The students soon soar right into our next unit, The Solar System! They quickly put their astronaut minds to work, reaching far into the depths of outer space. Our unit begins with a wonderful visit to PCIS' very own planetarium, filling the students' minds with new information and new questions to answer. After converting astronomical units, used to measure distance in space, the students create a small scale model of our solar system. Each student pair works to accurately represents the distance between each planet and the sun on three foot strips of paper.
Learning Standard:
Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the “solar system” that includes the sun (a star), planets, and many moons. The earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system.
Learning Standard:
Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the “solar system” that includes the sun (a star), planets, and many moons. The earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system.
The next space concept to tackle is Earth's movement in our solar system. The two "R" words the students are responsible to master are revolution and rotation. The earth revolves (or orbits) around the sun once every 365 days. This movement around the sun, along with the earth's tilt on its axis, is responsible for our seasons here on Earth's surface. Earth's rotation in space is its spinning movement on its axis. The earth rotates once every 24 hours, giving us day and night.
Learning Standard:
Recognize that the earth revolves around (orbits) the sun in a year’s time and that the earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours. Make connections between the rotation of the earth and day/night, and the apparent movement of the sun, moon and stars across the sky.
Learning Standard:
Recognize that the earth revolves around (orbits) the sun in a year’s time and that the earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours. Make connections between the rotation of the earth and day/night, and the apparent movement of the sun, moon and stars across the sky.
Lastly, our students do lots of hard work exploring all the phases of the lunar cycle. The students recreate the phases of our moon using a flashlight, small moon ball, and a large earth ball. They work together to see each phase of the moon right there in our classroom. They soon become lunar experts! Next time you look up to see the night sky, ask your fourth grader what phases of the moon they see!
Learning Standard:
Describe the changes that occur in the observable shape of the moon over the course of a month.
Learning Standard:
Describe the changes that occur in the observable shape of the moon over the course of a month.