5^th Grade Astronomy Unit Blueprint

Pacing Suggestions:
1 to 2 days

Teacher Resources:
Tips	End-Of-Unit Astronomy Assessment Adobe® Reader® (PDF) End-Of-Unit Astronomy Assessment (Microsoft Word Format) End of Unit Rubric Adobe Reader (PDF) End of Unit Rubric (Microsoft Word Format)

How do the patterns of the stars change throughout the night?

Why do patterns of stars in the sky appear to move across the night sky?

How do the patterns of the stars change throughout the year?

Are stars like the sun, Earth, and/or planets? Are all stars the same size?

What happens to the position of planets (relative to stars) throughout the year?

What orbits the sun? What orbits the earth?

4A(3-5)#1: The patterns of stars in the sky stay the same, although they appear to move across the sky nightly, and different stars can be seen in different seasons.

11B(3-5)#2: Geometric figures, number sequences, graphs, diagrams, sketches, number lines, maps, and stories can be used to represent objects, events, and processes in the real world, although such representations can never be exact in every detail.

4A(3-5)#5: Stars are like the sun, some being smaller and some larger, but so far away that they look like points of light.

4A(3-5)#3: Planets change their positions against the background of stars.

4A(3-5)#4: The earth is one of several planets that orbit the sun, and the moon orbits around the earth.

4B(3-5)#2: Like all planets and stars, the earth is approximately spherical in shape. The rotation of the earth on its axis every 24 hours produces the night-and-day cycle. To people on earth, this turning of the planet makes it seem as though the sun, moon, planets, and stars are orbiting the earth once a day.

Summative Assessment: A copy of the Astronomy Assessment is available under "Teacher Resources" on the electronic curriculum.

See Astronomy Assessment Answer Key and rubric under "Teacher Resources" on the electronic curriculum.