Research Question: How does the moon affect life on Earth?
Students in second grade research how weather and space affect life on Earth. With the help of their community partners, this past year students planted beans, mushrooms, and tulips at different phases of the moon and charted their growth. They analyzed the data to see if there was a correlation between the growth and the phases of the moon. They used this data to create a Planting with the Moon calendar as a civic contribution for the community. Future work will include observing how humidity and phases of the moon change the behavior of earthworms. Second grade students are developing a deeper understanding of how space interacts with earth and how earth is affected by the force of space.
To see more information, please refer to the PowerPoint below:
Standards:
S2E2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to develop an understanding of the patterns of the sun and the moon and the sun’s effect on Earth.
- Use data from personal observations to describe, illustrate, and predict how the appearance of the moon changes over time in a pattern.
S2L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the life cycles of different living organisms.
b. Plan and carry out an investigation of the life cycle of a plant by growing a plant from a seed and by recording changes over a period of time.
Our Timeline of Accomplishments:
- Students understood the importance of patterns of the sun. The students plan and carry out investigations to determine the effect of the position of the sun in
relation to a fixed object on Earth at various times of the day. Students design and build a structure that demonstrates how shadows change throughout the day. - Students noticed increased/decreased plant growth at different times.
- Students began keeping data based on their observations.
- Students carried out studies in which they grew certain plants and charted their growth over time.
Partners:
Second grade work happens with the partnership and support with Sam Brown and Fiddleheads.
We are partnering with Fiddleheads and their botanist, Sam Brown, to teach our students about the Earth, space, and our universe. In addition, we are beginning to investigate how we can grow plants indoors.
We are partnering with our 5th grade Humanitarians as our Aerogardens grow. We will be sharing our vegetables to assist in their food production within our community.
Civic Contributions to our Community:
Our Earth and Space Explorers love to share their knowledge regarding how weather and space affect our lives on Earth.
- Students created a calendar, much like a Farmer’s Almanac, to link the growth of various plants during the different phases of the moon. This was shared with the school and community.
Integration of Core Curriculum with Research:
Literacy
Students do research about the moon phases and plant life growth. Students take that information and write informational and persuasive essays about their findings. Students also spend several weeks completing a Nonfiction reading unit on Earth and Space.
Math
As Space and Earth Explorers, we incorporate many math standards in our project. Students collect data in tables and graphs of the length of the day and night to recognize the change in seasons. They also collect data from bean plant growth, phototropism plant growth, all according to moon phases. Students collect data in tables and graphs of the length of the day and night to recognize the change in seasons. We use real-word experiences from our project when solving addition and subtraction word problems. We measure the growth of the plants that we have selected for our project using nonstandard units and we record their growth throughout the year.
Our Little Stories Of Effect On Students’ Lives: Please see the two PowerPoints by 2nd grade Space and Earth Explorers:
Careers:
Astronaut, Astronomer, Botanist, Engineer, Educator, Farmer, Meteorologist, Scientist, Space Technologist
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