3.3.5.B: Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily…
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.
The Pennsylvania Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (STEELS) Standards outcome 3.3.5.B (Earth and Space Sciences) for Grade 5 says: “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.” This Fieldbook unit teaches it hands-on, with everyday materials and a printable teacher guide and student sheet for every lesson. Official wording: Pennsylvania Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (STEELS) Standards.
Sun, Earth and Moon Grades 4–5 · partly supports this outcome
Why it's breakfast time in Calgary and bedtime in Singapore, why your shadow swings round the stick, why the Moon changes shape and why some places barely have seasons. Students build models with balls and lamps, track real shadows and read real sky data from cities around the world.
- Why do we have day and night? 45–60 min
Teams spin a ball in the beam of a flashlight and follow a sticker 'person' through sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight. They use the model to explain why it's breakfast time in Calgary while it's bedtime in Singapore.
- Does the Sun really move across the sky? 45–60 min, plus 5 minutes once an hour across the school day
Teams set up a shadow stick in the schoolyard and mark the tip of its shadow across the day, then graph its length and direction. They use the pattern to explain the Sun's path across the sky as the Earth turning, and predict shadows in the other hemisphere.
- Why are there seasons, and why do some places barely have them? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods
Teams shine a flashlight on squared paper at different angles, then carry a tilted ball around a lamp to see how the Sun's height and day length change through the year. They graph real day lengths for London, Singapore and Cape Town and explain seasons with tilt, not distance.
Printable practice for 3.3.5.B
These pages practise a closely related idea; the match to 3.3.5.B is partial.
- Sun, Earth and Moon workbook included with the unit
2 English-support pages, 2 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
- Stars and the Night Sky workbook included with the unit
2 English-support pages, 2 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
- The Reason for the Seasons: Tilt, Daylight and the Solstice workbook included with the unit
2 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 English-support page, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
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Compared with NGSS: 5-ESS1-2 (partial).
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