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A YEAR VIEWED FROM SPACE
By
Delores Anderson
July 12, 2010
FOCUS QUESTION

Enduring Understanding:
 There
are 3 major components to the enduring
understanding. Should the order be revised?
BUFFALO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Campus West
GRADE LEVEL/ABILITY OF STUDENTS
The grade level:
 Total population:
 General Ability:

 General
 ELL:
 504:
 Sp.
Ed.:
6th grade.
77
Education Students:
57
11
3
6
TIME FRAME

Planning:
2

Implementation:
2

hours
55 minute classes
Assessment (per student):
 15

minutes
Schedule:
 Unit
length approximately 6 weeks
OBJECTIVES
Identify Earth’s distance from Sun in Mar.,
June, Sept., Dec.
 Discover affects of distance from Sun does not
cause seasons.
 Compare and contrast data showing average
temperature and daylight length for Melbourne,
Australia and Chicago, Illinois.
 Explain the affects of Earth’s tilt for seasons
and daylight length.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION




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
If we didn’t have calendars, how would we know that a
year has past?
GUIDING QUESTIONS
What is a year?
What happens to Earth in a year’s time?
What do you notice about the average temperatures and
length of daylight hours in Melbourne, Australia and
Chicago, Illinois in December and June?
What role does the proximity to oceans have?
Why does Melbourne have summer when Chicago has
winter?
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
The tilt of the Earth as it revolves around the sun is
the cause of seasons.
 Earth’s orbit is nearly a circle and it has a regular
and predictable motion.
 The distance of Earth from the Sun does vary, but
too slightly (<5%) to cause the degree of
temperature variation from season to season.
Earth is 6 million km closer to the Sun during the
Northern Hemisphere’s winter, rather than in its
summer.

STUDENT TASKS
1.
2.
At beginning of unit complete diagnostic
questionnaire.
Class discussion of ideas of cause of seasons and a
year.
MISCONCEPTIONS

All children’s conceptual frameworks develop from their
experiences and change as they mature. However,
frequently their intuitive understanding of the world around
them does not agree with the scientific explanation. It is
important in planning instruction to know how these naïve
conceptions differ from the scientific explanation, and why
children construct these ideas. Development of complex
concepts takes place in many small steps. Missing steps
can make the correct explanation illusive or down right
unattainable. This makes high-quality, age appropriate
instruction at each grade level vital to the development of
children’s understandings of key science concepts. Valarie
Talsma
HAPKIEWICZ, 1992, 1999

Changing distance between the earth and the
sun causes seasonal changes (with the two
closer in summer and father apart in winter).
MY IDEAS ABOUT THE DAY, YEAR, SEASONS, AND MOON PHASES
BEFORE
Year
What is a year?
Seasons
What changes happen in the seasons
every year?
What changes happen in the Sun’s
position in the sky over a year?
What causes these changes?
What causes these changes?
STUDENT TASKS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Observe teacher modeling of terms rotation,
revolution, axis.
Use computer simulation to collect data.
Discuss information learned in simulation.
Complete analysis questions.
ASSESSMENT PLAN

The materials used for instruction in this unit were developed by SEPUP
(Science Education for Public Understanding Program). SEPUP materials
provide a research based assessment system developed in cooperation with
the Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Group in the
University of California Graduate School of Education. Research results
have shown that students in classrooms who use the assessment system
score better on post assessments than students who do not use the system
(Wilson and Sloan, 2001).
ASSESSMENT DATA
Student Data
A Year Viewed From Space
80
70
Number of Studen
60
50
40
Level 1
Level 2
30
Level 3
Level 4
20
10
0
1
2
3a
3b
4
Question Numbers
5
6
7
BEGINNING STUDENT WORK

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1. What motion of the Earth causes the yearly cycle of seasons?
 Go around
2. Why does a year on Earth have 365 ¼ days?

Go around
3a. In which month(s) is Earth: Closest to the Sun?

Points to diagram showing December
3b. In which month(s) is Earth: Furthest from the Sun?

Points to diagram showing June
4. Based on what you have observed about the distance from Earth to the Sun, does the distance
from Earth to the Sun determine the seasons? Explain the evidence for your answer.

Not close
5. In what month is the Northern Hemisphere most tilted toward the Sun?

Points to diagram showing June
6. In what month is the Northern Hemisphere most tilted away from the Sun?

Points to diagram showing December
7. Explain how the tilt of the Earth affects the seasons and daylight.

Points to diagram showing June and says hot, points to diagram showing December and says
cold.
DEVELOPING STUDENT WORK

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1. What motion of the Earth causes the yearly cycle of seasons?
 Circles around Sun.
2. Why does a year on Earth have 365 ¼ days?
 Moves around Sun.
3a. In which month(s) is Earth: Closest to the Sun?
 Closest December.
3b. In which month(s) is Earth: Furthest from the Sun?
 Furthest June.
4. Based on what you have observed about the distance from Earth to the Sun, does the
distance from Earth to the Sun determine the seasons? Explain the evidence for your answer.
 Earth distance not much different. Picture shows close.
5. In what month is the Northern Hemisphere most tilted toward the Sun?
 Tilted most June.
6. In what month is the Northern Hemisphere most tilted away from the Sun?
 Tilted most December
7. Explain how the tilt of the Earth affects the seasons and daylight.
 Tilted close hot and lots of light. Tilted not close cold and not light.
PROFICIENT STUDENT WORK



3b. In which month(s) is Earth: Furthest from the Sun?
 The Earth is furthest from the Sun in June.
4. Based on what you have observed about the distance from Earth to the
Sun, does the distance from Earth to the Sun determine the seasons?
Explain the evidence for your answer.
 The distance from the Earth to the Sun does not determine the seasons.
My evidence is that the Earth is closest to the Sun when we are cold in
December and farthest away when we are warm in June.
7. Explain how the tilt of the Earth affects the seasons and daylight.
 The tilt of the Earth affects seasons and daylight because when Earth is
tilted toward the Sun we get more direct rays of the Sun for a longer
time. This makes Earth warmer. When it is colder we get less direct
rays because we are tilted away from the Sun.
DISTINGUISHED STUDENT WORK

7. Explain how the tilt of the Earth affects the seasons and daylight.


The tilt of the Earth is the reason we have seasons and how long our hours of
light are. When we moved the Earth around the Sun we saw the temperatures
changed when there was a tilt. When there was no tilt we did not see any
change in the temperatures. Also when we moved the Earth around the Sun
with a tilt we saw the hours of daylight changed. In June we had the most hours
of daylight and warm temperatures in Chicago when there was a tilt. In
December we had cold temperatures and short hours of daylight in Chicago
when it was tilted away from the Sun. I also noticed that the warmest month
was not June. The temperature in Chicago was warmer in July instead of June.
It was colder in January than December. I think that is because it takes time to
change temperatures.
NOTE: A DIAGRAM SIMILAR TO THE ONE BELOW WAS DRAWN WITH THE
STUDENTS RESPONSE.
NY STATE STANDARDS

Standard 4: The Physical Setting

Key Idea 1: The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described
by principles of relative motion and perspective.

PI 1.1 Explain daily, monthly and seasonal changes on Earth.

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Major Understandings: 1.1c The Sun and the planets that revolve around it are
the major bodies in the solar system. Other members include comets, moons,
and asteroids. Earth’s orbit is nearly circular.
1.1e Most objects in the solar system have a regular and predictable motion.
These motions explain such phenomena as a day, a year, and phases of the
Moon, eclipses, ties, meteor showers, and comets.
1.1h The apparent motions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars across the sky
can be explained by Earth’s rotation and revolution. Earth’s rotation causes the
length of one day to be approximately 24 hours. This rotation also causes the
Sun and Moon to appear to rise along the eastern horizon and to set along the
western horizon. Earth’s revolution around the Sun defines the length of the
year as 365 ¼ days.
1.1i The tilt of Earth’s axis of rotation and the revolution of Earth around the Sun
cause seasons on Earth. The length of daylight varies depending on latitude and
season.
MODIFICATION TABLE
Modification
Rationale
Vocabulary is introduced
with operational definitions
that connect concepts to
learning experiences
By using new scientific
terms in the context of an
activity and reapplying the
terms in different
experiences in subsequent
activities, students develop
a deep understanding of
the term and a scientific
perspective.
Benefit
Students with Learning
Disabilities
English Language Learners
Academically Gifted
Students
REFLECTION
A Private Universe" was created and produced by
Matthew H. Schneps and Philip M. Sadler, Harvard
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics-1988.