Unit Plan 19 (Grade 1 Science): Daytime Sky Observations

Focus: Observe the daytime sky, including the sun’s position and shadows, to describe patterns that can be used to make simple predictions.

Grade Level: 1

Subject Area: Science (Earth & Space Science • Patterns)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students become sky observers, focusing on the daytime sky. They make repeated observations of the sun’s position, the color/appearance of the sky, and shadows at different times of day. Students look for patterns—for example, that the sun appears low in the sky in the morning, higher around midday, and lower again later in the afternoon, and that shadows change length and direction.

Using drawings, simple data tables, and comparison talks, students learn to describe patterns that can be predicted: if we know the time of day, we can make a good guess about where the sun will appear in the sky and what shadows might look like. The unit ends with a Daytime Sky Pattern Book or Poster where students show and explain their patterns in their own words and pictures.

Essential Questions

• What do we notice about the sun and the sky during the day?
• How does the sun’s position in the sky seem to change from morning to midday to afternoon?
• How do our shadows change as the sun seems to move?
• How can we use these patterns to predict what the sky and shadows will look like at a certain time of day?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Make and record daytime sky observations, including sun position and sky appearance, at different times of day.
2. Observe and compare shadows at different times, noticing changes in length and direction.
3. Describe simple patterns in how the sun’s position and shadows change over the course of a day.
4. Use patterns from their observations to predict where the sun will appear or what shadows will look like at a given time.
5. Create a Daytime Sky Pattern Book/Poster that shows morning–midday–afternoon positions and shadows plus a pattern statement.

Standards Alignment — Grade 1 (NGSS-Aligned)

• 1-ESS1-1 — Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.
  • Example: Observe that the sun seems to move across the sky each day, and that shadows change in length and direction.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can observe and draw the sun and daytime sky at different times.
• I can show how my shadow changes during the day.
• I can describe a pattern in how the sun and shadows change (for example, “shadows are longest in the morning and afternoon”).
• I can use my pattern to predict where the sun will be or what a shadow will look like later.
• I can make a book or poster that explains the daytime sky pattern in my own words and pictures.