T E
A C H E R ’ S
N O T E S
Focus:
Students explore changes in daily
and seasonal cycles, and how changes in
these cycles affect living things.
Learning Goals:
Students will have opportunities to learn
• how to correctly use the terms weather,
season, hibernate, migrate, and shadow
• that the sun is important for heat, light, and
comfort on Earth
• how to describe different types of weather
• what causes the seasons
• the length of a season
• what happens in nature during each season
• what causes day and night
• how day and night affect animals
Discussion Prompts:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Why is the sun important?
What are the seasons?
Which season is your favourite? Why?
What do some animals do in winter?
What do you do at night?
What do you do during the day?
What do some animals do at night?
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Assessment Prompts:
• Do students demonstrate, in their discussions
and answers to questions, understanding of the
science vocabulary used in the cards for this unit?
• Are they familiar with useful terms for describing
the weather, seasons, day, and night?
• Assess students’ responses during discussions.
- Do students understand that daily and seasonal
cycles bring about certain changes?
- Do students understand that daily and seasonal
changes affect living things?
- Can students describe different kinds of weather?
- Can students describe and compare the four
seasons?
• Do students understand that the sun is Earth’s
main source of heat and light?
• Can students tell you what safety precautions to
take when going outside (don’t look at the sun;
apply sunscreen)?
• Do students know what clothing is appropriate for
different weather conditions?
Links to PCSP Student Book Earth Watch :
Card 1: see Lessons 2–4, and 7
Card 2: see Lessons 5 and 7
Card 3: see Lessons 5 and 6
Card 4: see Lessons 5 and 6
Card 5: see Lesson 1
Focus:
Students explore the weather.
Activity Description: This spread is
called “Water and Weather.” Students see
an illustration of a landscape showing the
ocean, a lake, rivers, and mountains.
Animations show moisture rising from
the ocean and lake, clouds forming, and
rain falling. Numbered captions and
arrows help students understand the
steps involved in the water cycle. By
clicking on the orange icon, students can
play a drag-and-drop activity to place
the correct labels on the landscape.
Learning Goal: Students explore the
water cycle.
continued next page
Introduce students to the
topic with the video of a
boy shovelling snow.
Discuss the video and any
comments or questions
students may have.
Activity Description:
A new spread called “Rain,
Rain” appears with a
photograph of dark clouds.
Text explains that dark
clouds mean rain is
coming.
Learning Goal:
Students learn how to
predict changes in the
weather.
Ask Students: If you
were going outside and the
sky looked like this, what
would you wear?
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
continued next page
Activity Description: This spread is called
“Watching the Weather.” Students see an illustration of
a window and a photo of a child. Students are asked to
drag the picture onto the window. Next, students drag
clothing or an object to the window. They do this once
more and then a question appears: “What’s the weather
like?” By pressing the “continue” button, students see
the child dressed appropriately for the weather. Text
describes the weather. By pressing the “continue”
button again, students see a similar series of steps with
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
different children preparing for different weather.
Learning Goal: Students observe changes in the
weather.
Ask Students: Can you draw a picture of yourself on
a sunny, rainy, windy, or snowy day? Make sure you
draw yourself wearing proper clothing for the weather.
Assessment: Do students understand that changes
in the weather mean wearing different clothing and
sometimes doing different activities?
2
continued from page 2
Ask Students: What activities
might you do when it is raining?
(wear rubber boots and a raincoat
and walk in the rain, play indoors,
read a book, and so on)
Assessment: Check that students’
responses are appropriate.
Activity Description: Corresponding to page
4 of the card, this screen includes the page 4
weather chart. Students can drag the weather
symbols onto the chart to show the weather for
each day. When students click the orange icon,
they can answer seven questions by dragging the
correct weather symbol into the circle.
Learning Goals: Students use a chart to
describe weather changes. Students use the chart
to correctly answer questions about the weather.
Ask Students: What was the weather like on
Tuesday morning? What was the weather like on
Thursday afternoon?
Assessment: Can students state the weather
conditions for a specific day of the week and time
(morning or afternoon)?
continued from page 2
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Assessment: Can students make the
connection between dark clouds and
rain? Do students understand the need
to dress for the weather?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
3
Focus:
Students explore what causes the
seasons and how long they last.
Activity Description: A new
screen appears called “Earth’s Tilt
Causes the Seasons.” This is an
enlarged view of the figure that
appears on page 2 of the card.
Learning Goal: Students
contrast the different amounts of
heat that occur during summer and
winter.
continued next page
Introduce students to
the topic with the video
of children playing in
fall leaves. Discuss the
video and any
comments or questions
students may have.
Activity Description: A
screen reveals a large
photograph of children
playing outdoors in summer.
Text answers the Think
question.
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Learning Goal: Students
explore changing amounts of
daylight in different seasons.
Ask Students: When are
days the shortest? When are
days the longest? How do you
know?
Assessment: Do students
understand that the amount of
daylight varies from season to
season?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Activity Description:
This spread is called “Months
of the Year.” Students drag
and drop the months into the
correct order. Students click
“continue” and are presented
with “Seasons in the Year.”
Students drag and drop the
correct season onto a
calendar page for each
month.
Learning Goal: Students
Activity Description: Students click on the blue
learn to order the months
continued next page
plus signs to see a larger view of the cropped
photographs in the circle. Questions appear for each
picture: What does this picture tell you about winter/spring/
summer/fall?
Learning Goal: Students examine the clothing and activities
that pertain to each season.
Ask Students: What do you notice about the clothing in this
winter picture? How is it different from the clothing in the
spring picture? How are the activities different in each picture?
Assessment: Have students answered the questions
appropriately? Do they have a good understanding of how to
dress for each season? Do they understand that each season
brings opportunities for different activities?
4
continued from page 4
Ask Students: What warms the air? (the sun )
Compare summer and winter.
Assessment: Do students understand that the sun
is the main source of heat? Do students understand
that the amount of heat from the sun changes in
different seasons?
Activity Description:
Corresponding to page 4 of the card,
this screen includes the page 4
activity, formatted for the computer.
After dragging a picture of a season
into the red frame, and clicking
“continue,” students will see a new
screen with a word web. Students may
write text using the keyboard, or copy
their responses into their Science
Journals.
Learning Goals: Students describe,
in writing, the weather through
seasons.
Ask Students: What is the
weather like in summer? Winter?
Spring? Fall?
Assessment: Did students
accurately describe, in writing, the
weather for each season?
continued from page 4
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
correctly and to identify the seasons by month.
Ask Students: Which season is August in?
Which season is October in? Is January in
spring? (no ) Is April in summer? (no )
Assessment: Check students’ responses to
the questions you asked.
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
5
Focus:
Students explore spring and summer.
Activity Description: Students see an enlarged view of
the photograph of a mother bear and her cub. Text
describes bears in spring.
Learning Goals: Students learn about seasonal changes
in animal behaviour.
Ask Students: What other animals hibernate in winter
and come out in spring? (bears, gophers, snakes, squirrels)
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Assessment: Do students understand that some animals
hibernate in winter to survive the change in weather?
Activity Description: Students drag and drop pictures to match
the correct sentence. When students click on the orange icon beside
the book, they will see a story called “A Year with Mother Goose.”
Students will need to click the forward arrow key to see all eight
spreads of the story.
Going back to the main spread, students can click on the orange icon
above the lamb’s head. Students then see a new screen called “What
Happens in Spring?” with a picture of lambs and text saying lambs
are born in spring.
continued next page
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Introduce students to the topic
with the video of a family of
swans. Discuss the video and any
comments or questions students
may have.
Activity Description: Students look at a new
screen with a photograph of a deer and an inset
photograph of a fawn. Text answers the Think
question.
If students then click on the orange icon by the
two bears, they will see a large photograph of a
bear hunting fish. Text explains what bear cubs
do in summer.
Learning Goal: Students learn about how
baby animals change and behave in summer.
continued next page
6
Activity Description: Corresponding to page 4
of the card, this screen includes the page 4
illustration. Students draw and colour a spring
picture and a summer picture, and then paste
them onto card. Then they cut each picture into six
pieces, like a puzzle. Students try to piece together
a friend’s pictures. Students may practise the same
concept by clicking the orange icon to the spread
called “Jigsaw Puzzle.” Students choose a picture,
click on it, and complete the puzzle.
Learning Goal: Students explore key
characteristics of two seasons using art
and visuals.
Ask Students: Was it difficult to know which
puzzle piece belonged to which picture? What
themes were in the pictures of spring? (e.g.,
babies, rain, flowers ) What themes were in the
pictures of summer? (e.g., sun, fruit, lots of
growth )
Assessment: Do students have a good
understanding of the visual cues for spring and
summer, and how they differ?
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
continued from page 6
Learning Goal: Students learn
about the behaviour of birds and animals in springtime. They explore the
sequence of events from nest building to baby birds flying away.
Ask Students: Can you draw your own pictures of a mother bird and
her babies in springtime?
continued from page 6
Ask Students: How do
fawns change in summer?
(grow bigger ) What do bears
do in summer? (hunt, fish )
Assessment: Can students
explain how fawns change in
summer and how bear cubs
behave in summer?
Assessment: Do students understand that many animal babies are born
in spring? Do students know that some geese fly south in the fall?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
7
Focus:
Students explore fall and winter.
Activity Description: Students see
an enlarged view of Canada geese
migrating for the winter. A new Think
question appears: How do other animals
get ready for winter? Students click the
orange icon to go to another screen.
Clicking on the pictures gives a
description of three different animals in
summer and winter, showing how they
get ready for winter. When students click
“continue,” they can play a matching
game.
Learning Goal: Students learn how
different animals get ready for winter.
Ask Students: Choose one animal.
How does it get ready for winter?
continued next page
Introduce students
to the topic with
the video of a red
fox on a snowy
day. Discuss the
video and any
comments or
questions students
may have.
Activity Description:
Students see an enlarged view
of a bear in the fall who is
eating lots of food to get ready
for winter.
Learning Goal: Students
learn how bears get ready for
winter.
Activity Description: Text answers the
Think question. Students see a wintry
photograph of a squirrel eating a nut it
had stored for winter.
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Learning Goal: Students learn how
squirrels get ready for winter.
Ask Students: What do squirrels do in
summer? (hide food) In winter? (dig up
hidden stores of food to eat, which helps
them survive )
Assessment: Can students explain why
squirrels store food for winter?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Activity Description: Text
answers the Think question.
Students see a wintry photograph
of a rabbit with a white coat.
Learning Goal: Students learn
why rabbits and some other
animals change colour in winter.
Ask Students: What do
bears do in summer? (eat lots )
In winter? (sleep )
Assessment: Can students
identify the main changes in
bears’ behaviour in summer
and winter?
Ask Students: Why do some animals
change colour in winter? (makes them
hard to see, helps them hide from
predators, helps them sneak up on prey )
Assessment: Can students list at
least two reasons for changing colour
in winter?
8
continued from page 8
Assessment: Have students draw their animal in summer
and in winter, showing the changes and ways it gets ready. Do
students show changes in colour and describe hibernation or
migration? Do they show that animals eat a lot in the summer?
Activity Description:
Corresponding to page 4 of the card,
this screen includes the page 4
illustration. Students draw and colour a
fall picture and a winter picture, and
then paste them onto card. Then they
cut each picture into six pieces, like a
puzzle. Students try to piece together a
friend’s pictures. Students may practise
the same concept by clicking the orange
icon to the spread called “Jigsaw Puzzle.”
Students choose a picture, click on it, and
complete the puzzle.
Learning Goal: Students explore key
characteristics of two seasons using art
and visuals.
Ask Students: Was it difficult to know
which puzzle piece belonged to which
picture if you mixed them together? Which
items were pictured in the fall scene? What
was included for winter?
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Assessment: Do students have a good
understanding of the visual cues for fall
and winter, and how they differ?
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
9
Focus:
Students explore day and night.
Activity Description: The screen is dark with an illustration of an
outdoor scene at night. By clicking the orange icon, students see a screen
called “Moon Shapes.” Text describes the movement of the moon around
Earth. An animation shows the phases of the moon, including labels for
the new moon and full moon.
continued next page
Introduce students to the
topic with the video of a
rooster crowing in the
morning. Discuss the
video and any comments
or questions students
may have.
Activity Description: Students
may play a drag-and-drop activity
to identify daytime animals and
nighttime animals. Animal sound
effects play when students place
each animal picture correctly.
Learning Goal: Students
identify various animals as daytime
or nighttime creatures.
continued next page
Activity Description:
This is an animation of
Earth from the North Pole
that shows Earth rotating
through day and night.
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Learning Goal:
Students learn about what
causes day and night.
Ask Students: What
causes day? (when part of
Earth is facing the sun, it
is day ) What causes night?
(when part of Earth is in
shadow, it is night )
Assessment: Check
that students understand
what causes day and
night.
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
Activity Description: Students
see a large photograph of a sunset
and the text answers the Think
question. By clicking on another
orange Think icon students may
complete a drag-and-drop activity
to match the opposite times of day
or night.
Learning Goals: Students learn
about sunset and check their
understanding of special names for
different times of the day and
night.
Ask Students: What is the
opposite of day? (night ) What is
the opposite of sunset? (sunrise )
What is the opposite of midnight?
(noon )
continued next page
Activity Description: After clicking on
the orange icon, students will see a cat, an
owl, and a mouse. Text answers the Think
question. By clicking on the blue icon,
students may view a short video about owls
and their big eyes.
Learning Goal: Students learn that some
animals have special features that help them
see well at night.
Ask Students: Why do cats and owls have
to be able to see well at night? (hunting ) Why
do mice have to be able to see well at night?
(seeing predators, hiding )
Assessment: Do students understand that
some animals have special features to help
them hunt and see other animals at night?
10
continued from page 10
Learning Goal: Students make observations of
night, including stars and the moon.
Ask Students: What do you see in the sky at
night? (stars, the moon )
Assessment: Do students identify stars and the
moon as being things they see in the night sky?
Activity Description:
Corresponding to page 4 of the
card, this screen includes the page
4 illustration—without the animalname answers that appear upside
down on the card. Students click on
the hidden nighttime animals.
Animal sounds occur when students
find and click on each animal.
Learning Goals: Students
explore different animals that are
active at night.
Ask Students: Can you name
three animals that are awake at
night?
Assessment: Check that
students’ answers are correct.
continued from page 10
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Ask Students: What other
animals are awake in the daytime?
(e.g., horses, pigs, rabbits, hawks )
What other animals are awake at
night? (e.g., hamsters, raccoons,
fireflies, coyotes )
Assessment: Can students give
examples of daytime and nighttime
animals?
Assessment: Have students draw
the sun or moon beside each term to show whether the time takes
place in the day or at night: noon, sunrise, morning, sunset, dusk,
dawn, evening, midnight.
continued from page 10
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
11
Earth Watch
(Daily and Seasonal Changes)
Overall Rubric
You can use this rubric to assess students’ understanding of
the unit as a whole, after they have completed the five cards
for Earth Watch. To help you assess communication or
presentation skills students may have used during the activity,
use the Science and Technology Communication and Science
and Technology Presentation rubrics in the Program and
Assessment Guide.
The student
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Relating Science
and Technology to
Society and the
Environment
(Application of
Concepts and Skills)
Scientific
Investigation and
Technological
Problem Solving
(Inquiry and Design)
© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010
Understanding
Basic Concepts
(Knowledge)
PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes
12