Family Child Care Home
Instructional Unit: DAY AND NIGHT
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit:
DAY AND NIGHT AUTHOR Dr. Janice Wood
Crawford Early Literacy Faculty Fellow
The Instructional Units presented here were funded in part by the U. S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, Fund for the Improvement of Education as part of the Virtual School Readiness Incubator Project, the Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida, and the Early Learning Coalition of Duval, Inc. These materials are still in the refinement phase and should be used with this caution in mind. The content of these units does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of or imply endorsement by the U. S. Department of Education, the University of North Florida, and/or the Early Learning Coalition of Duval, Inc. No claim is made on those materials that are in the public domain. ©2013 Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida Reproduction of these materials for resale or distribution is prohibited.
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Family Child Care Home Instructional Units
The Family Child Care Home Instructional Units are curriculum resource units for Family Home providers and teachers. The Instructional Units are standards-based and are strongly rooted in an evidence-based framework. The Instructional Unit topics were determined by the needs of professional development providers and teachers. They are easily adaptable to the needs of children, ranging in age from two years through four years, in a variety of learning environments and inclusive settings.
Instructional Unit Topics Colors
Shapes
Letters
Numbers
Counting
All About Me - Body Parts/Senses
All About Me - My Feelings
My Family and Friends
Weather
My Community
Transportation
Care of the Earth
Plants
Day and Night
Opposites
Water Animals
Air Animals
Land Animals
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Day and Night Ages 2+–3 Oral Language Experiences
Learning Experiences
Oral Language # Listens to and responds to songs and books about day and night # Says words related to day and night # Listens to vocabulary words
Alphabet Knowledge # Identifies day and night pictures
Science # Identifies characteristics of a day sky # Identifies events that occur in the day # Recognizes that the sun can only be seen in the daytime # Identifies characteristics of a night sky # Identifies events that occur in the night # Makes comparisons between day and night
What Is In the Sky? By Laura Young A Sunny Day By Lola M. Schaefer
Core Vocabulary Words day
night
sun
sky
moon
stars
clouds
Rich Vocabulary Words sunny
shadows
Additional Children’s Books
Cloudy Day, Sunny Day, Donald Crews Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown Happy Birthday, Moon, Frank Asch
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
I Like Stars, Margaret Wise Brown Nicky’s Noisy Night, Harriet Ziefert Sunshine, Moonshine, Jennifer Armstrong 4
Oral Language Activities
# # # # # # # #
Materials Needed
Book: What Is In the Sky? and A Sunny Day Cut out pictures from Activity Pictures #1 Cut out pictures from Activity Pictures #2 Cut out pictures from Activity Pictures #3 Cut out pictures from Activity Pictures #6 Cut out Take-Home Bracelets from Activity Pictures #7 Sidewalk chalk Chart paper
Activities # Tell the children that the sun rises in the morning and stays in the sky all day. At the end of the day, it goes away and sets and we don’t see it until the next day. Tell the children that they will be learning about what happens in the daytime and what happens at night. Use the book, What Is In the Sky? for this activity. Ask them to look at the cover of the book and tell you what they see. Point to the picture of the blue sky and say the word sky. Tell the children that when the sky is blue and bright, it is daytime. Tell them the reason why it is so bright during the daytime is because the sun is out. Show them the Vocabulary Word cards from Activity Pictures #6. Point to and say each word. Emphasize the words day, sky, and sun while discussing the book. Ask the children to tell you what they do on sunny days.
# Show the children Activity Pictures #1. Ask them to point to the day sky picture and the nighttime picture. Ask them to describe what they see in the pictures.
# Ask the children what happens when the sun goes down (it gets dark, it is nighttime). Go to page 4 in the book, What Is In the Sky? and tell them it is nighttime in the picture. Point to the moon on the page and say the word moon. Tell the children that they can see the moon at nighttime. Emphasize the words night and moon while discussing page 4 of the book. Ask the children to tell you what they do at nighttime. # Ask the children what they do in the daytime.
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Activities # Sing the Mr. Sun song and the Nighttime song with the children throughout the day. Mr. Sun Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Sun, Won’t you please shine down on me? Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Sun, Shining down for all to see.
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Sun, Won’t you please come out so we can play? Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Sun, It’s another wonderful, sunny day. Nighttime Now the day is over, The sun has said good night. The moon has come out for all to see, To share it’s beautiful light.
Review the following factual information before reading the book and discussing information about day and night: Sun
• The sun warms the land, the air and the water. • The sun can only be seen in the daytime. • The sun is a large star.
Moon
• The moon can be seen at night and sometimes during the day. • No people or animals live on the moon.
Stars
• Stars are large and very hot. • Stars light up the sky. • Some stars make pictures in the sky.
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First Reading of the Book # Show the book, What Is In the Sky? to the children. Introduce the book to them by telling them that they are going to be learning that the sun, the moon, the clouds, and the stars are in the sky. Tell them the title of the book is What Is In the Sky? and the author’s name is Laura Young. Read pages 2 and 3 to the children. Point to the Vocabulary Words while reading the story. Discuss the following information with them after reading page 3. • The sun is in the sky. • The sun warms the land, the air and the water. • The sun can only be seen in the daytime.
Read the remaining pages of the book and highlight the words sky, sun, moon, stars, and clouds while reading. Identify the first letter and sound of each word. Discuss the following information with the children after reading the book:
• The moon is in the sky. • The moon can be seen at night and sometimes during the day. • Stars are in the night sky. • Stars light up the sky. Summarize the book by asking the following:
• • • •
What is in the sky? (sun, moon, stars, clouds) Does the sun keep us hot or cold? (hot) What comes out at night? (moon, stars) Have you ever seen stars? Tell us what you saw.
Second Reading of the Book # Show the book, A Sunny Day to the children. Point to the cover of the book and ask them why the two girls in the picture are wearing sunglasses. Tell them that the sun is very bright and the girls need to protect their eyes when they are out in the sun. Tell the children the title of the book is A Sunny Day and the author’s name is Lola M. Schaefer. Tell them you are going to be reading about things people do on sunny days. Ask the children what activities they do on a sunny day. Point to and say the following words while reading the book: sun, sunny, sky, clouds, and shadows. Identify the first letter and sound of each word. While reading the book, point to the illustrations. Discuss the following information during and after reading the book: • Children play outdoors on sunny days. • The sun shines on sunny days.
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Second Reading of the Book • Plants and animals like sunny days. • Children can see their shadows on sunny days.
# Ask the following questions after reading the book:
• What causes sunny days? (the sun) • The sun is in the sky on sunny days. What else might be in the sky on sunny days? (clouds) • Are all days sunny? • Have you ever seen your shadow?
# When reading the book, highlight the CORE and Rich Vocabulary words.
# Read both books several times throughout the week.
# Read the books suggested in the Additional Children’s Books section.
# Give each child a Take-Home Bracelet from Activity Pictures #7.
Activities # Use the pictures from Activity Pictures #2 for this activity. Display the picture of the sun. Remind the children that the sun warms the land, the air and the water. Tell the children that the sun can only be seen in the daytime. Ask them to name some activities that they do on warm, sunny days. Sing the Sunshine song with them. Hold up the picture of the sun while singing the song. Sunshine Early in the morning, the sun wakes up. It shines way up high, we all have fun. The sun shines bright, all day long, Then at night, it slowly goes away.
Display the picture of the moon. Remind the children that the moon and stars come out at night. Ask them to name some activities that they do at night. Sing the It is Nighttime song with the children. Hold up the picture of the moon while singing the song. It Is Nighttime Now the day is over, And night is coming soon. Now the darkness gathers, And we see the stars and moon. Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Activities # Label a chart Day and Night. Use the pictures from Activity Pictures #3 for this activity. Show the children the pictures of the day and nighttime activities – sunglasses, children on a picnic, sun, moon, stars, house at nighttime - and have them name each picture. Ask them to decide if the picture is a day or nighttime picture. Give each child 1-2 pictures and ask them to place the pictures under the appropriate heading on the chart. As the children are placing their pictures on the chart, ask them to describe their pictures.
# Tell the children that the sun creates shadows. When there is sunshine, there will be shadows. Without the sun, there would not be any shadows. On a sunny day, take the children outdoors in an area that is bright. Have them make shadows with their bodies. Encourage them to move their legs, arms, fingers, and head to form different shadows. Have them run around and try to step on each other’s shadows. Sing the See My Shadow song with the children. See My Shadow Tune: Frere Jacques See my shadow, see my shadow, Move one way, move another way. See how many you can do, see how many you can do, See my shadow, see my shadow.
# Take a walk around the yard and observe the shadows that trees and buildings make. Talk about the shapes of the shadows. Give the children sidewalk chalk and ask them to trace each others shadow’s on the sidewalk.
# Collect pictures of children and families and animals. Give children magazines and newspapers to look for pictures related to day and night activities. Cut out the pictures. Use chart paper to label one side of the paper Day Activities and the other side of the paper Night Activities. Glue the appropriate pictures on the chart paper.
# Play I See Something – What Do You See? Use Activity Pictures #3 for this activity. Use the cut outs of the sunglasses, picnic, sun, moon, stars and dark house to hide the day and night pictures around the classroom. Describe each picture and ask the children to find the picture in the classroom. • I See Something that is yellow and round and you see in the daytime. (sun) • I See Something that you wear on your eyes when it is bright. (sunglasses) • I See Something that looks like children are having a picnic on a bright, sunny day. (children eating food) • I See Something white in the shape of a crescent that we see in the night sky. (moon) • I See Something that has many stars. (night picture with stars) • I See Something that is a very dark house. (house) Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Learning Activities Materials Needed
# Book: A Sunny Day What Is In the Sky? # # # # #
Cut out pictures from Activity Pictures #4 Paper plates (one for each child) Star stickers Yellow paint Dark blue construction paper (one piece for each child)
Activities # Talk with the children about the sun. Tell them that the sun is seen only in the daytime and it keeps us warm. When it is sunny outdoors, you can see the sun shining in the sky. The sun warms the land, the air and the water. The sun helps trees and plants grow. Tell the children when the sun is not out, the weather feels cooler. Emphasize the words day, sun, sky, and clouds. Take a walk outdoors and talk about what the children see in the sky and how the temperature feels. Ask the children the following questions: • What keeps us warm outdoors? (the sun) • Look up in the sky, what do you see? (blue sky, sun, birds, and clouds)
# Tell the children that they will be drawing daytime pictures. Give each child some crayons and a piece of paper. Ask them to draw a picture with the sun in the sky. After they complete the drawing of the sun, ask them what else might be in the sky. Ask them to draw some of those items (birds, clouds, butterflies). Sing the Sun is Shining song with the children. Sun is Shining The sun is shining all around, (make large ball with arms) It’s even shining on the ground. (point to the ground) It shines on you, it shines on me. (point to you and me) The sun is wonderful for us to see. (make a happy face) # Give each child a paper plate to make a sun. Ask them to paint their plates yellow. After the paint dries, draw eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Display them around the room.
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Activities # Talk with the children about nighttime. Tell them that when the sun sets, it begins to get dark outdoors. At night, the moon comes out. Tell them that the sun and the moon are partners. The sun helps us see in the daytime, and the moon helps us see on some nights. On some nights, the moon is very bright, and on other nights, it is not so bright. Some nights you can’t see the moon at all, but it is always there. On some nights we see stars. Tell the children that there are billions of stars in the sky and that stars make pictures in the sky. Emphasize the words night, moon, and stars. Tell the children that they will be drawing a nighttime picture. Give each child a white crayon or chalk and a piece of dark blue construction paper. Ask them to draw a picture with the moon in the sky. Give each child many star stickers to “stick” in the sky to complete their pictures.
# Sing the Four Little Stars song and the Star Light song with the children.
Four Little Stars Four little stars, winking at me, (move four fingers) One shot off, then there were three. (one finger goes away) Three little stars, with nothing to do, (show three fingers) One shot off, then there were two. (one finger goes away) Two little stars, looking at the moon, (point two fingers upward) One shot off, then there was one. (one finger goes away) One little star, left all alone, (show one finger) He shot off, then there were none. (close all fingers) Star Light Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight.
# Use the sequenced pictures from Activity Pictures #4 for this activity. Review with the children that the sun comes up in the morning and goes down in the evening. At night the moon and stars come out. Show them the four pictures and talk about the sequence of events happening in the pictures. • • • •
Talk about getting up in the morning and looking at the sun. Talk about washing your face and brushing your teeth after you get out of bed. Talk about going to school. Tell the children that at nighttime, the sky is dark and you can see the stars when you go to bed at night.
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Activities Place the four pictures on the table and ask the children to put them in order, starting with the picture that has the sun in it. Give the children time to independently manipulate the picture.
# Play the I Am Thinking game with the children. Invite them to listen as you call out the following clues. Ask them to answer your questions. Clues:
I am thinking of going outdoors on a sunny day. What will I have to put over my eyes? The word begins with the letter s. (sunglasses)
I am thinking about what happens when it is nighttime. What might I see in the sky? It is big and round. The word begins with the letter m. (moon)
I am pretending I am looking up into the night sky. I see many things twinkling in the sky. What are they? The word begins with the letter s. (stars)
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Day and Night Ages 3+–4 Oral Language Experiences # Listens to and responds to songs and books about day and night # Uses day and night words in conversation # Uses vocabulary words in conversation
Science
Learning Experiences
# Recognizes the repeating patterns of day and night # Describes the effect that sun has on water, land, and air # Recognizes that the sun can only be seen in the daytime # Observes that sometimes the moon can be seen at night and sometimes during the day # Observes that there are often many stars in the night sky
Alphabet Knowledge # Recognizes some day and night words # Independently writes day and night words
What Is In the Sky? By Laura Young
Stars in the Sky By Julie Haydon
CORE Vocabulary Words day
night
sun
moon
stars
sky
clouds
Rich Vocabulary Words shadows
Additional Children’s Books Clouds, Gail Saunders-Smith Creatures of the Night, Stephen Brooks Good Night Gorilla, Rathmann Looking At the Moon, Julie Haydon Starry, Starry Night, Scholastic Sunshine, Gail Saunders-Smith The Sun, Mary Draper
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Oral Language Activities
Materials Needed
# Book: What Is In the Sky? Stars In the Sky # Cut out Activity Pictures #6 # Cut out Activity Pictures #7 # Yellow tissue paper # Construction paper # Paper plates (one for each child) # Flashlight # Star Stickers (8–10 per child) # Dark blue paper (one piece for each child) # Chart paper
Activities # Tell the children that the sun comes up in the morning and it is the daytime. At the end of the day, the sun sets and it becomes nighttime. Tell the children that they are going to be learning about night and day. Tell them that the sun comes out in the daytime to make the sky bright. The moon comes out at night and it is dark outside. Tell the children that the sun and moon are partners. The sun gives us light in the day and the moon helps us see at night. The sun warms the land, the air and the water. The sun is a star. On a warm sunny day, take the children outdoors and look up in the sky. Do you see the sun? Do you see the brightness of the sun? When we are out in the sun, we need to protect our skin and our eyes from the sun. It is dangerous to look directly at the sun. Remind them to always wear sunscreen and sunglasses when they are out in the sun. Sing the My Sunglasses song with the children. My Sunglasses These are my sunglasses. (make two circles with index fingers and thumbs and place over eyes) This is my hat. (place hands in a pointed position overhead) I put on sunscreen, (pretend to rub sunscreen over arms) While I sit on my mat. (children sit down) Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Activities # Tell the children that when there is sunshine, they will see shadows. Without the sun, we would not have shadows. Turn off the lights in the room and tell them that they are going to pretend that the flashlight is the sun. They will use a flashlight to make shadows against a wall in the room. Ask the children to use different hand and finger movements to make hand shadows on a wall. Place a large piece of paper on the wall. Ask the children to make hand shadows using the flashlight and trace the shadows with crayons on the paper. Sing the My Shadow song with them. My Shadow I have a shadow that’s always with me. Sometimes he's big. Sometimes he's small. Sometimes he isn't there at all. If it's really sunny out, He's hooked right there beside me, And we play all day outside.
# Take the children outdoors on a sunny day to make their shadows.
# Tell the children that when the sun goes down, it becomes nighttime. Instead of a sunny sky, it becomes dark outdoors. On some nights you can see the moon in the sky. The moon helps light up the sky at night. Teach them that when it is dark, it is hard to see. Turn off the lights in the room and give one child a flashlight. Tell the children to pretend that the flashlight is the moon. Play hide and seek in a semi-dark room. Ask the child with the flashlight to use the flashlight to lighten up the room to help find the other children. Review the following factual information before reading the book and discussing information about day and night:
Sun • A day lasts 24 hours and consists of both day and night. • The sun warms the land, the air and the water. • The sun can only be seen in the daytime. • The sun is a star. • The sun looks bigger and brighter than other stars because it is closer to the earth. • The sun is a ball of burning gasses and gives us heat and energy. • The sun is huge. It is much larger than the earth. • The earth moves around the sun in 24 hours.
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Activities Moon • The moon travels around the earth. • The moon can be seen at night and sometimes during the day. • There is no air or water on the moon. • When astronauts go to the moon, they carry tanks of air on their backs to help them breathe. • No people or animals live on the moon. • The moon’s surface has craters and it is covered with rocks and dust. Stars • Stars are large and very hot, but because they are so far away we see them as tiny dots. • Stars make heat and light up the sky. • Some stars make pictures in the sky. • You will need a telescope to see some stars in the sky. • There are billions of stars in the sky. • Stars shine all the time. We don’t see them in the daytime because the sunlight is so bright.
First Reading of the Book # Introduce the book, What Is In the Sky? by showing the cover illustration, pointing to the blue sky, and saying the word sky. Tell the children that they will be learning about what is in the sky. While reading the book, highlight the words day, night, sky, sun, moon, stars, and clouds. Point to and say each of the Vocabulary Word cards from Activity Pictures #6. When you introduce the words, identify the first letter of each word and emphasize the beginning sounds of the words. Begin reading the book. Point to the Vocabulary Words while reading. After reading page 3, tell the children that the sun warms the land, the air and the water. Tell them that the sun can only be seen in the daytime. After reading pages 4 and 5, tell them that the moon comes out at night and can sometimes be seen in the daytime. Tell the children that there are billions of stars and that they are very large and hot. Read pages 6 and 7 and talk with the children about what else they might see in the sky. Talk about clouds, birds, and butterflies. Ask the following questions while reading: • What is in the sky in the daytime? (sun, birds, clouds) • What is in the sky at nighttime? (stars, moon)
• Why do we need the sun? (to help keep us warm, to warm the water, land, and air)
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First Reading of the Book After reading, summarize the content of the book by discussing the following: Sun • The sun warms the land, the air and the water. • The sun can only be seen in the daytime. • The sun is a star. • The sun looks bigger and brighter than other stars because it is closer to the earth. Moon • The moon can be seen at night and sometimes during the day. • There is no air or water on the moon.
Ask the following questions after reading the book: • What is in the sky during the daytime? (the sun) • What does the sun warm? (the land, air, and water) • What is in the sky at nighttime? (moon and stars) • What else might you see in the sky? (clouds, birds, and butterflies)
Second Reading of the Book # Introduce the book, Stars in the Sky, by showing the cover illustration, pointing to the stars and saying the word stars. Ask the children what they think the book will be about. Tell them that you will be reading about the sky and the stars that are in the sky. Review the following Vocabulary Words with the children: day, night, sky, stars, moon, clouds, and sun. Read pages 2 and 3 and tell the children that there are billions of stars in the nighttime sky and they are very large. Read pages 4 and 5 and tell the children that stars are very hot and are different colors. Ask them to tell you the different colors of the stars (blue, white, yellow, orange, red). While looking at the pictures of the stars on pages 4 and 5, ask the children to point to the blue, white, yellow, orange and red stars. Read pages 6 and 7 and summarize for the children that the sun can only be seen in the daytime; the sun is a star; and the sun heats the land, water and air. Read page 8 and point to the earth and the sun while reading. Emphasize to the children that the sun is much larger than the earth. Remind them that the earth makes a circle around the sun. After reading the remaining pages of the book ask the following questions:
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Second Reading of the Book • How did people on ships find their way at night? (by looking at the stars) • What are some of the pictures that stars make in the sky? (lion, bull) • Some stars are hard to see at night. What could you use to see some of the stars? (telescope)
# Go to page 13 in the Stars in the Sky book. Complete the activity to make a star picture. Ask the children to cut a small circle out of black paper. Copy the star picture onto the circle. Refer to page 13 for the star picture. Tape the circle to one end of a paper towel tube. Poke holes around the outline of the star picture. Hold the tube up to the light to see the star picture.
# When reading the book, highlight the CORE and Rich Vocabulary words.
# Read both books several times throughout the week.
# Read the books suggested in the Additional Children’s Books section. # Give each child a Take-Home Bracelet from Activity Pictures #7.
Activities # Have the children draw and compare the day and the night sky. Label the top of a piece of chart paper Day and Night. Under the word Day, ask them to draw objects that could be seen in a day sky and under the word Night, ask them to draw objects that could be seen in a night sky. Have the children refer back to both books when drawing the sky objects. After all of the objects have been drawn, ask them the following questions: • • • • • •
Which sky is darker – the night sky or the day sky? (night sky) Which sky do you see at nighttime? (night sky) Which sky do you see during the daytime? (day sky) Is it warmer during the daytime or at nighttime? (daytime) Can the sun be seen at night and at day? (no) Can the moon be seen at night and at day? (yes)
Sing The Sun song with the children.
The Sun The sun makes it warm outside, (arms above head in a circle) It makes the flowers grow each day. (wiggle fingers) The sun hides its face during the night, (cover face) During the daytime, it shines so bright. (arms above head in a circle) Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Activities # Make a sun with the children. Paint paper plates with yellow tissue paper. Use construction paper to cut the eyes, nose and mouth from, and glue them on the sun. Tell the children that the sun gives us light and we need light to see things. Give each child an index card to write the word sun.
# Talk with the children about the nighttime sky. Tell them that they can see stars in the darkened sky. Tell them that stars are large and very hot and they light up the sky. Remind them that some stars form together to make pictures in the sky. Show the children the pictures on pages 12 and 13 in the book, Stars in the Sky. Give each child a piece of dark blue construction paper, some star stickers and a piece of white chalk. Ask them to use the chalk to draw the outline of an animal that might be seen in the sky. Remind them that the book showed a lion and a bull. Ask them to place the star stickers on the chalk outline. Sing the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star song with the children. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what your are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are.
Give each child an index card to write the word night.
Learning Activities # # # # # # # #
Materials Needed
Cut out pictures from Activity Pictures #5 Plastic globe or blue ball Flashlight Styrofoam ball Star stickers Chart paper Round sugar cookies Blue and yellow construction paper (one piece per child)
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Activities # Remind the children that the sun is much bigger than the earth. Tell them that the sun is a star and it is the star that is closest to the earth. Tell them that it takes 24 hours, or one day, for the earth to spin around the sun. When we see the bright side of the earth, it is daylight. The sun gives us light. When we see the dark side of the earth, it is nighttime.
Give one child either a plastic globe or a blue ball. Give another child a flashlight and ask the children to pretend it is the sun. Ask the child who is holding the earth (or blue ball) to walk around the child holding the flashlight (the sun). The part of the globe that has light is daytime. The other half is in darkness, and it is nighttime. Repeat this activity to give all of the children a chance to be the sun and the earth during the next few days.
# Tell the children that they are going to use a flashlight as a source of light, just like the sun is a source of light. Tell them that they will be playing a guessing game. Start the activity by dimming the lights in the room. Give the children clues about an item in the room, such as, “I see something that is green and has a flower on it.” Give one child a flashlight and ask him/her to find the item in the room and flash the light on the item. The child can respond by saying, “I found a plant with a flower on it.” Have the children take turns giving the clues and using the flashlight to find the items in the room. This activity can be done at several different sessions. # Tell the children that the sun is not the only light source. Brainstorm with them and see how many light sources they can think of. Some light sources would include: the sun, the moon, the stars, flashlights, light bulbs, fire, fireworks, and lamps. As the children tell you the light sources, either draw them on chart paper or write them down. Have the children make a book about the sources of light. Give each child two pieces of paper and have them fold the papers in half. Ask them to use the six pages of the booklet to draw different kinds of light sources. Ask them to print the name of the light source under their pictures. Title the cover of the booklets Light Sources. Ask the children to write their name as the author on the cover of the book.
# Tell the children that the sun is very hot and warms the land, the air and the water. Place a piece of dark blue construction paper on a tray. On top of the paper, arrange several familiar objects with distinctive shapes, such as a key, a comb, a small book, and a ruler. Place the tray in direct sunlight for several hours until the paper has faded. Remove the objects and ask the children what they see on the paper. Talk about how the sun faded the paper. Ask them what the sun did to the paper to make the silhouettes. Give the removed objects to the children and ask them to place the object on the matching silhouettes on the paper. Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Activities # Ask the children to share with the class some of the activities that they do in the daytime (eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, go to school, play outdoors, ride bikes, go on a picnic). Give each child a piece of paper and ask them to draw a picture and write one phrase or sentence about one thing that they do during the daytime. Have them read their sentences.
# Give each child a piece of light blue construction paper and a small piece of yellow construction paper. Ask them to cut a sun out of the yellow piece of paper and glue their suns onto the blue construction paper. Ask them to add other things they might see in the sky on a sunny day (birds, clouds, butterflies). Sing the Sun is Shining song with the children. Sun is Shining The sun is shining all around, It shines on land and sea. It shines on cars, it shines on boats, And it shines on you and me.
# Take a break and serve a cool drink for sipping in the sunshine. Give each child a round, sugar cookie that represents the sun.
# Tell the children to pretend that it is nighttime. Ask them to share with the class things that they do to get ready for bed at night (brush your teeth, take a bath, get a drink of water, put on pajamas, read a book, say goodnight, go to sleep). Give each child a piece of paper and ask them to write a phrase or sentence about one thing that they do at night. Have them read their sentences.
# Discuss with the children that the moon can be seen at night and sometimes during the day. Tell them that the moon goes around the earth. The moon is round, but it doesn’t always look the same. Sometimes there is a full moon and sometimes you can’t see the moon at all. Show the children a Styrofoam ball and tell them that this is what the moon looks like when it is full. Remind them that the part of the moon that points to the sun is the bright part of the moon. Use the moon pictures from Activity Pictures #5 for this activity. Show each picture in order: waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, waning crescent. Place the pictures of the different phases of the moon on the table. Ask them to put them in order. Place the activity pictures in a place where children can access them throughout the day.
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Activities # Tell the children that they can see stars in the sky at night. Tell them that there are too many stars to count in the sky. Make a star gazing activity with the children. On a piece of paper draw five columns. Print a number 1–5 at the top of each column. Tell the children they will be counting stars. Give them star stickers and ask them to match the number of stars and stick them in each column from one to five. Say the Star Light poem with them. Star Light Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight. (ask children to make wish)
# Tell the children that many animals come out at night. They are called nocturnal animals. Books such as Creatures of the Night, by Stephen Brooks, or Good Night, Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann are good books about nocturnal animals. Any book about night animals such as, bats, raccoons, owls, or foxes would be appropriate to read. Ask the children to draw pictures of one nocturnal animal. Tell the children that rooster’s crow to wake us up in the mornings. Teach the children to crow like roosters. Display the pictures around the room.
# Give each child a piece of black paper and a piece of white chalk. Ask the children to draw a nighttime picture. Write the word night on the picture. # Talk with the children about behaviors that are routines at nighttime. Pictures of brushing teeth, bathtubs, pillows, beds, or child reading a bedtime story would be appropriate. Ask each child to draw a picture of one thing that happens at nighttime. Ask them to label their picture with the word Nighttime.
# Play Moon Rock Throw. Give each child a piece of white paper to crumple up into a ball. Tell the children to pretend the white balls of paper are moon rocks. Place a large, plastic container on the floor. Ask the children to stand about four feet from the container and to toss the “moon rocks” into the container. After the children have played for a while, move them further away from the plastic container.
# Designate a Pajama Party day for the children. Tell the children they are going to pretend that the school day happens at nighttime. Dim the lights and darken your classroom with drapes or sheets. Place blankets and pillows on the floor. Ask each child to wear pajamas to school on the designated day and to bring in a favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Have fun throughout the day reading nighttime stories.
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Day and Night Activity Pictures #1
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Day and Night Activity Pictures #2
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Day and Night Activity Pictures #3
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Day and Night Activity Pictures #4
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Day and Night Activity Pictures #5
Waxing Crescent
Waxing Gibbous
Full
Waning Gibbous
Waning Crescent Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Day and Night Activity Pictures #6
day
night
sun
sky
moon
stars clouds
Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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Day and Night Activity Pictures #7 Today we read a book about the daytime sky and the nighttime sky. Ask me to tell you what we see in the daytime sky and what we see in the nighttime sky. Today we read a book about the daytime sky and the nighttime sky. Ask me to tell you what we see in the daytime sky and what we see in the nighttime sky. Today we read a book about the daytime sky and the nighttime sky. Ask me to tell you what we see in the daytime sky and what we see in the nighttime sky. Today we read a book about the daytime sky and the nighttime sky. Ask me to tell you what we see in the daytime sky and what we see in the nighttime sky. Today we read a book about the daytime sky and the nighttime sky. Ask me to tell you what we see in the daytime sky and what we see in the nighttime sky. Today we read a book about the daytime sky and the nighttime sky. Ask me to tell you what we see in the daytime sky and what we see in the nighttime sky. Today we read a book about the daytime sky and the nighttime sky. Ask me to tell you what we see in the daytime sky and what we see in the nighttime sky. Today we read a book about the daytime sky and the nighttime sky. Ask me to tell you what we see in the daytime sky and what we see in the nighttime sky. Today we read a book about the daytime sky and the nighttime sky. Ask me to tell you what we see in the daytime sky and what we see in the nighttime sky. Family Child Care Home Instructional Unit 2013 - Day-Night Florida Institute of Education at the University of North Florida
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