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Observing and recording the suns position:
Objectives:
1. Observe the movement of the sun across the sky.
2. Record the direction of sunrise and sunset.
3. Collect and organise observational data.
4. Recognise patterns in the suns changing position over time.
5. Explain that the Earths rotation causes daily movement of the sun, while the earths orbit and tilt cause seasonal changes in where the sun rises and sets.
Materials needed:
1. Compass or compass app.
2. Observation chart,
3. Pencil.
4. Cardboard.
5. Camera or tablet.
6. Schoolyard.
Activity 1: Choosing a landmark.
Children to identify landmarks e.g. tree, flagpole, church steeple, buildings.
These will help estimation of where the sun rises and sets.
Activity 2: Sunrise and Sunset observations.
Some observations will need to be made from home
Activity 3: Midday Sun position
During school students can observe where the sun is by using shadows.
Record:
1.Date
2.Time
3. Length of a sticks shadow.
Direction of the shadow.
4. Weather.
Students will notice:
1. Shadows move
2. Shadows change length
3. The sun appears higher or lower depending on the season.
Activity 4: Shadow stick investigation:
Place a 1m stick vertically in the ground.
Every hour:
1. Trace the tip of the shadow.
2. Label the time.(Could use yard chalk)
Students will see the shadow:
1. Move in a curve.
2. Is longest in morning and evening.
3. Is shortest around noon.
Recording Sheet:
Sunrise, Midday Sun, Sunset.
Discussion Questions:
1. Did the sun rise in exactly the same place today?
2. Is the sunrise moving north or south?
3. Did the sunset move?
4. Were todays shadows longer or shorter?
Extension Activity:
Students can create a class graph showing:
1. Sunrise direction versus date.
2. Sunset direction versus date.
3. Daylight hours versus date.
They will discover that:
1. The sunrise point gradually shifts along the horizon.
2. The sunset points also shifts.
3. These changes repeat every year.
Assessment:
Students can:
1. Maintain an observation journal.
2. Draw the suns apparent path.
3. Explain why the sun appears to move.
4. Compare observations made in different months.
Expected learning outcome:
By the end of the investigation, students should be able to explain that:
1. The sun appears to move from east to west each day because the earth rotates.
2. Sunrise and sunset do not occur at exactly the same point on the horizon throughout the year.
3. The changing sunrise and sunset positions are caused by the earths tilted axis as it orbits the sun.
This lesson can run with an investigation time of 4-8 weeks which allows students to identify patterns from their own observations rather than being told the answers.
I would teach this lesson to 3rd/4th but it could be adapted for younger and older classes also.
