Mississippi Science E.2.8.6
The Standard
- E.2.8
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the appearance, movements, and patterns of the sun, moon, and stars.
Create a model that will demonstrate the observable pattern of motion of the Sun or Moon. Use an engineering design process to define the problem, design, construct, evaluate, and improve the model. *
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Earth and the Universe
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students show how the Sun appears to change position in the sky from morning to evening. They plan and build a model, test whether it shows the pattern, and improve it.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can move a paper Sun from a low morning position to a higher midday position and then to a low evening position. They can point out a missing or misplaced position and fix their model.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may put the Sun in the same place all day or reverse morning and evening. They may think moving the paper Sun means the real Sun travels around Earth, rather than showing how it looks from the ground.
How to Assess It
- Give students a paper skyline labeled east and west. Ask them to draw the Sun's morning, midday, and evening positions, then circle one feature they would check on a moving model.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a card skyline, string, and paper Sun; have them plan, build, test, and adjust a model that shows three times of day.
Show three drawings of the same tree at different times; ask, 'Where would you place the Sun in each drawing, and why?'
Play a model-check game: move a paper Sun to the wrong place and have students name the error and fix it.
Photograph a playground post's shadow in the morning and afternoon; have students use their Sun models to explain the change.
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Printable E.2.8.6 Worksheet
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