Year

Level: Grade 3


Learning Area: Science

Topic:
Day and Night, Shadows, Sunset and Sunrise

Year 3 Level Achievement

The Science Inquiry Skills and Science as a Human Endeavour strands are described across
a two-year band. In their planning, schools and teachers refer to the expectations outlined
in the Achievement Standard and also to the content of the Science Understanding strand
for the relevant year level to ensure that these two strands are addressed over the two-
year period. The three strands of the curriculum are interrelated and their content is
taught in an integrated way. The order and detail in which the content descriptions are
organised into teaching/learning programs are decisions to be made by the teacher.
Over Years 3 to 6, students develop their understanding of a range of systems operating at
different time and geographic scales. In Year 3, students observe heat and its effects on
solids and liquids and begin to develop an understanding of energy flows through simple
systems. In observing day and night, they develop an appreciation of regular and
predictable cycles. Students order their observations by grouping and classifying; in
classifying things as living or non-living they begin to recognise that classifications are not
always easy to define or apply. They begin to quantify their observations to enable
comparison, and learn more sophisticated ways of identifying and representing
relationships, including the use of tables and graphs to identify trends. They use their
understanding of relationships between components of simple systems to make
predictions.

Unit Title: Day and Night

Learning Area: Science

Time Allocated: 45 mins

Lesson Title: Which piece is bigger?

Curriculum Links:

Science Understanding
Earth and Space Sciences
- Earths rotation on its axis causes regular changes, including night and day(ACSSU048)

General Capabilities
Word Knowledge

Understand learning area vocabulary

Inquiring identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas

Identify and clarify information and ideas

Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to:
Recognise the sun as a source of light
Identify that the earth rotates once in 24 hours on an axis
Understand that the Earth rotates around the sun, the earth rotates on its own axis and
the moon around the Earth
Recognise the relationship between the sun and day and night including sunset and
sunrise
Explain a basic idea of the Earth rotating on an axis, creating the seasons.
Resources
The following resources will be required:
Why do we have days. Text and worksheet
Writing materials
Video on earth, sun and moon rotation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i235Y2HRksA
Whiteboard and markers

Student Prior Knowledge
Prior to this lesson, students already be able to:
Recognise that there are 24 hours in 1 day
Identify Night and Day and what happens in night and day
Recognise the relationship between night and day and the sun and moon

Lesson Procedure
Motivation and Lesson Introduction
Collect students from M/T, ask them to move to carpet
spots once upstairs.
Gain students attention
Draw a picture of the sun on the board, with the Earth and
moon rotating explain as you go.
Show the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i235Y2HRksA
o 33 seconds from start to 46
Ask students to move back a bit so that there is room up the
front.
Ask for a volunteer to be the sun. Then ask for another
volunteer to be the earth.
Explain that the Earth orbits or rotates around the sun- ask
this student to move around the sun.
Explain that the Earth is also spinning on its axis so it needs
to turn around as it rotates around the Sun. Then ask for a
volunteer to be the moon. They will need to rotate around
the earth, whilst spinning around as well. Just like in the
video.
Ask students to return to their desks
Then explain to the class that they will be going down to the
Grade 3 area outside to do this in groups of three.
Organise students into the threes and explain the following:
o They will need to get their hats and line up at the
door
o They will then move SILENTLY outside
o They will then, in their threes decide who is the
moon, the sun and the Earth and demonstrate
each.
o Ask what the expectations are They must be
responsible and sensible, otherwise they will need
to turn over their smiley face sticker.
Procedure and Lesson Content
Ask them to line up
Move downstairs and gain their attention- ask them what
they have to do
Let them do the demonstration
Get students attention by blowing a whistle and getting
them to line up at the stairs.
Explain that they need to be quiet sensible going back up
and sitting at their desks ready for the next activity let
them do so
Once up stairs get their attention and ask for hand-out
helpers to hand out the Text and Worksheet on Why we
have days etc.
Once handed out wait for attention and ask for a volunteer
to read. Continue until the text is read, making sure they are
all listening to the speaker

Differentiation


Put Hearing Aid device on
for student with Low
hearing.





As a focus strategy ask for
whole body listening.










Ensure that they all know
what they are doing before
they move downstairs.

Ask students who may need
refocussing.

Ensure all students are on
task and behaving sensibly.







Choose students who will
read effectively.

Cont.
Ask questions about the text as students read and
explain words or terms
Then ask them to turn to the worksheet and go through
each question with class , asking for any questions
Allow them to complete the worksheet, helping anyone
that may be confused or unfocussed.

Ensure Elia, David, Ethan,
Benjamin and Vivien are
on task and know what
they are doing.

Lesson Conclusion
Ask students to glue the handouts into their books if
they havent already
Ask them to put their books away and be ready for the
next lesson with Simone.

Assessment

Assessment For Learning

Take notes on student engagement and lesson process
Mark student work and take note of confusions and the overall results of the activity
There will be revision Next Friday, take notes of student understanding
Assessment Of Learning
Students will have an investigation of shadows to complete next Friday, this will be a
scaffolded process.
Evaluation

Can students:
! Recognise the sun as a source of light
! Identify that the earth rotates once in 24 hours on an axis
! Understand that the Earth rotates around the sun, the earth rotates on its own axis and
the moon around the Earth
! Recognise the relationship between the sun and day and night including sunset and
sunrise
! Explain a basic idea of the Earth rotating on an axis, creating the seasons.
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