1st grade · Science · Unit 3 of 7
Sky & Seasons
Day, night and the seasons
What your child practices
Day and night, the sun, moon and stars (the moon reflects sunlight), and the order of the seasons.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: 1-ESS1-1; 1-ESS1-2 · patterns of the sun, moon and stars, and daylight through the year
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- The sun comes up in the morning and goes down in the evening.
- The seasons go spring, summer, fall, winter.
- Leaves change color and fall in fall.
Example: Which season comes after winter? Spring, summer, fall, winter… then spring again. Answer: spring
Sky & Seasons in Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 3 of 7 in 1st grade Science, after Light & Sound and before Parents & Babies.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Source: Maine Department of Education
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Put the day in order. Start with morning.
- 🌃night: the sky is dark
- 🌇evening: the sun goes down
- 🌅morning: the sun comes up
- ☀️midday: the sun is high
morning: the sun comes up → midday: the sun is high → evening: the sun goes down → night: the sky is dark
Hint: The sun comes up in the morning, is high at midday, goes down in the evening, and then it's night.
Question 2
In which season do many leaves change color and fall?
- 🌷spring
- ☀️summer
- 🍂fall
🍂 fall
Hint: That's why we call it fall! It's also called autumn.
Question 3
Winter or summer? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: ❄️ winter · ☀️ summer
- 🏊swimming outside
- 🩳shorts
- 👒sun hat
- 🧣warm scarf
- 🧤mittens
- ⛄snowman
❄️ winter: warm scarf, mittens, snowman · ☀️ summer: swimming outside, shorts, sun hat
Hint: Think about the weather. Is it a cold winter day or a hot summer day?
Question 4
When do we usually see the sun in the sky?
- ☀️in the daytime
- 🌃in the middle of the night
☀️ in the daytime
Hint: The sun lights up the sky in the daytime. At night our side of Earth faces away from it.
Question 5
Which season is often the coldest?
- 🌷spring
- ❄️winter
- ☀️summer
❄️ winter
Hint: Winter is the coldest season. In many places it snows!
Question 6
What do you wear to play outside on a snowy day?
⛄- 🩱swimsuit
- 👡sandals
- 🧤warm coat and mittens
🧤 warm coat and mittens
Hint: Snow is cold! Warm clothes keep you cozy.