Unit 3: Earth and the Solar System

Instructional Resources

OAS-S: 1.ESS1.1, 1.ESS1.2

Bundled Standards Analysis:Earth and the Solar System

Driving Question

• Can patterns be used to predict temperatures and when objects will appear in the sky?

Essential Questions

• What objects are found in the sky and how do they seem to move?

• How can you describe the length of day and night in the summer compared to other seasons?

Examples of Student-Developed Initial Questions

• What sky objects can be seen at night?

• Where is the moon when we cannot see it?

• Does the temperature change in different seasons?

• How do the motions of the sun and moon compare?

• Are stars, other than our sun, visible at night but not during the day?

Prior Knowledge

Each dimension in the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science grows in complexity and sophistication across the grades. To learn more about the prior knowledge and skills students have developed in previous grades associated with the standards in this bundle, check out the links below.

Science and Engineering Practices 

Disciplinary Core Ideas 

Crosscutting Concepts 

Science and engineering practices (SEP) in Grade 1 build on prior experiences. This bundle of standards engages students with the following SEPs: 

• Analyzing and Interpreting Data
• Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

Disciplinary core ideas (DCI) in Grade 1 build on prior experiences. This bundle of standards explores the following areas:

• The Universe and Its Stars
• Earth and the Solar System

Crosscutting concepts (CCC) in Grade 1 build on prior experiences. This bundle of standards leverages the following ways of thinking about science ideas: 

• Patterns
  

Launch Task: Phenomena Ideas

Phenomena are observable events that occur in the universe and that we can use our science knowledge to explain or predict. Engineering involves designing solutions to problems that arise from phenomena and using explanations of phenomena to design solutions. Instructional sequences are more coherent when students investigate phenomena or design problems by engaging in science and engineering practices. Read this STEM Teaching Tool Brief #28 to learn more about the characteristics of a good phenomenon or design problem for anchoring student learning.

Each phenomenon below includes teacher information resources (e.g., information about the phenomenon, data resources, videos, simulations, etc.). Due to the length or accessibility of the content, teachers should screen the resources and pull sections, photos, quotes, and data that are appropriate for Grade 1 students to ask questions, investigate, analyze, describe, evaluate, etc. 

Phenomenon: The moon doesn’t always look the same at night.

Challenge student groups to pretend as if they are lying on their lawn at 10:00 pm looking up at the sky. Their task is to draw a picture of what they might see as they look up into the sky. Have the groups share their pictures and talk about why they drew what they did. Once all groups have shared, ask the class to think about some of the things that most groups had in their pictures. Make a list of these common features (e.g., the stars and the Moon are visible at night). Look again at the night sky pictures that the students created. Do all of the Moons in the pictures look the same? Is the Moon in the same location? Educators can engage students with the following story: “Peep Observes the Moon” that discusses changes in the shape of the moon. Educators can provide students with a take home moon journal chart to draw the shape of the moon each night. This data can be discussed each day and added to a class chart. If for some reason a student is unable to do this activity at home, the educator can supply them with pictures of the phases such as “29 Days of Moon Images” or NASA Earth’s Moon. Students can continue this activity as long as possible. The purpose in doing it for 3 months or even longer is for students to see the cyclic pattern of moon phases (the cyclic pattern repeats every 29.5 days). Educators should focus students' attention on the repetitive pattern of the moon phases, not on names of the phases or explaining why they occur. Educators can extend this activity to thinking about the “Changing Pattern of the Sun and Moon”, “Peep Sees Patterns in the Sky” or “Changes in the Sky”. Educators can support students in making observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe the patterns they see.     

Phenomenon: In the winter, I can’t play outside in the evening because it is dark and cold.

Educators can display a poster showing the four seasons. Ask the students to discuss what they know about the four seasons. What makes summer different from winter? What makes spring different from fall? Create two large Venn diagrams comparing/contrasting summer to winter and spring to fall (e.g., relative temperature: warm, cold, and relative length of day: lots of daylight or not much). Students can use a seasonal light graphic organizer to carry out an investigation to make observations about the amount of daylight at different times of the year. Students can write in the terms dark and light as well as the relative temperature (e.g., hot, warm, cold). This will be a full-year project. Educators can support students in using the data to make comparisons about the amount of daylight in the winter to the amount in the spring or fall. Comparisons between the relative temperatures of the seasons can also be included. As data emerges it can be added to the Venn diagrams. Students can focus on the relative amounts of daylight, not quantifying the hours or time of daylight.

Engagement Strategies 

• Educators can leverage the Student Actions and Teacher Actions found in the Earth and the Solar System bundled standards analysis for specific ways of engaging students with these science ideas.

• This example of an elementary science cycle of learning can support educators in developing coherent sequences of learning.
   

• Educators can utilize anchor charts to record student thinking and ideas to be used as a reference throughout the investigation or bundle. More strategies that support students with figuring out science ideas can be found within the Science Engagement Strategies section of the Framework. 

What It Looks Like in the Classroom

In science and engineering, evidence-based effective instruction focuses on students engaging in science and engineering investigations and design to explain phenomena or develop solutions to a problem. This section reflects a science cycle of learning that supports implementing the identified standards within this unit.

"What It Looks Like in the Classroom" is broken into Narrative Parts, written around the different Essential Questions listed at the top. Each Narrative Part includes examples for how to integrate the science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts for each standard, and includes examples of evidence teachers can gather from students that provides information about what they do and do not understand.

Narrative Part 1 of 2

Essential Question: What objects are found in the sky and how do they seem to move?

OAS-S: 

 3-Dimensional Narrative

Evidence of Understanding 

Introduce a phenomenon and support students as they observe and ask questions.

Educators can present students with a phenomenon to represent that observations of the sun, moon, and the stars can be used to describe patterns (e.g., The moon doesn’t always look the same at night). Using an “I Notice, I Wonder” routine, students can begin making observations and asking questions about what caused their observations to be different. Educators can assist students in planning how to answer their questions by guiding discussions around the objects (e.g., sun, moon, stars) that are visible in the sky during the day and the objects (e.g., sun, moon, stars) that are visible in the sky during night.  

• Observations and questions are relevant to the patterns of the moon, sun, and stars. 

Provide students opportunities to investigate a phenomenon in which they record and organize their observations.

Educators can leverage the moon phenomenon, as an example, as students analyze and interpret data (e.g., first hand observations or from media) of the motion of the sun, moon and stars. Other phenomena that can be observed are the apparent movement of the sun across the sky from sunrise to sunset and that stars other than our sun are visible at night but not during the day. Students can record their observations in graphical displays (e.g., pictures, charts).

With guidance, students can use graphical displays (e.g., picture, chart) to organize data including:

• Objects (i.e., sun, moon, stars) visible in the sky during the day.

• Objects (i.e., sun, moon, stars) visible in the sky during the night.

• The position of the sun in the sky at various times during the day.

• The position of the moon in the sky at various times during the day or night.

Students can continue using the “I Notice, I Wonder” routine as they organize their data. Some students may begin to notice certain patterns emerging from the data. 

• Organized data reflects which objects are visible in the sky during the day and during the night.

• Data gathered from observations is connected to the position of the sun in the sky at various times of the day.

• Data gathered from observations is connected to the position of the moon in the sky at various times of the day or night.

Assist students in identifying and describing patterns in the organized data.

Educators can facilitate a “Building Understanding Discussion” to help students talk though any patterns they notice. Educators can assist students in identifying and describing patterns in the organized data. These patterns can include: 

• Stars are not seen in the sky during the day, but they are seen in the sky during the night.

• The sun is at different positions in the sky at different times of the day, appearing to rise in one part of the sky in the morning and appearing to set in another part of the sky in the evening.

• ​​The moon can be seen during the day and at night, but the sun can only be seen during the day.

• The moon is at different positions in the sky at different times of the day or night, appearing to rise in one part of the sky and appearing to set in another part of the sky.

During the discussion, educators can ask questions which require students to use the organized data and the answers to their own questions to describe how the future appearances of objects in the sky can be predicted.  

• A variety of patterns are identified and described from the organized data. 

Provide students with opportunities to share collected data and make predictions. 

Educators can support students in comparing their data with one another through the use of an anchor chart. Educators can support students as they use the identified patterns about the motions of objects in the sky to provide evidence that future appearances of those objects can be predicted. For example:

• If the moon is observed to rise in one part of the sky, a prediction can be made that the moon will move across the sky and appear to set in a different portion of the sky; if the sun is observed to rise in one part of the sky, a prediction can be made about approximately where the sun will be at different times of day.

• When the sun sets and can no longer be seen, a prediction can be made that the sun will rise again in the morning; a prediction can be made that stars will only be seen at night.

Students can share their predictions of the apparent movement of the moon in the sky by creating a model and conducting a Gallery Walk. The gallery walk will allow students to share and gather ideas in a safe environment.

• Identified patterns about the motion of objects are used to predict the future appearance of the objects.

Narrative Part 2 of 2

Essential Question: How can you describe the length of day and night in the summer compared to other seasons?

OAS-S: 

3-Dimensional Narrative

Evidence of Understanding

Introduce a phenomenon and ask students to observe and ask questions.

Educators can introduce a phenomenon to engage students in thinking about the relationships between the relative amount of daylight and relative temperature during the seasons of the year (e.g., In the winter, I can’t play outside in the evening because it is dark and cold.).  Students can post questions about the phenomenon on a classroom Driving Question Board. Educators can assist students in planning and conducting an investigation (e.g. making observations firsthand or from media) to collect data that can be used to make comparisons.  

• Observations and questions are relevant and related to the relative amount of daylight hours and the season.

• Observations and questions are relevant and related to the amount of daylight hours and the average temperature.

Provide opportunities for students to plan and carry out investigations to gather observational data. 

Educators can provide opportunities for students to plan and investigate, with assistance:

• The relative amount of daylight hours (sunrise to sunset) in a given season (spring, summer, and/or fall).

• The relative temperature in a given season (spring, summer, and/or fall).

Educators can support students in describing:

• How the relative length of the day will be determined (e.g., whether it will be light or dark when waking in the morning, at breakfast, when having dinner, or going to bed at night).

• When observations will be made and how they will be recorded, both within a day and across the year.

Students can record this information in tables and/or charts. Data is limited to relative temperatures (e.g., warm, hot, mild, cold, very cold etc.) and to relative amounts of daylight, not quantifying the hours or time of daylight. Students can ask questions pertaining to patterns they encounter in their investigation. These questions can be added to the classroom Driving Question Board.  

• Investigation plan includes how the evidence is to be collected.

• Data collection reflects relative temperatures and relative hours of daylight.

Provide students opportunities to share their observations, data, and what they think may be causing the phenomenon they observed.

Students can combine the collected data (graphs or charts), with assistance, to show patterns between the amount of hours of daylight (sunrise to sunset) and the temperature during each season (fall, spring, and/or fall). 

The students can discuss with classmates using Elbow Partners the patterns that they have discovered. The students can make updates to their data collection tool (graph, table, or chart) as the discussions progress. Educators can use a Consensus Discussion to develop a single refined, classroom consensus model to explain  the relationship patterns between the amount of daylight/temperature and the seasonal time of year.  

• Collected data is used to explain patterns between the amount of hours of daylight (sunrise to sunset) and the temperature during each season (fall, spring, and/or fall). 

Give students an opportunity to apply their new knowledge to predict events related to the original phenomenon.

Using the classroom consensus model about the relative temperature and length of day during different seasons educators can provide an opportunity for students to make predictions. Predictions can include relative comparisons between the amount of daylight and temperature at different times of the year (e.g., summer, winter, fall, spring).  For example, 

• During the winter the days are shorter and the temperature is colder than in the summer. 

• During the summer the days are longer and warmer than in the fall.

Educators can provide the opportunity for students to share their explanation of their prediction (daylight hours and temperature in a season) and reasoning, through pictures or classroom discussions. Educators can revisit the classroom Driving Question Board to discuss any remaining questions.

• Data analysis is used to predict the amount of daylight and temperature in a particular season.

• Predictions are used to compare data among the seasons.