Unit: Introductory Science for Preschool Aged Children

Topic: The sun’s role in the environment and our lives. This will include the ways in which the sun’s energy powers all life on earth and the weather.

Driving Question: How does the sun help us and the earth?

Lesson 1: Grabber and Introduction

Beginning of the school day during circle time

Introductory Grabber: The grabber for this project based learning activity is the Mr. Sun song with a dance. The idea behind this is to introduce the topic of the sun to the preschool students, and get them motivated and engaged through singing and dancing.

Link to the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9NE-9ub7qU#action=share

Introduce the Central Question: To introduce the central question, I will sit the kids down on the circle time rug after the Mr. Sun song and dance and ask the kids about the song we just listened to and danced to. I will ask them what the song was about and why they think we listened to it. After the kids answer these questions, I will ask the kids why they think have a sun, and what they think the sun does.

Lecture: We will start by reading the book My Light by Molly Bang to teach the students about the sun at story time. This book shows the students the sun's role in lighting the earth, making clouds, and how the sun's energy powers all life on earth. Before the story, ask students questions about the sun-- what is the sun?, how far away is the sun?, what does the sun help the earth do?, etc. After the story, ask the students what their favorite thing the sun does is. Have an open discussion with them about the sun’s roles in the environment and what we like about it. Make sure each kid has an opportunity to share his or her ideas!

Culminating Activity:

Poster Activity

This activity is student led between each pair of students.

After lunch, we will use the rest of the school day to create posters and present

Introduction: To refocus the students after their lunch and recess, we will do the Mr. Sun song and dance again to get their scattered minds back into the topic of the sun and get some extra energy out so they can focus better during the activity.

Lecture: After the song, I will have them sit at their tables and and will reintroduce the story we had read earlier before lunch. I will ask them similar questions I had asked earlier about the sun, such as how does it help the earth, and see what each student has to say about their favorite thing the sun does. To further their knowledge of the sun, I will let the students use their ipads and headsets to search through youtube kids and watch videos about the sun. I will monitor this activity closely to make sure they stay on topic. I will allow 15 minutes for this research.

Activity overview: After the lecture, as a class we will go over the book and lecture. I will ask the students about things that stuck out the most or things they liked about the book or the lecture. I will then ask the students questions like “What does the sun do for us?” and “How does the sun help you, me and the Earth?”. After the questions, we will transition into the presentations. I will introduce the poster presentations. In the introduction, I will tell the students that they are to create a poster that shows the BEST thing about the sun.

Preparation for presentation: Before working on the presentations, I will explain to the students how the presentations should be conducted. I will explain the expectations of the presentation. I will explain what the students should include on their posters and have them explain what they have drawn on their posters.  I will then provide the students with materials such the poster shown below and different writing utensils, such as markers, colored pencils, and crayons. I will allow the students to work on their presentations for the next 30 minutes. Afterwards, the students will volunteer for presentation turns.

Presentation: The students will volunteer by raising their hands and if no one volunteers, I will then pull a name from the classroom name lottery. While a child is presenting, the rest of the class must remain silent and attentive and direct all undivided attention to whomever is presenting. After each child presents they may be seated at their seat and the rest of the class may clap and support their fellow classmate. After each student is done presenting, I will congratulate the class on their posters and then redirect the class back to their seats and proceed with the rest of the class activities and learning. I will grade their presentations and posters with the rubric shown below.

Fig. 1 Rubric

Fig. 2 Poster