Weather

Author:CheltseaGolding
Datecreated:09/14/201610:35AMEDTDatemodified:10/06/20163:35PMEDT

PLANNING
EssentialQuestion
Howdopeople,animals,andplantsusethesun?
Howcanthesunbeusedasenergy?
Topic/unitofStudy&time
allotment

Topic:TheSun
Timeallotment:1hourand30minutesoverthecourseofoneday.

Grade/Level

Grade2

Subject(s)

Science,Technology

CTApproval/Date

October6,2016

21STCENTURYSKILLSANDTECHNOLOGYTOOLS
Standards

NC(2008)NorthCarolinaStandardCourseofStudy
Subject:Science(updated)
Grade:Grade2
SubjectArea:Earth/EnvironmentalScience
CompetencyGoal:2:Willconductinvestigationsanduseappropriatetechnologytobuildanunderstandingof
changesinweather
Objective:2.05Discussanddeterminehowenergyfromthesunwarmstheland,airandwater.

USAISTENETSforStudents(2007)
Standard:
6.TechnologyOperationsandConcepts
Indicator:
d.transfercurrentknowledgetolearningofnewtechnologies.

USAISTE:NationalEducationalTechnologyStandards(NETS)forAllTeachers(2011)
Standard:1.FacilitateandInspireStudentLearningandCreativityTeachersusetheirknowledgeofsubjectmatter,teaching
andlearning,andtechnologytofacilitateexperiencesthatadvancestudentlearning,creativity,andinnovationinbothfaceto
faceandvirtualenvironments.Teachers:
PerformanceIndicator:
c.promotestudentreflectionusingcollaborativetoolstorevealandclarifystudents'conceptualunderstandingandthinking,
planning,andcreativeprocesses

LearningTargets/Objectives
Studentswillbeabletodeterminewhatenergycomesfromthesun.
Studentswillbeabletodiscusstheusesofthesun'senergy.
Studentswillbeabletodeterminehowthesunheatsdifferentthingsonearth.
Studentswillbeabletovisualizethesunanditseffects.
TechnologyTools
Materialsandresources:
TheSun,OurNearestStarbyFranklynMansfieldBranley
HereComestheSun:CrashCourseKids#5.1(YouTubevideo)
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/sun/(NASAwebsiteforgames)
Technologyresources:
Firefox,EnoughiPadsforeachstudentinthestationtouse.
Thenumberofcomputersrequiredis1.
TeacherwilluseFireFoxasawebbrowsertosearchforinformativevideos.YouTube,orothervideooutlets,willbe
usedtofindavideodiscussingtheSun,solarenergy,andhowthesuneffectsearth.
Assessment/Rubrics

Assessmentwillbeintheformofdiscussionandparticipation.
Studentswillbeevaluatedonwhethertheyknowtheappropriatelocationsofwherethesunisneededandused
asenergy.
Studentswillbeaskedtowritedown1factaboutthesunorthesun'senergy.
Gradewillbebasedonparticipationandcorrectdiscussionofsolarenergy/heatenergyfromthesun.

IMPLEMENTATION
IntroductiontoLesson

Thefocusofthislessonistodiscusshowthesuneffectsweather,aswellashowthesunisabletogiveenergyand
heattovariousthingsonearth.Energyfromthesunisknownassolarenergy.Thisenergyisabletoreachtheearth
throughsunlight.Sunlightisneededforpower,photosynthesis,thewatercycle,andmanyotherprocesses.Also,the
suniswhatkeepsearthfrombeingacold,lifelessmasswithinthesolarsystem.Weneedtheheatandsolarenergy
fromthesuntosustainlife,andalsomaintaindailyfunctions.Duringthisactivity,studentswillmovebetweenthree

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stations.Onestationwilldemonstratehowheatisabletowarmwater,onestationwilldemonstratelightexposureon
differentpartsofaballoon(symbolizingthesunandearth),andthelaststationwillprovidestudentswithinteractive
gamesdemonstratingavarietyofthesun'seffectsonearthandthingswithinearth.Beforethestations,studentswill
watchavideoprovidinganoverviewofimportantinformationtheyshouldknow.Afterthestations,theteacherwill
readTheSun,OurNearestStarbyFranklynMansfieldBranley.
TeacherInput

Lesson:
Tobegin,studentswillwatchHereComestheSun:CrashCourseKids#5.1.
Afterthevideohasfinished,theteacherwillcountoffstudentsintothreeseparategroups.
Thegroupsofstudentswillbeplacedintothreestations,andremaininthosestationsfor12minutes.
GroupOne:
Studentswillmovetoastationcontainingalargebowlofwater,athermometer,andaheatlamp.
Usingthethermometer,studentswillmeasurethetemperatureofthelargebowlofwater,andrecord
thattemperatureonthehandoutgivenatthebeginningofclass.
Then,withtheassistanceofateacher,studentswillmovethebowlofwaterunderneathaheat
lamp.
Byusingatimer,studentswillleavethewaterundertheheatlampfor2minutes.
Afterthetwominutesareup,studentswillmeasurethetemperatureofthewateragain,andrecord
theirfindings.
Then,studentswillsetthetimerforanother2minutes.
Whenthenexttwominutesareup,studentswillrecordtheirfindingsagain.
Tofinish,studentswilldiscusshowtheheatfromtheheatlampwarmedthewater,andcomparethat
withthesunheatinglandandwateronearth.
GroupTwo
Studentswillmovetoastationcontainingalargeballoon,andaflashlight.
Onestudentwillinflatetheballoon.
Takingturns,thestudentswillshinetheflashlightfromthetopoftheballoon,andrecordhowmuch
oftheballooniscoveredbythelightfromtheflashlight.
Then,thestudentswillshinetheflashlightfromthebottomoftheballoon,andrecordhowmuchof
theballooniscoveredbythelightfromtheflashlight.
Tofinish,studentswilldiscusswhythelightonlycoveredcertainpartsoftheballoon,andcompare
theirfindingstohowthesunexposureisdifferentonthenorthernandsouthernhemispheres.
GroupThree:
StudentswillmovetoastationcontaininganiPadforeachstudent.
StudentswillvisitNASA'skidswebsite,andparticipateinthemultiplegamesavailableonthesite.
Aftertenminutesofgametime,studentswillwritedown2factsthattheylearnedaboutthesunand
itseffectsonearth.
Afterstudentsreturntotheirseats,theteacherwillprovidereadaloudtimeandreadthebookTheSun,Our
ClosestStarbyFranklynMansfieldBranley

GuidedPractice

Whilestudentsareintherestations,theteacherwillbefacilitatingtheuseoftheheatlampinstationone.Studentswill
notbeallowedtomoveorinteractwiththeheatlampunlessateacherispresent.Theteacherwillbeincharge
ofopeningtheclasswiththeHereComestheSun:CrashCourseKids#5.1.Theteacherwillalsobeseparatingthe
studentsintothreegroupsevenly,andguidingthemtotheirdesignatedstation.Itwillbetheinstructor'sresponsibility
tokeepupwiththetimestudentswillremainattheirfirst,secondandthirdstation.Studentsshouldbeateachstation
for12minutes.AtimercanbeplacedontheSMARTboardatthefrontoftheroom,sothatstudentswillbeabletowatch
theirowntime.Theteachershouldmovethroughthestationsandmonitorthestudents'progress,andmakesure
studentsarestayingontopicandconcentratedontheactivity.Peerdiscussionwillalsobeencouragedduringthethree
stationactivities.Studentswilllearnbestbytalkingabouttheirstruggles,andfiguringouttheirstrengthsand
weaknessescomparedtothoseoftheirclassmates.Theteachershouldalsogivefeedback,andansweranyquestion
studentsmayhave.Providingadditionalinformationnotincludedinthestationwillalsobenefitthefurtherresearchand
thinkingthatstudentswillparticipatein.

IndependentPractice

Byparticipatinginthe3stationsdetailedinthislessonplan,studentswillbeabletoexercisetheirnewlyfound
knowledgeabouttheeffectsofthesun.Becausetheheatlampandflashlightsymbolizethelightandheatenergyfrom
thesun,studentswillbeabletovisualizehowthesunisabletoheattheearthatdifferenttimesandonvariousareas.
TheNASAwebsitewillalsoprovidethestudentswithopportunitiestopracticewhattheyhavelearnedfromthevideo,as
wellastheotherstationsiftheyhavevisitedthemalready.Studentswillalsoberequiredtowritedowntwothingsthey
learnedfromthelessonwhentheyreachthegamingstation.

DifferentiatedInstruction

DifferentiationforExceptionalChildrenandAtRiskstudents:
Forthosestudentsthatarehearingimpaired,awrittenformofinstructionwillbeprovided.Also,thevideo
presentedwillincludesubtitlesandthebookreadattheendofthelessonwillbeavailableforallstudentstosee
astheinstructorisreading.
Forstudentsthatarevisuallyimpaired,participationintheactivitieswillbehandson.Onewillbeabletophysically
touchthewaterbeforeandafteritisheated,aswellasfeeltheeffectsoftheheatlampandlightfromthe
flashlightonvariousobjects.
Forstudentswithamentaldisability,assistancewillbeprovidedforfurtherinstruction,aswellasparticipatingin
theactivities.Theteachercanmodelthethreestationstostudentswithadisability,andallowthemtoseethe
activitiesastheotherstudentsare.Thesestudentsmayalsoparticipateineachoftheactivities,justwithmore
assistancefromtheteacher.Theteachermayalsoencouragemoretimespentinthegamingstationforthese
studentsthatmaybemoresuccessfulthroughvisualandlisteninglessons.
DifferentiationforEnglishLanguageLearners:
ForELLstudents,theteacherwillmodeltheactivitiestothesestudents,andallowthemtorefertotheitemsused
intheirownnativelanguage.
ELLstudentsmayalsobegivenmoretimeforcompletionandadditionalresourcesintheirnativelanguagethat
maybeofassistanceduringthethreestations.
DifferentiationforAcademically/IntellectuallyGiftedStudents:
ForAIGstudents,itisimportantforthemtoreceivemorechallengingassignments.So,whenthesestudentsfinish
theirownwork,theymayalsoassistotherstudentsintheclassroomincompletingtheirstations.
AIGstudentsmayalsobegivengamesthatareofahighergradelevel,orthatrequirefurtherknowledgeand
understandingabouttheeffectsofthesun.
Extraresourceswillalsobegiventothestudentswantingtoexplorethesunevenfurtherindepththanwhatis

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reviewedinclass.
Closure

Aswasdoneatthebeginningofthelesson,studentswillbeaskedtoreadaloudthelearningtargetspresentedatthe
frontoftheclass.Duringthistime,theclassandteachershoulddiscusswhetherthestudentsfeelasthoughtheyhave
reachedthelearninggoal,andifso,howcantheyprovetheirnewfoundknowledgeandunderstanding.Duringthis
time,studentswillalsodiscusshowtheyfeltaboutthestations,whichonewastheirfavorite,andthekindof
informationtheywillbeabletotakeawayfromthelessontheyhavejustcompleted.Tocheckforunderstanding,the
teachershouldaskstudentshowthesunwarmswaterandland,andhowthesun'sexposureisdifferentduringvarious
seasonsandondifferentpartsoftheearth.Theinstructorshouldalsoaskforquestionsfromthestudentsduringthis
time,andgivethemtheanswerstheyaresearchingfor.Toendthelesson,theteacherwillreadTheSun,OurNearest
Star.

TimeAllotment

1classperiods.1.5Hrs.perclass.

MATERIALSANDRESOURCES
InstructionalMaterials

Materials:
EnoughiPadsforeachstudenttouseoneduringgamingstation
Thermometer
Aheatlamp
3largebowlsofwater(at70degreesFahrenheit)
Threelargeballoons
Onemediumsizedflashlight
Sunhandouts
Worksheetscontainingtablesforstudents'recordings
1computerwithSMARTboardtechnology
Attachments:
1. sunhandout.docxAhandoutforstudentswithimportantfactsabouttheSun.

Resources

YouAreMySunshineisanactivitythatprovidesstudentswiththreeopportunitiestolearnaboutthesun.Onestation
includesheatingwaterwithaheatlamp,andcheckingthetemperatureperiodically.Anotherstationincludesblowingup
aballoonandshiningaflashlightonvariousareastosymbolicallyrelatetheactivitytothesunandhowitshineson
earth.Thefinalstationpresentsstudentswithonlinegamingtoexercisetheirknowledgeaboutthesunanditsheating
effects.

REFLECTION
Authorscommentsand
reflection

Shouldanotherteachertrythisactivity,Iwouldattempttoincorporatemoretechnologywithinthetwostationsthatdo
notincludethegamingactivity.
Improvementmayalsocomefromgoingoverstudentquestionsbeforebeginningthestationedactivity,andcomparing
thosequestionstothoseasaresultofthestations.
Inthefuture,thelessoncouldimproveonincorporatingprocessesandotheraspectsofweather,notlimitedtojustthe
sun.

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