UNIT OUTLINE FOR EARTH IN SPACE

Subject: Science
Topic: Earth in Space
Grade Level: 5th grade

Unit Goals/Big Ideas

1. Earth’s motion is the basis for measuring time.
2. The sun’s warming of the Earth and tilt of the Earth on its axis have an important connection to
seasons
3. Object in the sky move in regular and predictable patterns around the Sun.
4. Understand why the moon changes shape and why affects it has on the Earth as it revolves
around the Earth.

Unit GLECs that support goals

1. E.ES.05.62 Explain how the revolution of the Earth around the sun defines a year
2. E.ES.05.61 Demonstrate and explain seasons using a model
3. P.FM.05.41 Explain the motion of an object relative to its point of reference
4. E.ST.05.25 Explain the tides of the oceans as they relate to the gravitational pull and orbit of the
moon
5. E.ST.05.24 Explain lunar and solar eclipses

Daily Objective/Activities
While I’ve broken up the lesson into days, some days may require longer periods of time. The teacher
must adjust to both his/her schedule and the student’s needs throughout the unit.

Day 1: Sunlight and Seasons

Students will analyze and graph data on the length of daylight and the angle of the Sun during the course
of a year.
 Students will relate the patterns they observe on the graph to seasonal changes by answering 5
our of 7 of the analysis questions accurately.

Day 2: A Year Viewed from Space

Students will record data from the SEPUP website to understand how the tilt of the Earth determines the
seasons.
 Students will explain why we have seasons by including at least 2 out of 4 leading factors that
contribute to the changing seasons: Earth’s rotation around the Sun, half the Earth is lit at all
times, the tile of the Earth, and the amount of sunlight.

Day 3: Explaining the Seasons

Students will explore why the seasons have varying temperature by analyzing the Sun’s angle in the sky.
 Students will demonstrate their understanding of the Sun’s angle by drawing a picture that
includes 4 out of 6 items on the attached rubric.
Day 4: The Earth on the Move
Students will read a piece of informative writing that summarizes why we have seasons.
 Students will summarize what they read and have learned about seasons by drawing a picture
that includes 3 out of 4 of the following: The Sun, Earth during each season, the Earth’s tilt, and
the Sun’s rays on the Earth.

Seasons Quiz – This can be incorporated within one of the days

Day 5: The Predictable Moon

Students will look for patterns in their moon observation sheets and Emily’s moon observation sheet.
Also, students will identify the different phases of the moon.
 Students will answer 3 out of 4 questions correctly about predicting the moon phases.

Day 6: Explaining the Phases of the Moon

Student will observe the physical movement of the Earth and moon around the sun to understand what
causes the phases of the moon.
 Students will explore the different moon phases and apply what they learned to answering 5 out
of 6 questions correctly regarding what causes moon phases.

Day 7: Moon Phase Simulator

Student will continue observing the movement of the Earth and moon around the Sun through the use of
a computer model. Students will fill in “The Eight Phases of the Moon” worksheet as the computer
model goes through the phases of the moon.
 Students will orally identify where the moon is within its orbit around the Earth during specific
phases 6 out of 8 time correctly.

Day 8: Tides and the Moon

Students will explore the gravitational pull between the Earth and the Sun, and Moon cause ocen tides.
Also, the most extreme tides occur during a new and full moon.
 Students will identify when the tides are most extreme by marking the dates of very high tides on
a calendar. Student will analyze the calendar to see a relation betweent he phase of the moon and
tide occurring.

Moon Quiz – This can be incorporated during one of the days

Day 9: Study Guide

See binder

Day 10: Jeopardy

Questions are taken from the study guide. Use electric version of Jeopardy found online.
Assessment Methods
 Seasons Quiz
 Moon Quiz
 Periodic check of questions
 Science talk discussions

Culminating Activity:
Planets in Motion – Students apply what they have learned to the planets in the solar system

Adaptations and modifications

The universal design of learning is applied through most of the lesson. Thus, if an adaptation occurs, the
whole class benefits form the adaptation.
Specific Adaptations and modifications
 All text is read aloud. I’m not assessing if the students can read, I’m assessing if they understand
the Science concepts.
 During quizzes and tests, a scribe is provided
 Worksheets are altered or reworded for students to better comprehend.
 Both auditory and visual learning occurs simultaneously throughout lessons.
 Content is re-taught during free time to increase comprehension of concepts.
Name:
_______________________________________________________________________

Earth in Space Pre-Assessment

1. What are the four seasons in the northern hemisphere?
________________________________________________________________________
2. When is winter solstice in the northern hemisphere?
a. when Earth is tilted away from the sun
b. when Earth is tilted toward the sun
c. when days get longer
d. when Earth stops rotating
3. About halfway between summer and winter solstice is what time of year?
________________________________________________________________________
4. People living in the southern hemisphere have what season during our
summer?
a. winter
b. spring
c. summer
d. autumn
5. What is one of the reasons for the seasons?
a. Earth’s atmosphere
b. the tilt of the Earth as it revolves
c. the calendar
d. the North wind

6. This is the time it takes for the Earth to completely rotate on its axis:
a. a year
b. a day
c. a month
 d. a week

7. This is the time it takes for the Earth to completely revolve around the
sun:
a. a year
b. a day
c. a month
d. a week

8. During Fall the Northern Hemisphere is

a. pointed towards the sun
b. pointed away from the sun
c. neither pointed towards nor away from the sun

9. Circle True or False: The distance the Sun is from the Earth determines
the season.

10. In what month is the Northern Hemisphere most tilted towards the Sun?
a. December
b. March
c. September
d. June

11. About how many days does a complete cycle of the Moon’s phases
take? ________

12. What causes ocean tides?

a. The counter-clockwise revolution of the Earth around the Sun.
b. The changes in the seasons.
 c. The gravitational pull between the Earth, Moon, and Sun.
d. The Earth tilted 23.5 degrees towards the Sun.

UNIT REFLECTION
What went well during the unit?
 Many of the lessons allowed students to explore their misconceptions about seasons and moon
phases. During the beginning of most of the lesson we discussed as a class what people knew or
thought about a concept. Then we revisited the conception the students had prior to the lesson.
Surprisingly, a majority of the time, students self-corrected their misconceptions. This was
encouraging to see.

What would you change or modify the next time you teach this unit?
 I was disappointed in the variety of formative assessment I completed. Ideally, I would like to
have some type of simple exit slip at the end of each day to analyze how the students
comprehended the concepts. This exit slip could be observations written down, student’s writing,
or simply the student orally saying what they picked up on.

What did you learn during the developing and teaching of this unit?
 I made two different discoveries throughout this unit. Firstly, meticulous planning yields
successful teaching. My lessons that were the most thought out were both more fun and
successful. In regards to teaching, the more energy you bring to a lesson, the more willing the
students will be to explore difficult concepts. I was very theatrical during the most difficult
concepts so that I would keep the student’s attention.

What question do you still have?

 While I felt comfortable with the content I was teaching, there’s always room for more
knowledge. I still have many unanswered question about the Earth, seasons, and moon that I
need to explore. My students and I explored some issues, but some were left unanswered. For
example, why does the moon appear to be filling in sideways? In regards to the unit planning, I
felt very comfortable planning this unit because I had an outline already constructed to work
with.

What technology did you use or could use with this unit?
 Every lesson I used some type of technology. My smart board was always in use with power
points, modals, videos, and the jeopardy game. However, to teach tides, I created construction
paper models to demonstrate this concept.

Other comments:
 Overall, I was very happy with how the unit turned out. Other teachers in the building were
interested in how I was presenting material and we were able to exchange ideas. My students did
very well on the test, which was the ultimate goal with this unit.