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Grade 1. In 10 lessons over 12 class sessions, students begin to build an explanation for the phenomenon of the daytime and nighttime skies. Module includes a teacher guide, 16 Smithsonian Science Stories student readers, and enough materials for 32 students to use 3 times.

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Grade 1. Module Highlights: In 10 lessons over 12 class sessions, students observe the phenomenon of a girl in bed when the sky appears to be dark and a girl in bed when the sky appears to be bright. To begin to explain why the pictures are different, students analyze and interpret observations of the sky at different times of the day and find the pattern that the Sun is visible only during the daytime, the stars are visible only at night, and the Moon can be visible during the daytime or at night. To explain why we see the Sun only in the daytime, students investigate why we see objects at all and figure out that we see objects when light shines on them or if they give off their own light. By modeling the Moon, students figure out that we see the Moon because light shines on it. To identify the daily pattern of the Sun's motion, students observe 360-degree photographs of the sky taken throughout one day. Students plan and carry out an investigation to identify the pattern of daylight throughout the year. Students can now explain that the two pictures from the beginning may have been taken at the same time of day, but on different days of the year. Students complete a science challenge to identify the times of the year that it will be dark when kids walk to and from school in a specific town. They recommend a light source to use so objects can be seen when kids walk to school in the dark.

This module includes a teacher guide, 16 Smithsonian Science Stories student readers, and enough materials for 32 students to use 3 times.

Student Readers Available HERE

Alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards*
Performance Expectations

• 1-ESS1-1: Use observations of the Sun, Moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.
• 1-ESS1-2: Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year.
• 1-PS4-2: Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects in darkness can be seen only when illuminated.

• Patterns of the motion of the Sun, Moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, and predicted.

• Seasonal patterns of sunrise and sunset can be observed, described, and predicted.

• Objects can be seen if light is available to illuminate them or if they give off their own light.

• Developing and using models
• Planning and carrying out investigations
• Analyzing and interpreting data
• Constructing explanations

• Using mathematics and computational thinking
• Engaging in argument from evidence
• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

• Patterns
• Cause and effect
• Scale, proportion, and quantity

*Next Generation Science Standards® is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.