Sunshine on My Shoulders

Transcription

1 Sunshine on My Shoulders Description Learners conduct simple experiments to find out what makes mystery beads change color outdoors. They discover that invisible rays of UV (ultraviolet) light cause the beads to change color. After discussing the harmful effects of too much sun on their skin, learners test the effectiveness of sunscreen on UV beads and then illustrate a sun safety poster. Suggested Grade Levels: K 2 Lesson Objectives Connecting to the Standards Content Standard A: Scientific Inquiry Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment. Design and conduct simple experiments to answer questions. Use data to construct reasonable explanations. Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science Understand that the Sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of the Earth. Featured Picture Book Title Author Illustrator Publisher Year Genre Summary Sunshine on My Shoulders John Denver Christopher Canyon Dawn Publications 2003 Story A picture book adaptation of John Denver s song Sunshine on My Shoulders, which celebrates the simple things in life such as sunshine, nature, and loving relationships. 169

2 Time Needed This lesson will take several class periods. Suggested scheduling is as follows: Day 1: Engage/Explore with Mystery Beads. Day 2: Explain with Sun Safety Article. Day 3: Elaborate with Sunshine on My Shoulders read aloud and Sunscreen Test. Day 4: Evaluate with Sun Safety Tips. Materials UV beads (5 per student) Pipe cleaners or long twist ties (1 per student) White and colored crayons or pencils 1 bottle of sunscreen (at least SPF 30) Student Pages Mystery Beads Sun Safety article Sun Safety Tip UV beads are available from Sheridan WorldWise Educational Innovations, Inc Background The National Science Education Standards suggest that, in grades K 4, students acquire the essential understanding that the Sun provides the heat and light necessary to maintain the temperature of the Earth. In this lesson, students discuss the benefits of sunshine, such as heat and light, as well as the risks that come with sunlight. It is important for children to learn at a very young age that overexposure to sunlight can damage their skin. Through observing UV (ultraviolet) beads, students discover that the Sun emits UV light. The plastic beads used in this lesson contain a chemical that changes color when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The colors that develop depend on the wavelength of the UV radiation. Skin is also a detector of UV light. When bare skin is exposed to sunlight, it becomes darker (suntan) or redder (sunburn). These responses by the skin are a signal that the cells under the skin are being assaulted by UV radiation from the Sun. UV radiation breaks chemical bonds in skin tissue and over prolonged exposure, skin may wrinkle or skin cancer may develop. Safet y When taking students outdoors, remind them to never look directly at the Sun. Looking at the Sun can damage their eyes. 0 National Science Teachers Association

3 engage/explore Mystery Beads Have each student make a mystery bead bracelet by stringing five UV beads on a pipe cleaner or long twist tie. Have them twist a bracelet on their wrists. Tell students that they are wearing a special bracelet made with mystery beads. Pass out the Mystery Beads student page and have students color the indoors picture with a white crayon showing that the beads are white inside the classroom. When they finish coloring, take them outside to a sunny spot and have them pay close attention to any changes in their bracelets. The beads will change color when in sunlight, but do not tell students the reason for the change yet. Have students come back into the classroom and promptly color the outdoors picture of the beads before they change back to white. When students are finished coloring, have them brainstorm explanations as to why the beads changed color outside. Write these explanations on chart paper or the board. Possible student responses include The hot or cold air made them change. The water in the air made them change. The wind made them change. The light made them change. Observing the mystery beads Ask students? How can we find out for sure what causes the beads to change color outside? (We can test our explanations one by one.) Depending on time or availability of materials, these tests can be done as a group demonstration or in student teams. Each class will have different explanations to test, but following are some examples of tests for some common student explanations. When an explanation is tested and proved to be the wrong explanation, cross it off the list. Explanation The heat made the beads change. The cold made the beads change. The water in the air made the beads change. The wind made the beads change. The bright light made them change. Something special about the sunlight made them change. Recommended Test Hold the bracelet tight in your hand to warm it up. Put an ice cube on the beads. Dip the beads in water or spray them with water. Hold the beads in front of a fan. Hold the beads under a bright lamp. Hold the beads in the sunlight. More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons 1

4 explain Sun Safety Article After all of the tests, the only explanation that will remain is Something special about the sunlight made them change. Tell students that you have an article that will help them find out more about sunlight. Determining Importance/Pairs Read Give each student a copy of the Sun Safety article. Read the article together or pairs read, and ask students to watch and listen for any clues about what is special about sunlight that made the beads change color. After reading, ask? What caused the mystery beads to change color outdoors? As a class, write a sentence answering this question on the board. For example, The beads changed color outdoors because of the UV light from the Sun. Tell students that when scientists come up with answers, they always share their evidence or proof that the answer is the right one. Ask students, Sunshine on My Shoulders sing-along 2 National Science Teachers Association

5 ? What is our evidence (proof) that the UV light caused the beads to change color? (Our evidence is that we tried the other explanations and they did not work. We also read that UV light from the Sun causes UV beads to change color.) elaborate Sunshine on My Shoulders Read Aloud and Sunscreen Test Making Connections: Text to Self Show students the cover of the book Sunshine on My Shoulders. Ask? How does it make you feel to have the Sun shining on your shoulders? Tell students that the book you will read to them is actually a song written by John Denver. He believed that the most wonderful things in life are simple and free, like sunshine and friendship. An artist by the name of Christopher Canyon created pictures to go along with the song. You may want to play the CD (enclosed in the hardback version of the book) or sing the lyrics as you show students the pictures. Invite students to sing along. Ask students? What are some good things about sunshine? (Answers might include: It makes plants grow, or it makes the earth warm.)? What are some harmful things about sunshine? (It can burn your skin and damage your eyes.)? Have you ever had a sunburn? How did it make you feel?? What are some ways to protect your skin and eyes from sunshine? (Answers might include: hats, sunglasses, visors, and sunscreen.) Tell students that UV light is the light that burns our skin when we are in the sun. We wear sunscreen to protect our skin from UV light. Ask students? What do you think would happen if we put sunscreen on the UV beads? Test this question by generously coating five UV beads with sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher). Take those beads and five beads without sunscreen into the sun and let students observe them. The UV beads with sunscreen will appear very faint in color compared to the bright colors of the UV beads without sunscreen. Ask students? How does the color of the UV beads with sunscreen compare to the UV beads without sunscreen? (The UV beads with sunscreen are lighter in color.)? Why do you think they look different? (The sunscreen blocks UV light.)? Do you think the sunscreen blocks all UV light? (No, because the beads with sunscreen did turn color slightly. The sunscreen blocks only some UV light.) Observing mystery beads with and without sunscreen More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons 3

6 evaluate Sun Safety Tips Give each student a copy of the Sun Safety Tip student page. Have them fill in the blank in the sentence, When you are in the sun, wear. It helps block UV light. Students can fill in the blank with words such as sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, long sleeves. Then have students draw a picture of themselves wearing the protective items. A sun safety tip Inquiry Place Have students brainstorm testable questions such as? Do sunglasses block UV light?? Does fabric block UV light?? How do UV beads covered with SPF 8, SPF 15, SPF 30, or SPF 45 compare in color outside?? Do clouds block UV light from the Sun? Have students select a question to investigate as a class, or have groups of students vote on the question they want to investigate as a team. After they make their predictions, they can design an experiment to test their predictions. Students can present their findings at a poster session or gallery walk. More Books to Read Asch, F The Sun is my favorite star. New York: Gulliver Books. Summary: This book celebrates a child s love for the Sun and explores the wondrous ways in which it helps the Earth and the life upon it. Branley, F What makes day and night? New York: HarperTrophy. Summary: This Let s-read-and-find-out Science book provides a simple explanation of how the rotation of the Earth causes day and night. A student activity for modeling Earth s rotation is included. Fowler, A The Sun is always shining somewhere. Chicago: Children s Press. Summary: This Rookie Read-About Science book gives simple examples of how the Sun is important to life on Earth, explains that the Sun is a star, and provides a simple student activity to show that Earth s rotation causes day and night and that the Sun is always shining. Rau, D. M Hot and bright: A book about the Sun. Minneapolis: Picture Window Books. Summary: Simple text, colorful illustrations, and fun facts explain how the Sun moves, how it helps the Earth, how to protect yourself from harmful rays, and more. Includes simple experiments, table of contents, a glossary, and a website with links to other safe, fun websites related to the book s content. 4 National Science Teachers Association

7 Sherman, J Sunshine: A book about sunlight. Minneapolis: Picture Window Books. Summary: Sunrises, sunsets, rainbows all these things come from the Sun. Sunshine also gives us light, warmth, and food. In this book about sunlight, readers find out how the Sun creates all of our weather. Includes simple experiments, table of contents, a glossary, and a website with links to other safe, fun websites related to the book s content. Tomecek, S Sun. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. Summary: This information-packed book explains that the Sun is a star and that Earth s rotation causes the Sun to appear to move across the sky each day. Readers also learn how far the Sun is from Earth, what it is made of, how hot it is, and many other facts about the Sun. More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons 5

8 Name: Mystery Beads Indoors 1. Color the mystery beads the way they look indoors. Outdoors 2. Color the mystery beads the way they look outdoors. 3. What do you think caused the mystery beads to change?

9 Name: Chapter Sun Safety Have you ever been outside in the sun for a long time? Did your skin turn red or hurt when touched? You probably had a sunburn! The Sun gives us more than just light we can see. It also gives off rays that are invisible. Some of these rays are called ultraviolet (UV) light rays. UV light from the Sun causes sunburns and can also hurt your eyes. You can protect your skin and eyes from the Sun by wearing sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat. Special beads called UV beads will change color when put in UV light. UV beads are white in the light of a lamp and show their colors when they are in sunlight. The brighter the colors of UV beads, the stronger the UV light.

10 Name: Sun Safety Tip When you are in the Sun, wear. It helps block UV light.