Unit Plan 23 (Grade 1 Science): Seasons & Daylight

Focus: Collect and compare daylight observations across the year to describe the pattern that the amount of daylight changes depending on the time of year.

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 investigate a big, year-long sky pattern: the amount of daylight changes at different times of year. Using simple classroom routines, visuals, and kid-friendly data sets (or school-based observations), students gather evidence that some parts of the year have more daylight and some have less daylight. They connect daylight changes to familiar seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer) without needing to explain complex astronomy.

Across the week, students practice observing, recording, and representing data using simple tables and graphs. They compare daylight amounts (longer/shorter) and use that pattern to make predictions about what daylight might be like in another season. The unit ends with a Seasons & Daylight Data Poster showing a data display, a clear pattern statement, and a prediction supported by evidence.

Essential Questions

• How does the amount of daylight change during different times of the year?
• What patterns can we notice when we compare daylight across seasons?
• How can we use data (tables, graphs, pictures) to describe a pattern?
• How can patterns help us make a prediction about daylight in another season?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Make and record simple observations about daylight at different times of year (longer/shorter, earlier/later).
2. Use a class data set (or teacher-provided data) to compare daylight across seasons.
3. Organize daylight information in a simple table and represent it with a graph (bar graph/pictograph).
4. Describe the pattern: the amount of daylight relates to the time of year.
5. Make a simple prediction about daylight in another season using evidence from data.
6. Create a Seasons & Daylight Data Poster that includes evidence, a pattern statement, and a prediction.

Standards Alignment — Grade 1 (NGSS-Aligned)

• 1-ESS1-2 — Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year.
  • Example: Compare daylight data from fall, winter, spring, and summer and identify longer vs. shorter daylight patterns.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can observe and record information about daylight.
• I can use a table or graph to compare daylight in different seasons.
• I can describe the pattern that daylight changes with the time of year.
• I can make a prediction about daylight using evidence from my data.
• I can explain my thinking using the words daylight, season, pattern, and predict.