Sun, Moon, and Stars Teacher Guide provides detailed a lesson plan for each day of science study. The TG contains links to the CKSci Online Resources Guide, which gives teachers additional science and teaching strategies such as virtual field trips, simulations, still images, and videos. It also contains strategies for teaching core vocabulary as well as suggestions for using language of instruction. The TG has reduced full-color Student Book pages for handy reference, activity page masters, assessments, features on knowing the science, and connections to appropriate sections of the Next Generation Science Standards Performance Objectives and the three dimensions of learning.

A key concept underlying Sun, Moon, and Stars is to build understanding of the predictable patterns of the apparent movements of the sun, moon, and stars. These patterns can be studied and predicted to tell where the objects will be in the sky at any given time.

There are two types of teaching days.

• On instructional days, you should conduct full lesson segments from this unit.
• On reporting days, you take only a few minutes to record students’ observational data, which will be collected over time to analyze later for patterns.

During extended reporting periods, you will likely also turn your attention to teaching other science units.

CKSci is informed by the NGSS, which encourages student learning through hands-on activities and collecting data. This activity-centered approach requires, at times, that schools collect or purchase materials and equipment that will be needed to complete activities.

Complete materials supply list for CKSci Unit 1: Sun, Moon, and Stars