Junior/Intermediate Science Inquiry

Demonstrate an understanding of forces and how they lead to movement and changes in movement.

Grade Four Teacher Robin Shaw is leading her students on an inquiry into water and she is sharing the journey with The Robertson Program.

Analyze the immediate and long-term effects of energy and resource use on society and the environment and evaluate options for conserving energy and resources.

The inquiry begins by giving students the opportunity to share their questions about the Moon and challenging the misconceptions they might hold about the moon. Students are tasked with making daily observations of the Moon, noting how its appearance changes over time. Ideally, this inquiry will begin at or shortly after the new moon phase of the lunar cycle, but such precise timing is not a requirement.

This lesson details the steps for filling in the observation chart that students will use to observe the changes in the Moon and Sun’s movements over the course of a 30-day lunar cycle. New information will be added to this chart every day, providing students with a rich data set from which to start asking new questions and drawing conclusions.

When students have approximately seven or eight days’ worth of data (long enough for the moon to have visibly changed in appearance). they share their theories about what causes the Moon to change location and appearance over time. They also review the theories and questions they posed in Part 1 and 2 to determine whether any information they have gathered confirms any of their initial ideas.

Students explore why the Moon appears to move through the sky and change appearance by using a digital simulator of the solar system. They observe how the planets (including Earth) move around the Sun, and how the Moon moves around Earth. They create their own 2-D models of the Sun, Earth, and Moon.

Students continue to gain knowledge about the scale and vastness of the solar system, They use their 2-D Sun-Earth-Moon models from Part 4 to explore the orbits of the Earth and Moon impact what humans see when they look up at the sky.

Students consider the significance of the Moon in different cultures and throughout history. They embark on a final research project, working together to determine the expectations for how they will present and read each other’s work.

Investigate energy transformation and conservation. Demonstrate an understanding of the various forms and sources of energy and the ways in which energy can be transformed and conserved.

Assesses the impact of space exploration on society and the environment.

Using excerpts from books, students predict, collect samples, and compare their findings to make statistical inferences about larger sets of data.

Using excerpts from books, students predict, collect samples, and compare their findings to make statistical inferences about larger sets of data.

Using excerpts from books, students predict, collect samples, and compare their findings to make statistical inferences about larger sets of data.

Using excerpts from books, students predict, collect samples, and compare their findings to make statistical inferences about larger sets of data.

Investigate the characteristics and properties of light and sound.