Welcome! This site is intended to provide third-grade teachers with a framework for teaching a unit on Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change. The included activities, resources, and materials will address the material covered in SOL 3.8 a and 3.9, including the phases of the moon, the rotation/revolution of the earth and the resultant days and seasons, and the water cycle.
I am Chris Kresge, currently a student in the University of Richmond's Teacher Licensure Program, and I have based this unit off of an amalgamation of elementary pacing guides of various counties and the Virginia Standards of Learning.. Some counties treat both 3.8a and 3.9 as 10-15 day units in themselves, but for the sake of this project and to avoid redundant lessons, I have combined them here into one ten-day unit. The last lesson, on water conservation, deserves more time, but the next SOL Standard focuses on natural resources and conservation can be addressed more thoroughly there as well. While 3.8 b and c, which address animal and plant life cycles, do fit in to the theme of cycles, it seems best to address those topics at another time, and focus here on large-scale natural cycles.
All of the background info, vocabulary, and standards can be found under Content Notes, the day-by-day breakdown of procedure is under Lessons/Activities, and there are also some Assessment ideas. I have included some links to interesting Books, as well as links to cool Web Sites for students to reinforce the material.
I am Chris Kresge, currently a student in the University of Richmond's Teacher Licensure Program, and I have based this unit off of an amalgamation of elementary pacing guides of various counties and the Virginia Standards of Learning.. Some counties treat both 3.8a and 3.9 as 10-15 day units in themselves, but for the sake of this project and to avoid redundant lessons, I have combined them here into one ten-day unit. The last lesson, on water conservation, deserves more time, but the next SOL Standard focuses on natural resources and conservation can be addressed more thoroughly there as well. While 3.8 b and c, which address animal and plant life cycles, do fit in to the theme of cycles, it seems best to address those topics at another time, and focus here on large-scale natural cycles.
All of the background info, vocabulary, and standards can be found under Content Notes, the day-by-day breakdown of procedure is under Lessons/Activities, and there are also some Assessment ideas. I have included some links to interesting Books, as well as links to cool Web Sites for students to reinforce the material.