Students explore the phenomenon that objects in the sky change position in predictable ways. They explore the natural world by using simple instruments and calendars to observe and monitor change. They use new tools and methods to build on their understanding of the weather and to find out about properties of air by exploring how objects interact with air.
Students observe daily changes in air temperature and connect them to the daily movement of the Sun in the sky. They monitor changes in hours of daylight over the seasons and connect them to changing weather conditions. And they find the Moon in the day and night skies and monitor its movement over the month.
On the Same Day in March: A Tour of the World’s Weather by Gail Marilyn Singer serves as the anchoring context for this unit.
This book invites numerous questions, including:
What is the weather today?
What time of day is the air the warmest?
What time of day can we observe the Moon?
How can we describe the weather over a month?
What does the Moon look like at different times during a month?
How does the amount of daylight change over the year?
How does the temperature and weather change over the seasons?
The documents below have been created to help consider the FOSS materials in the context of the Next Generation Science Standards. We recommend you review, at the very least, the following documents:
Unit Guide - A summary of materials, sequencing and content for the module.
Storyline - An overview of the sequencing and reasons for the various activities
Assessment - A collection of assessment tools including what to look for as students work on the activities.