Activities inspired by children’s literature
Sunrise, Sunset
By Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan
The next time you watch the Sun rise, take a minute to
think about what’s really going on. You are standing on a giant ball of rock that is hurtling through space, and the spot
where you are standing is rotating in the direction of a star
93 million miles away! It makes a beautiful sunrise seem
even more amazing. In this month’s trade book–inspired
K–2 lesson, students observe the pattern the Sun follows
as it appears to move across the sky, and in the 3–6 lesson,
students model day and night and explore the need for different time zones on Earth.
This Month’s Trade Books
Day and Night
By Margaret Hall.
Capstone Press. 2007.
ISBN 0-7368-6338-9.
Grades K–4
Synopsis
From Capstone Press’s Patterns in Nature Series, this nonfiction picture book uses simple text, diagrams, and photographs
to explain that Earth’s rotation causes day and night. The book
also depicts things that happen in the day and in the night.
Somewhere in the World Right Now
By Stacy Shuett.
Dragonfly Books. 1997.
ISBN 0679885498.
Grades K–4
Synopsis
This beautifully illustrated book depicts many events that could
be happening in the world at any given moment. Schuett’s illustrations, each overlaid on a map, include hidden details that provide hints as to where the events are taking place. A page in the
front of the book explains that because of Earth’s rotation, different time zones have been established throughout the world.
14 Science and Children
Curricular Connections
According to the National Science Education Standards, in
early elementary school, students should be asked to make
regular observations of day and night. It is important to note
that understanding the day-night cycle may be challenging
for younger learners. Not only do they need to recognize that
Earth is a sphere, they must also understand that the rotation
of this sphere causes the day-night cycle. These ideas may be
too abstract for many young children to grasp. Therefore, it is
important to keep the focus of the K–2 lesson on safe observations of the position of the Sun in the sky. However, we include
an activity in the Elaborate phase of the lesson where students
make a very simple model of day and night with a globe
and lamp. We view this activity as an extension and would
not hold all students accountable for being able to explain
how Earth’s rotation causes day and night. According to the
Standards, students in upper elementary and middle school
should understand that most objects in the solar system are
in regular and predictable motion and that these motions explain such phenomena as the day-night cycle, seasons, phases
of the Moon, and eclipses. Observations of the Sun’s apparent
movements will provide the motivation and the basis from
which students can construct a model explaining the reason
for day and night. In the 3–6 lesson, we give more focus to the
globe and lamp model in explaining the day-night cycle.
Karen Ansberry ([email protected]) is an
elementary science curriculum leader at Mason City Schools in
Mason, Ohio. Emily Morgan (emily@pictureperfectscience.
com) is the Science Leader for the High AIMS Consortium in
Cincinnati, Ohio. Karen and Emily are the authors of PicturePerfect Science Lessons: Using Children’s Books to Guide
Inquiry and More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, available
from NSTA Press at http://store.nsta.org.
For Grades K–2: Where Is the Sun?
Engage: Give each student a copy of the Day and Night
Anticipation Guide (see NSTA Connection), which asks
the following questions: Does the Sun look like it’s in
the same place in the sky all day long? Does the Earth
spin? Does the Sun ever stop shining? Can it be day in
one place on Earth and night somewhere else? Does the
Sun shine highest in the sky at noon? Is the Earth shaped
like a ball? Have students record their answers in the
“Before” column on the left-hand side of the page. For
younger students, this can be done with the whole class,
with the answers recorded on the board or chart paper.
Explore: Choose an outdoor location where students can
observe the Sun in the morning, noon, and afternoon.
Remind students to never look directly at the Sun.
Looking at the Sun can damage your eyes! Each
time you take the class outside, have students face the
southern sky and observe, with caution, the position of
the Sun relative to a landmark (e.g., a flagpole) at each of
these times for three days. Record the observations on a
class chart using pictures of the landmark and the Sun.
Explain: After the third day of observations, use the evidence from the class chart to discuss the following questions: Where did you see the Sun in the sky each morning? Noon? Afternoon? Did you notice any patterns?
(Students should notice that the Sun is always lowest
in the eastern sky in the morning, highest in the sky at
noon, and lowest in the western sky in the afternoon.) At
what time of day did the Sun seem highest in the sky?
(Noon.) Is there any time that you go outside and can’t
see the Sun? (Yes, nighttime.) Why can’t you see the Sun
at night? Is it still shining? (Answers will vary.) Show
students the cover of Day and Night. Tell them that this
book can help them answer the question about why they
can’t see the Sun at night. Read the book aloud, and discuss how the Sun is always shining, but part of the Earth
faces away from the Sun at night.
Elaborate: Introduce the author/illustrator of Some-
where in the World Right Now, and read the book aloud
to students. Model the questioning skills of a good
reader as you read by asking questions, such as: Can it
be day somewhere on Earth and night somewhere else?
Do you know someone who lives in a different part of
the country or world where it is a different time than it is
here? Next, show students a globe and a lamp. Tell them
that the globe represents the Earth. Ask, What shape is
the Earth? Tell them the lamp represents the Sun. Ask,
Does the Sun ever stop shining? Say, “Because the Sun
never stops shining, we will keep the lamp lit in the center of the room.” Next, give each group of students a
globe and have them use it to locate the areas of land and
water, find the United States, and then pinpoint their location. Make the room as dark as possible and have each
group model daytime in their location. Then ask them
to name some places that are having night while they are
experiencing day.
Evaluate: Revisit the Day and Night Anticipation Guide
and have students fill in the “After” column on the righthand side of the page. Discuss the answers and allow students to explain their thinking.
April/May 2009 15
For Grades 3–6: Time Zones
Engage: Before class, bring in several clocks set at dif-
ferent times around the world and labeled with the city
and country. You can find times of many cities around the
world at www.timeanddate.com/worldclock. Introduce the
author/illustrator of Somewhere in the World Right Now.
Skipping “A Note to the Reader” in the front of the book
(this section will be used later to provide the scientific explanation for the students), read the book aloud to students. Model the questioning skills of a good reader as
you read by asking questions, such as: Is it true that somewhere in the world it is already tomorrow? How can the
Sun be rising and setting at the same time? How can all of
these things be happening in the world right now? After
reading, ask, Do you know someone who lives in a different part of the country or world where it is a different time
than it is here? Have you ever been to a place where you
had to set your watch differently? Have students examine
the clocks set for different times for different places in the
world. Determine students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions about Earth/Sun relationships by asking them to
share ideas about how it can be so many different times
at the same moment. One common misconception some
students may have is that the Sun actually moves across
the sky, orbiting the Earth.
Explore: Provide each group of students with a lamp and
a globe. Tell them that they are going to use the lamp as a
model of the Sun and the globe as a model of the Earth.
Before they begin the activity, ask students: How does the
Earth move? (It rotates on its axis and revolves around the
Sun.) What do the movements of the Earth have to do with
how we keep time? (One rotation is one day, and one revolution is one year.) Which movement do you think causes
day and night? (Earth’s rotation) Then give students a few
minutes to explore the following question with the model:
How can it be different times in different places on the Earth?
After students have had time to explore the model, pass out
the Somewhere in the World Right Now student page (see
NSTA Connection). Tell students to use the lamp and globe
to answer the questions on the student page.
Explain: Discuss the student responses on the Somewhere
in the World Right Now student page. Have students share
any observations, answers, and questions they still have.
16 Science and Children
Tell students you will be reading an informational page
titled “A Note to the Reader” in the front of Somewhere in
the World Right Now. Have students listen for answers to
any questions they might still have about time zones, the
Date Line, or Earth’s rotation.
Elaborate/Evaluate: Tell students they will be writing and
illustrating a children’s picture book that can be used to explain
what causes day and night and how it can be day in one part of
the world and night somewhere else. Their finished products
should include simple text, colorful illustrations, and clearly
labeled diagrams. Have available some picture books about
astronomy written for young children, such as The Sun Is My
Favorite Star by Frank Asch (2008) and The Moon Book by
Gail Gibbons (1998). Share some examples of simple text,
colorful illustrations, and clearly labeled diagrams. See NSTA
Connections for project guidelines.
References
Asch, F. 2008. The Sun is my favorite star. New
York: Harcourt.
Gibbons, G. 1998. The Moon book. New York:
Holiday House.
Connecting to the Standards
This article relates to the following National Science
Education Standards (NRC 1996):
Content Standards
Standard A: Science as Inquiry
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry (K–8)
Standard D: Earth & Space Science
• Objects in the sky (K–4)
• Earth in the solar system (5–8)
National Research Council (NRC). 1996. National
science education standards. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press.
NSTA Connection
Download the Day and Night Anticipation
Guide (for the K–2 activity) and the Somewhere in the World Right Now student page and
book project guidelines (for the 3–6 activity) at
www.nsta.org/SC0904.