T E A C H E R S N O T E S Focus: Students explore changes in daily and seasonal cycles, and how changes in these cycles affect living things. Learning Goals: Students will have opportunities to learn how to correctly use the terms weather, season, hibernate, migrate, and shadow that the sun is important for heat, light, and comfort on Earth how to describe different types of weather what causes the seasons the length of a season what happens in nature during each season what causes day and night how day and night affect animals Discussion Prompts: Why is the sun important? What are the seasons? Which season is your favourite? Why? What do some animals do in winter? What do you do at night? What do you do during the day? What do some animals do at night? Assessment Prompts: Do students demonstrate, in their discussions and answers to questions, understanding of the science vocabulary used in the cards for this unit? Are they familiar with useful terms for describing the weather, seasons, day, and night? Assess students responses during discussions. - Do students understand that daily and seasonal cycles bring about certain changes? - Do students understand that daily and seasonal changes affect living things? - Can students describe different kinds of weather? - Can students describe and compare the four seasons? Do students understand that the sun is Earth s main source of heat and light? Can students tell you what safety precautions to take when going outside (don t look at the sun; apply sunscreen)? Do students know what clothing is appropriate for different weather conditions? Links to PCSP Student Book Earth Watch: Card 1: see Lessons 2 4, and 7 Card 2: see Lessons 5 and 7 Card 3: see Lessons 5 and 6 Card 4: see Lessons 5 and 6 Card 5: see Lesson 1
Focus: Students explore the weather. This spread is called Water and Weather. Students see an illustration of a landscape showing the ocean, a lake, rivers, and mountains. Animations show moisture rising from the ocean and lake, clouds forming, and rain falling. Numbered captions and arrows help students understand the steps involved in the water cycle. By clicking on the orange icon, students can play a drag-and-drop activity to place the correct labels on the landscape. Learning Goal: Students explore the water cycle. Introduce students to the topic with the video of a boy shovelling snow. Discuss the video and any comments or questions students may have. A new spread called Rain, Rain appears with a photograph of dark clouds. Text explains that dark clouds mean rain is coming. Learning Goal: Students learn how to predict changes in the weather. Ask Students: If you were going outside and the sky looked like this, what would you wear? This spread is called Watching the Weather. Students see an illustration of a window and a photo of a child. Students are asked to drag the picture onto the window. Next, students drag clothing or an object to the window. They do this once more and then a question appears: What s the weather like? By pressing the continue button, students see the child dressed appropriately for the weather. Text describes the weather. By pressing the continue button again, students see a similar series of steps with PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes different children preparing for different weather. Learning Goal: Students observe changes in the weather. Ask Students: Can you draw a picture of yourself on a sunny, rainy, windy, or snowy day? Make sure you draw yourself wearing proper clothing for the weather. Assessment: Do students understand that changes in the weather mean wearing different clothing and sometimes doing different activities? 2
continued from page 2 Ask Students: What activities might you do when it is raining? (wear rubber boots and a raincoat and walk in the rain, play indoors, read a book, and so on) Assessment: Check that students responses are appropriate. Corresponding to page 4 of the card, this screen includes the page 4 weather chart. Students can drag the weather symbols onto the chart to show the weather for each day. When students click the orange icon, they can answer seven questions by dragging the correct weather symbol into the circle. Learning Goals: Students use a chart to describe weather changes. Students use the chart to correctly answer questions about the weather. Ask Students: What was the weather like on Tuesday morning? What was the weather like on Thursday afternoon? Assessment: Can students state the weather conditions for a specific day of the week and time (morning or afternoon)? continued from page 2 Assessment: Can students make the connection between dark clouds and rain? Do students understand the need to dress for the weather? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 3
Focus: Students explore what causes the seasons and how long they last. A new screen appears called Earth s Tilt Causes the Seasons. This is an enlarged view of the figure that appears on page 2 of the card. Learning Goal: Students contrast the different amounts of heat that occur during summer and winter. Introduce students to the topic with the video of children playing in fall leaves. Discuss the video and any comments or questions students may have. A screen reveals a large photograph of children playing outdoors in summer. Text answers the Think question. Learning Goal: Students explore changing amounts of daylight in different seasons. Ask Students: When are days the shortest? When are days the longest? How do you know? Assessment: Do students understand that the amount of daylight varies from season to season? Learning Goal: Students Students click on the blue learn to order the months plus signs to see a larger view of the cropped photographs in the circle. Questions appear for each picture: What does this picture tell you about winter/spring/ summer/fall? Learning Goal: Students examine the clothing and activities that pertain to each season. Ask Students: What do you notice about the clothing in this winter picture? How is it different from the clothing in the spring picture? How are the activities different in each picture? Assessment: Have students answered the questions appropriately? Do they have a good understanding of how to dress for each season? Do they understand that each season brings opportunities for different activities? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 4 This spread is called Months of the Year. Students drag and drop the months into the correct order. Students click continue and are presented with Seasons in the Year. Students drag and drop the correct season onto a calendar page for each month.
continued from page 4 Ask Students: What warms the air? (the sun) Compare summer and winter. Assessment: Do students understand that the sun is the main source of heat? Do students understand that the amount of heat from the sun changes in different seasons? Corresponding to page 4 of the card, this screen includes the page 4 activity, formatted for the computer. After dragging a picture of a season into the red frame, and clicking continue, students will see a new screen with a word web. Students may write text using the keyboard, or copy their responses into their Science Journals. Learning Goals: Students describe, in writing, the weather through seasons. Ask Students: What is the weather like in summer? Winter? Spring? Fall? Assessment: Did students accurately describe, in writing, the weather for each season? continued from page 4 correctly and to identify the seasons by month. Ask Students: Which season is August in? Which season is October in? Is January in spring? (no) Is April in summer? (no) Assessment: Check students responses to the questions you asked. PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 5
Focus: Students explore spring and summer. Students see an enlarged view of the photograph of a mother bear and her cub. Text describes bears in spring. Learning Goals: Students learn about seasonal changes in animal behaviour. Ask Students: What other animals hibernate in winter and come out in spring? (bears, gophers, snakes, squirrels) Assessment: Do students understand that some animals hibernate in winter to survive the change in weather? Introduce students to the topic with the video of a family of swans. Discuss the video and any comments or questions students may have. Students drag and drop pictures to match the correct sentence. When students click on the orange icon beside the book, they will see a story called A Year with Mother Goose. Students will need to click the forward arrow key to see all eight spreads of the story. Going back to the main spread, students can click on the orange icon above the lamb s head. Students then see a new screen called What Happens in Spring? with a picture of lambs and text saying lambs are born in spring. PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 6 Students look at a new screen with a photograph of a deer and an inset photograph of a fawn. Text answers the Think question. If students then click on the orange icon by the two bears, they will see a large photograph of a bear hunting fish. Text explains what bear cubs do in summer. Learning Goal: Students learn about how baby animals change and behave in summer.
Corresponding to page 4 of the card, this screen includes the page 4 illustration. Students draw and colour a spring picture and a summer picture, and then paste them onto card. Then they cut each picture into six pieces, like a puzzle. Students try to piece together a friend s pictures. Students may practise the same concept by clicking the orange icon to the spread called Jigsaw Puzzle. Students choose a picture, click on it, and complete the puzzle. Learning Goal: Students explore key characteristics of two seasons using art and visuals. Ask Students: Was it difficult to know which puzzle piece belonged to which picture? What themes were in the pictures of spring? (e.g., babies, rain, flowers) What themes were in the pictures of summer? (e.g., sun, fruit, lots of growth) Assessment: Do students have a good understanding of the visual cues for spring and summer, and how they differ? continued from page 6 Learning Goal: Students learn about the behaviour of birds and animals in springtime. They explore the sequence of events from nest building to baby birds flying away. Ask Students: Can you draw your own pictures of a mother bird and her babies in springtime? Assessment: Do students understand that many animal babies are born in spring? Do students know that some geese fly south in the fall? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 7 continued from page 6 Ask Students: How do fawns change in summer? (grow bigger) What do bears do in summer? (hunt, fish) Assessment: Can students explain how fawns change in summer and how bear cubs behave in summer?
Focus: Students explore fall and winter. Students see an enlarged view of Canada geese migrating for the winter. A new Think question appears: How do other animals get ready for winter? Students click the orange icon to go to another screen. Clicking on the pictures gives a description of three different animals in summer and winter, showing how they get ready for winter. When students click continue, they can play a matching game. Learning Goal: Students learn how different animals get ready for winter. Ask Students: Choose one animal. How does it get ready for winter? Introduce students to the topic with the video of a red fox on a snowy day. Discuss the video and any comments or questions students may have. Text answers the Think question. Students see a wintry photograph of a squirrel eating a nut it had stored for winter. Learning Goal: Students learn how squirrels get ready for winter. Ask Students: What do squirrels do in summer? (hide food) In winter? (dig up hidden stores of food to eat, which helps them survive) Assessment: Can students explain why squirrels store food for winter? Text answers the Think question. Students see a wintry photograph of a rabbit with a white coat. Learning Goal: Students learn why rabbits and some other animals change colour in winter. Ask Students: Why do some animals change colour in winter? (makes them hard to see, helps them hide from predators, helps them sneak up on prey) Assessment: Can students list at least two reasons for changing colour in winter? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 8 Students see an enlarged view of a bear in the fall who is eating lots of food to get ready for winter. Learning Goal: Students learn how bears get ready for winter. Ask Students: What do bears do in summer? (eat lots) In winter? (sleep) Assessment: Can students identify the main changes in bears behaviour in summer and winter?
continued from page 8 Assessment: Have students draw their animal in summer and in winter, showing the changes and ways it gets ready. Do students show changes in colour and describe hibernation or migration? Do they show that animals eat a lot in the summer? Corresponding to page 4 of the card, this screen includes the page 4 illustration. Students draw and colour a fall picture and a winter picture, and then paste them onto card. Then they cut each picture into six pieces, like a puzzle. Students try to piece together a friend s pictures. Students may practise the same concept by clicking the orange icon to the spread called Jigsaw Puzzle. Students choose a picture, click on it, and complete the puzzle. Learning Goal: Students explore key characteristics of two seasons using art and visuals. Ask Students: Was it difficult to know which puzzle piece belonged to which picture if you mixed them together? Which items were pictured in the fall scene? What was included for winter? Assessment: Do students have a good understanding of the visual cues for fall and winter, and how they differ? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 9
Focus: Students explore day and night. The screen is dark with an illustration of an outdoor scene at night. By clicking the orange icon, students see a screen called Moon Shapes. Text describes the movement of the moon around Earth. An animation shows the phases of the moon, including labels for the new moon and full moon. Introduce students to the topic with the video of a rooster crowing in the morning. Discuss the video and any comments or questions students may have. This is an animation of Earth from the North Pole that shows Earth rotating through day and night. Learning Goal: Students learn about what causes day and night. Ask Students: What causes day? (when part of Earth is facing the sun, it is day) What causes night? (when part of Earth is in shadow, it is night) Assessment: Check that students understand what causes day and night. Students see a large photograph of a sunset and the text answers the Think question. By clicking on another orange Think icon students may complete a drag-and-drop activity to match the opposite times of day or night. Learning Goals: Students learn about sunset and check their understanding of special names for different times of the day and night. Ask Students: What is the opposite of day? (night) What is the opposite of sunset? (sunrise) What is the opposite of midnight? (noon) After clicking on the orange icon, students will see a cat, an owl, and a mouse. Text answers the Think question. By clicking on the blue icon, students may view a short video about owls and their big eyes. Learning Goal: Students learn that some animals have special features that help them see well at night. Ask Students: Why do cats and owls have to be able to see well at night? (hunting) Why do mice have to be able to see well at night? (seeing predators, hiding) Assessment: Do students understand that some animals have special features to help them hunt and see other animals at night? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 10 Students may play a drag-and-drop activity to identify daytime animals and nighttime animals. Animal sound effects play when students place each animal picture correctly. Learning Goal: Students identify various animals as daytime or nighttime creatures.
continued from page 10 Learning Goal: Students make observations of night, including stars and the moon. Ask Students: What do you see in the sky at night? (stars, the moon) Assessment: Do students identify stars and the moon as being things they see in the night sky? Corresponding to page 4 of the card, this screen includes the page 4 illustration without the animalname answers that appear upside down on the card. Students click on the hidden nighttime animals. Animal sounds occur when students find and click on each animal. Learning Goals: Students explore different animals that are active at night. Ask Students: Can you name three animals that are awake at night? Assessment: Check that students answers are correct. continued from page 10 Assessment: Have students draw the sun or moon beside each term to show whether the time takes place in the day or at night: noon, sunrise, morning, sunset, dusk, dawn, evening, midnight. continued from page 10 PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 11 Ask Students: What other animals are awake in the daytime? (e.g., horses, pigs, rabbits, hawks) What other animals are awake at night? (e.g., hamsters, raccoons, fireflies, coyotes) Assessment: Can students give examples of daytime and nighttime animals?
Earth Watch (Daily and Seasonal Changes) Overall Rubric You can use this rubric to assess students understanding of the unit as a whole, after they have completed the five cards for Earth Watch. To help you assess communication or presentation skills students may have used during the activity, use the Science and Technology Communication and Science and Technology Presentation rubrics in the Program and Assessment Guide. The student Relating Science and Technology to Society and the Environment (Application of Concepts and Skills) Scientific Investigation and Technological Problem Solving (Inquiry and Design) Understanding Basic Concepts (Knowledge) Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 PCSP Interactive Science Teacher s Notes 12