The Pan-Canadian Science Curriculum recommends objectives for all science units in each grade as a way of unifying the science courses taught from province to province. Most provinces have adopted the objectives into their own curricula, and have designed courses around them.

Though grade 1 courses still vary slightly across the country, presented below is a complete unit plan which covers all of the objectives in the Pan-Canadian Protocol. This unit can be used as-is to cover many (if not all) of your provincial expectations, or modified as you see fit. The reference numbers given for each lesson below refers to the Pan-Canadian specific learning outcomes.

A complete listing of the Pan-Canadian Curriculum Objectives for grade 1 Earth and Space Science can be found here, while provincial curriculum objectives listed by province and grade can be found here.

Finally, need an idea for a summative assessment activity? Check here!

Grade 1 Earth and Space Science

100-14: Describe changes in heat and light from the sun (e.g., measure and compare outdoor temperatures and other weather conditions on cloudy and sunny days; measure and describe outdoor temperature changes at different times of the day; observe and describe how the position of the sun influences the length and position of shadows)

Lesson: What Makes Shadows?

Lesson Overview: Students learn about shadows as they observe and draw the shadow of a classmate. In the extension activity, students observe and discuss shadows changing over time. (see also Changing Shadows During the Day)

101-6: Describe ways of measuring and recording environmental changes that occur in daily and seasonal cycles (e.g., investigate and describe ways of measuring daily and seasonal changes in light and temperature; observe and describe changes that occur in a cyclic pattern, and relate these changes to the passage of time)

Lesson 1: Sky Paths: Studying the motion of celestial bodies

Lesson Overview: By using these activities, K-4 students will have the concrete experiences of observing, organizing, comparing, and describing the movement of objects that they observe in the sky. Students will also learn how early cultures viewed objects in the sky and created stories to explain the objects they observed. Then, students will create their own stories to explain their own observations.

Lesson 2: Measuring Temperature

Lesson Overview: Students will learn how to read thermometers and will record temperatures over a two-week period. Temperatures of various objects will also be taken.

102-3: Observe and describe changes in sunlight and describe how these changes affect living things (e.g., observe and describe the location of the sun in the sky at different times of the day; describe changes from day to night and how these changes affect living things)

Lesson: Changing Shadows During the Day

Lesson Overview: While students are aware that day and night occur, they may not yet understand that these changes happen because the Earth rotates once every twenty-four hours. One way to record the Sun's path is to track the shadow cast by a stationary stick. Important points to understand include:

• The Sun appears to move across the sky due to the rotation of the Earth about its axis.
• The Sun's path for a certain day is determined by the location of the observer on the Earth (particularly his latitude - see figure below).

102-5: Investigate and describe changes that occur in seasonal cycles in the characteristics, behaviours, and location of living things (e.g., describe changes in plants that occur during the fall; identify seeds and other structures that give rise to new growth in the spring; describe seasonal changes in the activity and location of animals)

Lesson: Seasons Change

Lesson Overview: Students will identify different characteristics of seasons, and recognize that plants, animals and people adapt to the changing seasons in different ways.

Lesson 2: Where plants and animals live

Lesson Overview: Students conclude that plants in the woods provide food and shelter for the animals living there, and they describe how the changing seasons affect plants and animals.

103-4: Investigate and describe human preparations for seasonal changes (e.g., investigate and describe characteristics of clothing worn in different seasons; investigate and describe features of buildings that keep us warm and dry)

Lesson: A Year in my Life (pdf)

Lesson Overview: This is a culminating activity where the students will make a poster showing different seasons in the year. Students should be able to identify the seasons, the clothes they would wear (and why), as well as other properties of the seasons.

created and compiled by the CASCA education Webteam, (2009)