OpenSciEd Unit 8.4 · Lesson 03 · 3.A
Look for: The angle of the Sun in the sky increases fro…
From Teacher Edition
Facilitation guidance from the lesson plan — what to notice in student thinking and how to respond while teaching.
Building towards
3.A Use a graphical display (simulated motion from a virtual fisheye projection of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky and compass points across the horizon) to identify temporal and spatial relationships (patterns in solar elevation and length of day) in a large data set (across 6 months from a specific location on earth’s surface).
What to look / listen for
Students collect data, using the videos, about the angle of the Sun in the sky or hours of daylight during the course of a year. Look for the following:
- The angle of the Sun in the sky increases from January to its greatest angle in June then decreases through December.
- The hours of daylight increases from January to its greatest amount in June and then decreased through December.
What to do
If students struggle with measuring the angle of the Sun in the sky, prompt them to examine the video and use a piece of paper to help make their measurements.
Share data in a Scientists Circle. Present slide E and have students move into a Scientists Circle. As the two teams share their data, record it on a piece of chart paper titled, “Changes in amount of sunlight and angle of the Sun at midday over one year.” Instruct students to record the other team’s data into Observations of the Sun: Location ____________.