Description

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. It travels around the Sun in a nearly circular orbit at a distance of about 150 million kilometers. Earth is water rich, with 71% of the planet’s surface covered with water. It is surrounded by a shallow atmosphere of nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%), and small amounts of a lot of other gases. Students investigate the patterns observed in the sky over a day, a month, a year, and more, and their effects on Earth. Four anchor phenomena drive the investigations.

• Anchor phenomenon 1—Hot sand and cool water
• Anchor phenomenon 2—Water movement
• Anchor phenomenon 3—In the shade then sunlight
• Anchor phenomenon 4—One or many stars

The Earth and Sun Module provides students with experiences to explore the properties of the atmosphere, the energy transfer from the Sun to Earth, and the dynamics of weather and water cycling in Earth’s atmosphere. The constant renewal of water on Earth’s land surfaces by the activities in the atmosphere is one of the defining characteristics of Earth, the water planet. Other experiences help students to develop and use models to understand Earth’s place in the solar system, and the interactions of Earth, the Sun, and the Moon to reveal predictable patterns—daily length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of stars in the night sky. Students gain experiences that will contribute to their understanding of the crosscutting concepts of patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; and energy and matter.