John K. Grammatico
The purpose of this unit is for students to see how important the Sun is to our existence. Students at this age have a limited knowledge of the Sun's purpose and take its existence for granted. At this point, they realize that the Sun is hot and when it is out, it is a nice day. When it is behind clouds, it is usually raining. It is also very bright and, if you try to look at it directly, it hurts your eyes. These limited observations can be expanded greatly through inquiry and experimentation.
As a result of this unit, students will expand their knowledge of the Sun through inquiry and experimentation. They will learn how the Sun affects seasons by finding answers to questions about the Earth's position during the seasons. Students will also explore how the Sun is responsible for the growth of food on our farms and how plants in turn give off oxygen for us to breathe.
Students will also explore the structure of the Sun. They will discuss its temperature, size and distance from the Earth. Every reference made about the Sun, such as size, will be compared to that of the Earth with the thought in mind that students, as well as adults, are more familiar with the structure of the Earth and will, therefore, be able to absorb and understand the information given about the Sun.
Students will also learn a brief history of some of the first astronomers and their discoveries on the Sun. Hypothesis that were true as well as false throughout history will be discussed. Events in history, such as how astronomers were treated for their beliefs about the Solar System, will be discussed briefly. This historical data will serve as background information and it will in no way be expected to be memorized. It will facilitate discussions about fairness and stubbornness.
I wish to implements all of this information, or as much as possible, through experimentation using the Scientific Process and other "hands-on" activities. This method will allow students to become involved and in turn will make learning more meaningful. I will begin the unit with a KWL chart to establish how much the students already know and what they would be interested in learning.
It is my intention to include subject areas such as Language Arts, Math, Art, Science, History, and Music into this unit. The unit will be divided up into these subject areas and narrative and activities will be included in each. This section will follow a section devoted to general information about the Sun. Again, whenever possible, this background information will be given with a reference to the Earth in order to make the data less abstract.