Lead discussion about why we have days and nights
- Play video clip
- Introduce the terms rotate, revolve, and axis
- Physically demonstrate the terms rotate and revolve and have students stand up and act out
- Display definitions on board and instruct students to write definitions in their science notebook
- Learning Activity
- Place lamp at front of classroom to represent the sun
- Point out North, South, East, and West signs around classroom
- Darken the classroom
- Have students stand up at their desks to represent the Earth
- Instruct students to rotate counter-clockwise on their axis because that is the direction that the Earth rotates (repeat definitions)
- First, students will rotate so that their backs are to the sun/lamp
- Ask students whether they are experiencing day or night while backs are to the sun (night)
- Instruct students to rotate so that they are facing the sun again
- Ask students whether they are experiencing day or night while facing the sun (day)
- Instruct students to slowly rotate and stop just before they can no longer see the sun
- Instruct students to place hand on shoulder that they can see the sun over and they should be looking towards the west
- Explain that they are experiencing the sun setting
- Instruct students to slowly rotate and stop just as they can see the sun again and they should be looking towards that east
- Instruct students to place hand on shoulder that they can see the sun over
- Ask students if that is the same shoulder they touched before (no)
- Explain that they are experiencing the sun rising
- Repeat the process to emphasize the concept of day and night
Assessments
Formative: Students will participate in learning activity during which they will model how the rotation of Earth causes day and night
Formative: Students will participate in learning activity during which they will model how the rotation of Earth causes day and night
References
Plummer, J. & Slagle, C. (2010). Lesson plans. Retrieved from http://juliaplummer.com/curriculum/All%20CM%20lessons.pdf
Powerof10Texas (2012). Day and night on earth. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3jr0DaV8N8
Plummer, J. & Slagle, C. (2010). Lesson plans. Retrieved from http://juliaplummer.com/curriculum/All%20CM%20lessons.pdf
Powerof10Texas (2012). Day and night on earth. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3jr0DaV8N8