Here Comes the Sun!

There is nothing quite like a sunny day and all of the regularly assumed expectations that go along with it. And there is also perhaps no one more aware of that simple fact than this year’s third graders, especially having just finished up their most recent science unit on the sun!

As part of this particular unit, in addition to learning a whole plethora of interesting facts about this well-know star, students also spent several days conducting a classroom sun-tracking experiment. A hands-on investigation of the sun’s daily movements that was conducted over the course of several days and involved three separate classroom trips outside each day to first observe and then take pictures—using their iPads—of the position of the sun in the sky at three different times—morning, noon, and night. In our case, the latter was actually an afternoon observation, taken just prior to the end of our school day. Miss Schmit also continued to take pictures of the sun’s location until it set each night, further illustrating to the third graders how the sun continues to drift westward until it finally sets with the coming of night.

In order to determine the direction of the sun’s daily locations, students were also instructed on how to use two different types of compasses, including the traditional variety as well as the one found on their individual iPads. Using their daily findings, it soon became clear to the students that the sun rises in the east each morning and can always be found there regardless of whether or not its actually visible to the naked eye on a given day. They also soon learned that come noon, it can be found located directly above their heads and then gradually drifts to the west throughout the day, always setting in that same direction at the end of each and every day. 

Once all of our observations were completed and noted, students then wrote “scripts” illustrating what they had learned about the sun and its daily movements. These “scripts”--along with their own previously taken photos and general findings--were then used by the third graders in the creation of individual videos on their iPads via an app called “Explain Everything”. A particularly useful app which allows students to actually explain their own thinking by way of a built-in voice recorder.

To enjoy a sample of our finished product, please click below!