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Space Systems 10 Science Spiraling: "The Sun and it's Interactions"  

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Space Systems 10 Science Spiraling: "The Sun and it's Interactions"  

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Anna Krebbeks. Amanda Mele, Sarah Gardos, Megan Palmer, Madison Fennell

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Choose a specific (more narrow) topic from within your assigned focus area

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Choose a specific (more narrow) topic from within your assigned focus area

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We will go into specifics about the sun, the moon and the stars. We will talk about the features of day and night and how the visual objects in the sky move throughout the days, months and years. We are classifying this specific topic as "The Sun and its Interactions".
AK, AM, SG, MP, MF

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Describe in general how your topic spirals through the elementary curriculum 

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Describe in general how your topic spirals through the elementary curriculum 

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The topic of space systems spirals through the elementary curriculum by simply introducing students at younger grade levels to foundational information, and building upon that knowledge as they advance through elementary school.

In the younger grade levels, such as kindergarten and first grade, basic knowledge is developed by teaching students about outer space in general and how it relates to our lives. It serves as an overview of simple topics that will become more advanced. As students proceed through elementary school, the foundational information they learned about is built upon.

In the later grade levels, the information becomes more advanced, Children learn about what causes changes in outer space and why things appear as they are. They are also required to display their understanding in greater depth, such as creating and interpreting graphs rather than simply observing, predicting, or describing.

One example that we can use to show the science spiraling process in terms of the sun and its interactions is how in early grade levels, students learn that the sun is an asset to the solar system. They are taught that the sun helps us survive. Later in the elementary school curriculum, the topic is revisited, but this time more in depth. For example, in fifth grade students learn what causes the brightness of the sun and how it affects other aspects of the solar system.
MP

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Take your assigned focus area topic and follow it through multiple grade levels.

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Take your assigned focus area topic and follow it through multiple grade levels.

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We address grade levels first and fifth for our focus area of space systems. In first grade, students continue to slowly build on any previous foundational knowledge they may possess about space systems. The overarching theme within first grade regarding our topic is, as demonstrated by the standard we included, "The Universe and its Stars". First graders will learn information and participate in activities having to do with motion patterns of the sun, moon, and stars. Hopefully, the end result after teaching such material will be for students to successfully describe, predict, and observe such patterns. This will serve as background knowledge in the years to come.

In fifth grade, students delve into topics related to space systems including why things appear as they do in space and why they change. In the first standard listed for fifth grade, 5-ESS1-1, students learn what causes some stars to be brighter than others and why. They are then required to display that they understand this concept by building and supporting an argument centered around it. If we take a look at the second standard, 5-ESS1-2, it's apparent that students will learn about patterns in space and how they causes daily changes in shadows, day/night, and how some stars appear based on differing seasons. Students will then have to show that they understand material by representing it in graphical displays.

As you can see, the topic of space systems is taught at multiple grade levels. We touched upon first and fifth, illustrating that information learned and understood in earlier grade levels serves as the foundation for further learning in the upper levels.
MP

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How might you use this information as a new teacher?

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How might you use this information as a new teacher?

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As a new teacher this information could be a guiding tool, by giving standards on how to structure my lesson. As well as additionally following the  narrow topic given, assuring that I keep on track with the NYS standard. This information supplies how in-depth for each grade level the information should be, in order not to overwhelm or underwhelm the class. Additionally, the information supplies differentiation of instruction, if a student was in need of a modification. This information shows the spiraling of the curriculum, and gives the educator knowledge of what students were previously taught in order to not repeat the previously taught curriculum. Allowing the educator to effective use class time, to build upon the foundation of information the children possess. The information shows the new teacher the progression of more simplistic concepts to more complex concepts through the grade levels.  This  information supplies and end goal to help the a teacher structure their space systems unit.

MF

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You must address two different grade levels: (K OR 1 OR 2) AND (3 OR 4 OR 5)

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You must address two different grade levels: (K OR 1 OR 2) AND (3 OR 4 OR 5)

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First Grade Standards:
ESS1.A: The Universe and its Stars

Patterns of the motion of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, and predicted. (1- ESS1-1)
Fifth Grade Standards:
5-ESS1-1. Space Systems: Stars and the Solar System: Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness of the Sun compared to other stars is

due to their relative distances from Earth.
5-ESS1-2. Space Systems: Stars and the Solar System: Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of

shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky
AK, AM, SG, MP, MF

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What developmental differences (in students) need to be addressed at each level? 

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What developmental differences (in students) need to be addressed at each level? 

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The standard for first grade involves the students being able to observe, describe, and predict patterns of the sun, moon, and the stars. This standards involves some of the basic processes, observing and predicting, used in science that is taught very early on during school. During first grade, students are learning how to observe objects, or events and what predictions are and how to make a prediction. The fifth grade standards gets in to more complex processes known as the integrated processes. Integrated processes including interpreting data needed to make graphs. Students will have to be efficient in the basic science processes of observing, classifying, communicating, measuring, predicting, and inferring in order to learn about the integrated processes of science.
In addition, the students in fifth grade will have the knowledge of mathematics needed to represent data in graphical displays. Representing data in a bar graph is not taught till second grade according to the Next Generation Mathematics Standards and every year after, the students will be gaining more knowledge and be able to make more detailed graphs.
(Martin, 2012, pg. 61-159)
In addition, students in first grade are most likely still in Piaget's preoperational stage. Students are generally in this stage from preschool to first or second grade.  During this cognitive stage, children thinking is mostly egocentric meaning it mostly pertaining's to oneself. This characteristic of preoperational children means that logic though is not widely available in children and everything they know is based on what they themselves can see. Furthermore, another important component of the preoperational stage is that children cannot easily comprehend conservation. However, in fifth grade students are most likely in the concrete operational stage of development. During the concrete operational stage children are typically ages 7 to 11. In this stage, childrens' thinking is much more advanced than the previous stage. Students in this stage can comprehend conservation, have the ability to form hypothesizes, are capable of understanding the relationship between time and the length of time to construct meaningful timelines, and have the capabilities to understand ratios, probabilities, and proportions. These characteristics of the concrete operational stage of development, which most of the fifth graders should be in, demonstrate that these students should have the cognitive capabilities to argue the brightness of the star being effected by distance from earth (conversion thinking) and be able to graphically represent daily patterns of length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearances of the stars that can be seen in the sky.
(Martin, 2012, pg. 174-181)
AM

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How would you differentiate your instruction at each level?  Why would you make the modifications you described?

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How would you differentiate your instruction at each level?  Why would you make the modifications you described?

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The first grade students who don't need modifications could be given a guided journal. In this journal the students would write out the times the sun, moon and stars come out and what they look like at each time. Students who have trouble writing may need to modify this assignment. Instead of writing out the times the sun, moon and stars come out, they could be given a list of options of the time they will come out and circle the closest option. Along with this instead of writing a description of how it looks, the students could draw a picture of what the sky looks like. This would give students who struggle with an element of the assignment that doesn't have to do with comprehension of the assignment a chance to focus on what is being taught. More advanced students could be be given a journal with fewer guidelines. Instead of the guided notes that limit what the student focuses on, they could be given one that allows them to write anything they observe about the sun, moon and stars on a given day. This allows students to get involved and make any observations they see instead of just the ones they are guided towards.
Fifth grade students who don't need modifications could be given a recording sheet with one moon and its phase filled out. They would then fill out the other phases in order. Students who have trouble with this could be given a recording sheet with the phases of the moon drawn out  in the wrong order. They students would then put the phases in order. These students would still get the point of the lesson and learn the phases in order in a form that requires less memorization. More advanced students could be given the original recording sheet with the addition of an observation element. Along with filling out the sheet they could also go outside the classroom and look at the sky at night to see what phase of the moon it is and label the date on the recording sheet. This allows them to connect an in-class activity with what they can see outside the classroom.
SG

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What kinds of activities would you use to support your topic at each level?  (They might be similar, but they should be different.)  Briefly describe the activities in enough detail that a reader could understand what is expected in the activities, discern the similarities, and clearly understand the differences.

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What kinds of activities would you use to support your topic at each level?  (They might be similar, but they should be different.)  Briefly describe the activities in enough detail that a reader could understand what is expected in the activities, discern the similarities, and clearly understand the differences.

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An activity that could be used at the first grade level, following a lesson on the patterns of the sun, moon and stars, could be an observation and prediction journal.The teacher can show multiple videos, some being a time lapse  of the daily patterns of sunrise, sunset, and the stars and moon. Students can document in their guided journals, what time they see the sun, moon, and stars (daytime or nighttime), and what it looks like and feels like (observation) when there is sun, moon, or stars. Another possible activity for first graders regarding patterns of the sun, moon, and stars could be a sort of slips of paper with characteristics of the sun, moon, and stars written on them, that the students match to labeled images of either the sun, moon, or stars. Such as, "Sun: the closest star to Earth,  Gives planets heat and light, Larger than the earth, Fiery ball of gas. Moon: Smaller than the earth, Made of rock, Has different phases, Is full every 29 and a half days. Stars: Scattered in the sky, Make up constellations, Give off light, fiery balls of gas, Farther away from earth."
Possible activities for 5th graders could be, following lessons in which they learned about seasons and the earths rotation, students would work in groups on a project to make a poster or presentation about how seasons look and feel in different parts of the world and why. They will have time to individually research a country or place they were assigned and will present what each season looks like in that place, and why the seasons are the way they are there according to the Earth's rotation. Another possible activity for 5th graders regarding this topic is a more advance science journal in which they have graphs to chart patterns they observe over a longer period of time, such as a month or multiple months. This could be done by students making their own observations of sunrise and sunsets and moon patterns, or it could be a daily activity in the classroom in which the teacher pulls up the online weather forecast which says the time of sunrise and sunset, and the moon phase, and students can chart this information on the graphs in their journals and make observations and predictions regarding the patterns that occur, and the knowledge they have gained through class. Another observation that can be added to this journal is observations of their shadows. Teachers can bring students outside at different times of the day, and with a partner, they can measure each others shadows and make observations and draw conclusions about the sun's daily patterns and how they affect shadows.
AK

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How is it sequenced in the curriculum at each level? Does your topic have multiple components?  If so, how should those components be sequenced? What topics might need to precede and follow your topic at each level?

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How is it sequenced in the curriculum at each level? Does your topic have multiple components?  If so, how should those components be sequenced? What topics might need to precede and follow your topic at each level?

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At each grade level, the universe and stars are sequenced differently throughout the curriculum. In first grade, the students will use observations to learn that the sun and  moon rises in the east, move along a predictable pathway across the sky and then sets in the west. The students will also observe that all the stars, except the sun, will be visible at night depending on the weather and various other conditions, such as light pollution. Overall in first grade, students will learn basic knowledge of the sun and moon patterns and observations about the sun and stars.
In fifth grade, students will go much more in-depth about the sun and it's stars. Students will learn that the sun is in fact a star; however, the sun is so much bigger than the rest of the stars due to it being so much closer to the Earth than all the other stars. From this students will learn that stars range in distance from Earth and the closer the star is to the Earth, the bigger the star looks in the sky and the further away the star is the smaller the star looks in the sky. Students in fifth grade will then learn about the Earth's rotation around the sun and the moon's rotation around the Earth. From this students, will be able to learn about predictable patterns that are made due to these events, such as the day and night cycle, the changes in direction and length of shadows, and the different positions of the moon, Earth, and the sun throughout the year.
This topic does have multiple components; the different components are the observations of the sun, Earth, stars and moon; finding patterns due to rotation of the Earth around the sun, and the moon around the Earth. The last component of this topic is to display the patterns found in graphical displays. These components should be sequenced in which in first grade, the students makes the observations of the sun, moon, and stars and the patterns made. These observations of the patterns are very basic information on the topic of space systems. Then in fifth grade, students will go more in depth in the sun and stars by examining the effect of distance from Earth on how the stars appear from Earth in the sky. Students will also go further in depth of the patterns observed in first grade. Students will learn how the Earth moving around the sun creates the year and seasons throughout the year based on the positions of the Earths, sun and moon. Students will learn about how the rotation of Earth on its axis causes the day and night pattern, the sun rising in the east and setting in the west pattern, and the changing of direction and length of shadows. All these topics are much more in depth knowledge based on the observations or the causes behind some of the observations, such as the patterns observed.
Preceding the knowledge of the sun, stars, and moon patterns observed in first grade. Students will first have to know what a shadow is and that a shadow is made when an object like a person or a building integers with the light from the sun. Students should also know what the sun, stars, the Earth and the moon is. Students should be aware of some dangers involved with the sun, such as damage to the eyes from looking at the sun for long periods of time. Teachers should teach students safe ways to observe the sun and the suns patterns without directly looking at the sun and potentially causing harm. Following this topic at a first grade level, the teacher can discuss some reasons why stars may not be seen at night sometimes including how certain weather and light pollution may play a factor in this. Preceding the fifth grade topic of distance of stars to Earth and the patterns of shadow length and direction, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some star in the sky. Students should review the patterns and knowledge learned in previous grades relating to space systems; in addition, to learning about some basic and well known stars such as Polaris, the North Star, and maybe some basic constellations. Following this topic, students can learn about the revolution of Earth around the sun and the tilt of Earth's axis causing the four seasons. This topic can include why seasons vary in temperatures and can maybe touch on the fact that the different hemispheres experiencing different seasons due to the tilt of the Earth.
AM

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How much of the topic is taught at each level? In how much depth is it addressed?

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How much of the topic is taught at each level? In how much depth is it addressed?

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In first grade we will discuss what is a space system and what are the components, such as the stars, moons, and sun.
The class will then move on to note the distinct features of day and night. Touching on the fact that the sun is out during the day  and the stars are out at night. The moon can be seen both day and nighttime.
Then they will move into the reasoning behind the change in day and night caused by the earth's rotation.
The class will learn there is a predictable pattern; that the sun and moon rise in the east and set in the west due to the rotation of the earth.
The class will learn there are predictable shapes of the stars called constellations.
In fifth grade the class will learn that there are specific patterns or cycles of the moon, called phases  . They will know the name of each phase. The appearance of the moon changes due to the moon revolving around the earth.
The class will move on to learn that constellations in the sky change throughout each season, due to earth revolving around the sun. As well as names of given constellations and their corresponding season.
The students will learn that throughout the day, their shadow (or any) changes in length and direction; due to how high or low in the sky the sun is. The sun changes positions throughout the day due to the earth's rotation.
The class will relate this information to various graphing activities.
MF

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Martin, D. J. (2012). Elementary science methods: A constructivist approach. Wadsworth Engage Learning

Courter, Caroline. “The Earth in the Solar System.” BetterLesson, BetterLesson, 21 July 2015, betterlesson.com/lesson/641274/the-earth-in-the-solar-system.