Science Resources

Mia Murray
ITE 323 Fulton
Fall 2015

Sun and Moon Movement

3rd grade
Strand :Physical, Earth, and Space Sciences
Standard 8: Physical, Earth, and Space Sciences: EARTH AND
SPACE SCIENCE: Understand the Earth and its processes, the
solar system, and the universe and its contents
Topic: The Universe
Benchmark SC.3.8.3
Safely observe and describe the basic
movements of the sun and moon

Lesson Resources
Explore the movements of
Sun, Earth, and Moon

In this lesson the students observe a

physical model made of Styrofoam
balls and wooden skewers. They will
witness the rotations of the earth and
moon. They will also take turns acting
out the rotations with their bodies.

Eyeonthesky.org,. 'Eye On The Sky:

Lesson Plan - Adding The Moon:
Classroom'. N.p., 2009. Web. 16
Sept. 2015.

A Classroom Model

Students will first discuss what they

already know about the sun, earth, and
moon. Then, we will build the model and
students will witness the movements of
the objects. Students will take turns
being the sun/earth/moon and act out
the movements. After the lesson students
will discuss what they learned and we will
add this to our chart from the beginning
of the lesson.

Add on- students will watch a video of the

orbits

Add on- students will work in small

groups to create their own model .This
can be a physical model, or a picture with
captions and explanations.

Lesson Resources
Daytime here, nighttime
there?
In this lesson students will
work in pairs and use
models to explore how
some parts of the earth
have daylight while other
parts are in darkness.
Learnnc.org,. 'The Spinning
Earth: Spinning Into
Darkness And Light - The
Earth And Sun:
Investigations For The
Third Grade'. N.p., 2015.
Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Exploring the earths

rotation

The teacher will pose a question

about why it is day in some parts
of earth while night in other
parts. Students will work in pairs
to draw China and U.S.A on their
Styrofoam ball. They will
experiment with moving the
earth around a lamp (the sun) to
explore why this phenomena
occurs. They will then share their
findings with the class either
through an illustration, written
explanation or verbal
demonstration with the model.

Lesson Resources
Day and night
Students will explore how

the rotation of the earth

causes the sun to shine on
different parts of the earth
at different times. They will
work in small groups to
experiment and make
predictions.
Gonzales, Jeni. '1 1
MULTI-LEVEL LESSON
PLAN GUIDE Earth, Moon,
And Beyond'.
wholeschooling.net. N.p.,
2001. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Exploring why we have time

zones
Students will work in small
groups with models of the
sun and earth to explore
why some parts of the
earth have light while
others have darkness and
also how this is establishes
time zones.
Add on- incorporate math
as students analyze what
time it is in different time
zones.

Childrens Literature
The Sun, Earth and the
Moon

By Jordan Bing

Excellent resource for

This book answers so

learning about the

relationship between the
sun, earth, and moon.
Read the digital copy of the
book to your students!
Bing, Jordan. '"THE SUN,
EARTH, AND MOON" Free Books & Children's
Stories Online |
Storyjumper'. Storyjumper.
com. N.p., 2010. Web. 16
Sept. 2015.

many whys? about the

relationship of the sun,
earth, and moon. It
discusses why we can
see changes in the
moon, why some parts of
earth are cold while
others are hot, solar and
lunar eclipses and more!

Childrens Literature
Why the Sun and the
Moon Live in the Sky
An African folk tale about
how the sun and moon
came to live in the sky.
Dayrell, Elphinstone, and
Blair Lent. Why The Sun
And The Moon Live In
The Sky. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Co.,
1968. Print.

By Elphinstone Dayrell
A classic African folktale

about the sun and moon. In

this story the sun builds a
house which he thinks is large
enough for his friend water
and all of her friends to come
visit in. But it isnt quite large
enough and sun and moon
run out of room and float up
into the sky. This would be a
great lead in to a social
studies unit exploring other
cultures versions of common
stories.

Childrens Literature
What Makes Day and
Night

By Franklyn Branley

This book describes why it

The text walks the reader

is daylight in some places

on Earth while it is
nighttime in other places on
Earth. It has great
illustrations to support the
story.
Branley, Franklyn M, and

Arthur Dorros. What Makes

Day And Night. New York:
Crowell, 1986. Print.

through how the sun

shines on different parts
of the earth based on the
earths spinning. It asks
the reader to experiment
with this theory by
standing next to a lamp
and turning his/her body
in a circle very slowly.

Childrens Literature
Earth: Our Planet in
Space
Very informative text
about our earth and
some of its features, as
well as facts about the
sun and moon.
Simon, Seymour. Earth.
New York: Four Winds
Press, 1984. Print.

By Seymour Simon
This book is realistically

illustrated with images of

earth from outer space. It
explains the Earths orbit
and the relationship
between the Earth and
the sun and moon. It
talks about season
changes, the earths
atmosphere and more

Childrens Literature
Papa, Please Get the
Moon for Me
A classic story by a
famous Author who is
beloved for his unique art
techniques. This story
tells of a little girl asking
her papa to get the moon
for her.
Carle, Eric. Papa, Please
Get The Moon For Me.
[U.S.A.]: Picture Book
Studio USA, 1986. Print.

By Eric Carle
In the story Papa takes a very

tall ladder to a mountain to

climb up to the moon. Once
the moon shrinks a little he is
able to carry it down to his
daughter. Once she has the
moon it continues to shrink
until it disappears. Eventually
it begins to grow again. This
story could be a great lead in
to studying the moon phases.
It would also be a great
inspiration for a lesson on
textured art.

Childrens Literature
Magic School bus Lost in
the solar system
Another Magic School
bus adventure! Ms.
Frizzle is taking the kids
on a field trip that is out
of this world!
Cole, Joanna, and Bruce
Degen. The Magic
School Bus, Lost In The
Solar System. Print.

By Joanna Cole
The Magic School Bus

series is a fun, interactive

and informational collection
of books and videos. In this
story Ms.Frizzles class is
supposed to go on a field
trip to the planetarium but
its closed. Next thing you
know the bus is turned into
a rocket ship and the class
is zooming into outer
space.

Internet Resources
The Childrens University of
Manchester
This link has several
slideshows showing things
like the Earths orbit around
the sun, the moons orbit
around the earth and even
has quiz questions at the
end of each presentation.
Childrensuniversity.
manchester.ac.uk,. 'Sun,
Moon And Earth Orbits The Children's University
Of Manchester'. N.p., 2012.
Web. 17 Sept. 2015.

The Earth and Beyond

Great visual

representation of why we
have day and night, the
orbits, the moon phases
and more. It includes
interesting facts and
there is a pop quiz at the
end of each section that
can be used to check for
understanding.

Internet Resources
Digital Science
This website has several
videos that illustrate and
explain facts about the
Earth, Sun, and Moon.
They are short, 1-2 minute
videos developed for
grades 3-5.
Visuallearningsys.com,.
'Digital Science / Preview |
Visual Learning Systems'.
N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Sept.
2015.

Exploring Earth, Sun and

Moon
The videos in this

category include facts

and visuals about gravity,
orbits, moon phases,
eclipses, tides and even
a short fill in the blank
assessment on all of the
videos.

Internet Resources
Brain pop

Moon phases

This website is full of kid

friendly videos and other
resources on a variety of
topics and across content
areas. You do have to have
a paid membership to view
videos. My school has a
subscription and my
students watch videos here
often. Great resource!
Brainpop.com,. 'Brainpop |
Science | Learn About
Moon Phases'. N.p., 2015.
Web. 17 Sept. 2015.

This video is on the

phases of the moon. It

shows why the moon
appears to be different
sizes at different times of
the month. There are
several other videos on
this site related to my
topic including one that
describes the time zones
and why we have them.

Resources
Bing, Jordan. '"THE SUN, EARTH, AND MOON" - Free Books & Children's Stories Online | Storyjumper'. Storyjumper.
com. N.p., 2010. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
Brainpop.com,. 'Brainpop | Science | Learn About Moon Phases'. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.
Branley, Franklyn M, and Arthur Dorros. What Makes Day And Night. New York: Crowell, 1986. Print.
Carle, Eric. Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me. [U.S.A.]: Picture Book Studio USA, 1986. Print.
Childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk,. 'Sun, Moon And Earth Orbits - The Children's University Of Manchester'. N.p.,
2012. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.
Cole, Joanna, and Bruce Degen. The Magic School Bus, Lost In The Solar System. Print.
Dayrell, Elphinstone, and Blair Lent. Why The Sun And The Moon Live In The Sky. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Co., 1968. Print.
Eyeonthesky.org,. 'Eye On The Sky: Lesson Plan - Adding The Moon: Classroom'. N.p., 2009. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
Gonzales, Jeni. '1 1 MULTI-LEVEL LESSON PLAN GUIDE Earth, Moon, And Beyond'. wholeschooling.net. N.p., 2001.
Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
Learnnc.org,. 'The Spinning Earth: Spinning Into Darkness And Light - The Earth And Sun: Investigations For The Third
Grade'. N.p., 2015. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
Simon, Seymour. Earth. New York: Four Winds Press, 1984. Print.
Visuallearningsys.com,. 'Digital Science / Preview | Visual Learning Systems'. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.