P.S. 211 Fall 2023 STEM Newsletter (5th Grade)

Patterns of Earth and Stars

Fifth grade Astronomers have been exploring their first science unit by gathering evidence from texts, investigating and collecting data using digital simulations, developing models and discussing their ideas with classmates.

In this unit, students solve a mystery on about the missing piece of an artifact by studying the following big ideas:

gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down
differences in the brightness of the Sun compared to other stars is due to their distances from Earth
patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows due to Earth’s rotation
day and night
seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky

We encourage you to ask your 5th Grade Astronomer about what they are learning in class!

Why can’t we see stars during the day?
Why can’t we see stars in the city at night?
What causes day and night?
Why can we see different stars at night during different seasons?

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Important Vocabulary Within This Newsletter:

Astronomer
Model
Constellation
Evidence
Decode
Visualize
Data
Artifact
Pattern
Rotate
Revolve
Visibility
Orbit
Investigation
Sphere