Constructivism Lesson

This lesson will begin by having students draw on their “Sun” scheme. They will listen to “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles and a class discussion will be lead discussing their current knowledge about the Sun. Students will exercise assimilation as we build on this initial scheme throughout the course of the lesson. Students will exercise their behavioral schema in our first activity. We will discuss the planets' rotations around the Sun. Students will physically stand up and act out the parts of the planets orbiting. The students will be able to understand the Sun as they use these actions.

Students will then exercise their operational schema in a fun activity. Students will be given the distance of the Earth from the Sun in kilometers (149 million km). Using their mathematical and operational knowledge they will convert this number into miles (9,258 million miles). Students will enjoy seeing these large numbers! This also makes a connection from their own world to the Sun.

Students will then receive instruction:

The sun is a star that produces heat and light. The sun has rays that provide the heat and light that is essential for life on Earth. It supports life through photosynthesis in plants, and provides warmth and light. In addition to supporting life on Earth, sunlight is critical to human physical and psychological well-being. The benefits of the sun include keeping Earth’s temperatures warm enough to sustain life, providing light, and helping plants grow by providing food.

The sun’s energy comes from nuclear reactions in its core. This reaction, called fusion (joining), is produced by the joining of the nuclei of hydrogen atoms forming helium. The byproducts of this reaction are energy (heat and light). The Sun provides heat and light energy (amongst other forms of energy) that are vital for life on Earth. This occurs because heat travels to cooler places.

Our sun (109 times wider than Earth) is an average-sized star and it has been burning for about 4.5 billion years. The sun is a nuclear furnace that is a source of energy that does not pollute. Due to its enormous mass, pressure in the interior of the sun reaches temperatures of almost 16 million degrees C, (28.8 million F). About four million tons of the sun’s matter turns into energy every second and only one-billionth of the sun’s light ever strikes Earth.



Students will then begin their discovery activity. They will work on their own with little instruction from the teacher to understand more fully the temperature of the Sun. This will cause a disequilibrium; most students do not think anything is capable of being the temperature the Sun is. This may be difficult for students to understand but as they use the experiments to get more comfortable and familiar with temperature, this idea will stick. This will cause students to exercise accommodation, as they use these new experiences to adapt their current thinking and processing.


Divide the students into groups.
Pass out construction paper, scissors, glue, and rulers to make temperature pockets.
Instruct students to measure two 6” x 6” inch squares of each color. Glue three sides together to form a pocket.
Review how to read a thermometer.
Students place strip thermometers inside the pockets and place all four pockets outside in the sun for the first part of the experiment.
Students predict what they think the temperatures will be for each color of pocket.
Check the pockets periodically for morning temperatures and for afternoon temperatures.
Record temperatures. *Variations may include placing the pockets in a shaded area and check for temperatures during the following day.
Journal the results and compare. Have students journal the steps used to experiment with the pockets and thermometers. (Draw pictures) Did the color of the paper make a difference in the heat recorded? Where was the pocket placed directly in the sun, in a shaded area? Consider questions such as: Which color of paper do you think will heat up the most? And why the students think there is a difference in the temperature.



As an assessment, students will each receive nine different objects. They will measure their temperatures and record the data. They will have three labels in front of them, “Sun,” “Earth,” and “Pluto.” Students will then practice classification and arrange these objects under the corresponding labels. (Sun being the hottest 3 objects, Earth being the middle 3 objects and Pluto being the coldest 3 objects.)