Dana Blomquist
Sunrise on the Best Day Ever
Description:
Students will ascertain the time of sunrise on their next birthday and compare it to that of their classmates. Whole group analysis of sunrise information will lead to journaling of patterns and findings.
Title: My Birthday
Author: Dana Blomquist
{Bear with me; I’m trying to adapt the idea to a first grade level. I’m not sure I’ll use this model because I’ve had so much success with Inquiry based Science that the Argument Generation based Science by Sampson and Grooms seems contrived. I’m open to suggestions.}
Use the website: http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/rs-one-year-us to determine the time of sunrise on your next birthday. Within your pod, compare and contrast the sunrise time for the day of each of your birthdays. Put your pod members’ birthdays in order according to sunrise. Put your pod members’ birthdays in order according to calendar. Are there similarities? Are there differences? What patterns do you notice? What do you expect to find when we discuss our findings as a class? Record your observations, predictions, thoughts and ideas through pictures, words or video.
I love the assignment you came up with for Generate an Argument. I think this is a great way for first graders to draw connections between when the sun rises and the time of year. Will this ultimately lead to further discussion about the factors that affect the length of day and the seasons? I think you should try it, even though you've had a lot of success using inquiry. I can understand how Generate an Argument might be less applicable to young students than to high school students because some of the components such as a poster session might be unnecessary. Your students sound inspiring!
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