FOUNDATION OF SPRING

	Foundation of Spring
Author(s):	Emily Fishero
Grade Level:	5th Grade
Timeframe:	2 Days- 45 minutes each session
Lesson Description or Explanation	This lesson is the study of Earth as it goes through the changes of Spring. After this study, the student will be able to: 1. Explain the relationship between the Earth and the Sun and how that determines the seasons. 2. Use a protractor to determine the angle of an object.
Indiana Curricular Standards	Math Standard: 1. Geometry 5.4.1 Science Standards: 1. Unifying Concepts Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
ISTE Standards	3. Research and Information fluency 6. Technology Operations and Concepts
Assessments Formative/Summative	Day one assessments: The first assessment for day one will be on how well the students are working together in groups. The second assessment will be based on the students’ preliminary drawings of the Earth position during the spring and the unique position during the spring equinox. Day Two Assessments: The first assessment for day two will be based on the disposition they display during the group presentation and during the congress where we determine how to position the earth. The second type of assessment for day two will be determined on the second drawing done by the students. The students need to be able to demonstrate an educated understanding of the appropriate use of protractors. The students will not be given a letter grade on this skill until the final season unit to allow ample time for the student to become familiar and accurate with the protractor.
Prior Knowledge	Curricular Knowledge or Skills: Students will have prior experience with spring weather Technology Knowledge: Using video player on the computer
Technology	Internet Resources: (please list URLs): (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taHTA7S_JGk&feature=related) Hardware: None Software: None
Procedure	· The students will be divided into groups and will be given a particular task to explore and then present their findings to the class. · Over view: As a class we will explore the position of the earth in relation to the sun during the spring equinox. They will watch several YouTube videos starting with the one listed below (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taHTA7S_JGk&feature=related). After completing the videos we will create a 3D diagram of the Earth’s position in relation to the sun and how that determines the season we experience. · Day 1: The students will take turns helping the teacher create a paper mashie Earth and Sun that will later be used to make a model explaining why the Earth experiences spring. While the students are waiting their turn to help out they will be working in groups to create a visual diagram explaining the reason behind the season change. The students will also have to draw and explain why there is a spring equinox. The students will be creating a book where they will put all the information pertaining to spring. All of the Information is covered in the video. · Day 2: After the paper mashie objects are done drying the teacher will paint the objects in preparation for the next day. Before we position our 3D representations we will have each group of students share their drawings. This is where as a class we will talk about the importance of using the appropriate angle of the earth to the sun to give the seasons. We will than discuss how to use a protractor to determine the angle of objects. The students will be given a chance to correct their drawings after we have positioned the paper mashie objects. After we have discussed how to use the protractor will use that knowledge to position our objects accordingly. Once the objects are ready to be positioned the class will come together and talk about how we are going to position the Earth so that it is an exact representation that allows us to experience spring. This is where we will use our protractor knowledge to determine the correct position for the sun and the earth. After we have agreed upon and positioned the Earth accordingly we will use pipe cleaners to represent the rays of the sun and how that determines our season. We will use different colored pipe cleaners to represent the rays on the sun in the spring and a different colored pipe cleaner to represent the unique position of the sun’s rays during the spring equinox.
Differentiated Instruction
ESL	Caption’s on the video for the different languages in the classroom
Challenge/Extend	Extra support from teacher and peer helpers when constructing project Allow for extra time to complete project Altered/flexible assessment
Special Needs	Extra support from teacher and peer helpers when constructing project Allow for extra time to complete project Altered/flexible assessment