The movements of the Earth.

The Sun and the Moon

Merche Berbel – Col.legi Sant Pau Reus

Introduction

I have chosen this topic because it is one of the contents that we have to work inthe 3r level of Primary and also because it is a topic that children are interestedin.

When I decided to chose this topic I was not sure of doing the right thing butlittle by little my students have shown to me that all it’s possible.

They have been incredibly surprising.

I hope my work will be useful for all of you.

http://kcy8781.weebly.com/earth-sun-and-moon.html

TEMPLATE Project

Title: THE EARTH, OUR PLANET – Planet Earth: Rotation and revolution.

Subject: SCIENCE

Level : 3rd level of Primary

Learning Objectives:

- Understand the two movements of the Earth.

- Integrate its causes and consequences.

- working in groups:

* sharing ideas

* coming up with their own conclusions.

* planning and discussing their project with the members of their group. Prior knowledge:

How the Earth rotates and develops the seasons in different places on the world (movement of revolution), and how

the Sun light causes the shadow and, as a consequence, the night (movement of rotation). Competences developed:

- Learning by doing and sharing.

- Content acquisition embedded in context.

- Effective communication in social interaction.

- Critical thinking. Evaluation Criteria. Rubric

CRITERIA INDICATORS

4 3 2 1 Gathering

information and

resources

I took information

from 3 or more

sources

describing the

earth’s rotation.

I took information

from 1 or 2 sources

describing the

earth’s rotation.

I only took

information from

the sources

provided.

I didn’t take any

information on the

earth’s rotation.

Group

cooperation

I participated,

discussed and

agreed in all the

creative process

of the project

together with my

group.

I participated,

discussed and

agreed in most of

the creative

process of the

project together

with my group.

I participated,

discussed and

agreed in some

parts of the

creative process

of the project

together with my

group.

I didn’t

participate,

discuss and agree

much in the

creative process

of the project

together with my

group.

Creativity I find my project

extremely

creative and

original.

I find my project

very creative and

original.

I find my project

quite creative

and original.

I find my project

similar to other

projects.

Outcome The final project

was a real

success.

The final project

was quite

successful.

We had some

problems with the

final project.

The final project

didn’t work.

Activities

Steps Description Interaction Skills Materials Timing

1. The teacher introduces the rubric as

evaluation criteria and explains to the pupils

the main objectives that they should have

achieved at the end of the task.

Group class Listening and reading Photocopies

of the rubric.

First session: 30

min.

2. The pupils have to get into groups of 3 or for

that the teacher has made previously.

Small group (3-

4)

Listening and

speaking.

--

3. They have to prepare the material that they

need: a torch/flashlight, a ball, a notebook, a

pen and a camera (optional)

Small group

(3-4)

Listening and

speaking.

-- For next

session. They

prepare at

home.

4. The teacher introduces the driving question:

When in Reus is day, why in the other part of

the world is night?

Group class Listening and

speaking. Use of

language.

-- Second

session: 1 hour

5. Using the ball and the torch, pupils have to

illustrate what happens at the Earth rotates:

Day and night; at the Earth revolution:

seasons.

Small group

(3-4)

Listening, speaking,

use of language.

Writing, reading and

use of language.

Torch, ball,

notebook,

pen for each

group.

6. Pupils have to take notes on how they set up

their experiment and what results they have

found.

7. Pupils organise their information and include

pictures or drawings of their results and

prepare their final results for sharing with their

classmates, making a presentation in a

cardboard or wall paper.

Small group

(3-4)

Reading, writing, use

of language.

Cardboard

or wall

paper.

Pictures or

drawings

Third session: 1

hour

FINAL

TASK

Pupils have to share their findings and results

with all the other groups.

All groups Reading, use of

language, speaking.

Cardboard

or wall paper

made by

each group.

Photocopies

of a rubric

for evaluate

each group

Fourth and

fifth sessions: 1

hour each

one.

I used also…

LESSON PLAN

Title of the Lesson: ___The Earth, the Sun and the Moon__________________ Date: ____19/01/15___________

Unit of Study: _____________The universe__________________________________

Level and group _3rd

level of Primary______ Number of children _________26______

Background Information:

- What is the Earth, the Sun and the Moon.

- The movements of the Earth: rotation and revolution, and what these movements cause.

- The movements of the Moon.

- Why the Sun is important for us. Learning objectives: (content and language)

By the end of the unit students will be able to: Know the characterization of the Sun-Earth-Moon system. Establish the relationship between the different movements of the Earth’s orbit and rotation, day and nit and seasons. Establish the relationship between the position of the Sun and shadows.

Competencies involved:

Communicative skills:

- Communicate ideas and information orally, written,

visual and using ICT to inform, to persuade, to dialogue.

- Identify relevant information in the area of texts that use

different communication channels and different origins.

Methodological skills:

- Use skills for collecting and processing information.

Personal skills:

- Apply knowledge and skills in familiar contexts and their

environment.

Assessment:

- Show initiative and creativity in conducting a

research project on a topic of the environment, using

ICT resources efficiently.

- Work in group, to be able to discuss and gather

conclusions.

-Complete the sheet prepared filling the gaps with

the information watched in the video.

Lesson development:

Activity title 1.- Previous

knowledge 2.- Earth, Sun and

Moon (TIC) 3.- Fill in the gaps

Time

10 min. 40 min. 10 min.

Description

Pupils have to share with the classmates what they know about the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. They have also to share they knowledge about the movements of rotations and revolution and the relationship between the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon. Pupils have to explore the resource through internet. First of all, they will explore the different questions about the movements of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun. After that, they have to complete the quiz that appears in that page. In groups, pupils have to complete the text with all the information that they have learnt and they knew before doing the activity.

Interaction

T-Ss Ss-Ss T-Ss Ss-Ss (in groups of 3-4) Ss-Ss

Skills

L,S,I

L,S,I,R,W L,S,I,R,W

Materials

Blackboard Chalk White sheets of

paper Whiteboard Internet connection Whiteboard / tablets Sheet ( 1 photocopy

per group)

Personal notes / reminders / homework / other considerations:

Pupils don’t have to do anything at home as homework.

We only need to have prepared the sheet to fill in the gaps, and we have to be sure that the internet connection runs properly (we can prepare the resource before starting the class).

ICT resources

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/earth_sun_moon.shtml

A little taste…

Reflexion on the implementation for improvement:

- The first thing I have confirmed doing that project is that when I introduced the rubric as evaluation criteria my

pupils seemed stressful because, in my opinion, they received too information to them.

- The second thing I have observed is that when they started doing the experiment in their little group, they had to

face the problem of the light. We did the experiment in the afternoon and there was too light in the classroom and

it supposed a big difficulty to be able to develop the activity properly.

- I have seen the difficulties that my students have had for doing their work in groups. They have had many

discussions and although they were working in small groups, there have been students who have not done

anything or have actively participated. This has caused tension.

- In my opinion, this work not only can be interesting but also stressful. Children like working on projects but they also

have some difficulties to be overcome.

Probably my first mistake was to believe in that eight years old children could get good results. They can, I’m sure,

but first I think I should help them learn to work together and learn to overcome difficulties.

- The last point I would like to comment on is the fact that I met with limited time and having to incorporate activities

that were not planned at the beginning of the academic year. This is an aspect that should be taken into account

when preparing the next training course. I think it would be good idea to know beforehand the work we should do

so that it can be taken into account when planning the different subjects.