Teach a scientific model of the spherical earth before introducing the cause of the day and night cycle¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article recommends sequencing: "early childhood teachers should begin introducing the concept of a spherical earth to children and ensure that all children develop a scientific model of the earth prior to implementing activities on the cause of the day and night cycle." This rests on cited evidence that children who believe the earth is flat or disc-shaped cannot understand how rotation produces day and night. Teachers should not rely solely on verbal utterances but have children build play dough models of the earth, kept and reused in subsequent day-and-night activities.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Teachers elicit children's ideas through play dough model construction rather than verbal reports alone

Constraints¶

• The supporting evidence for the earth-shape prerequisite is cited from prior studies (Samarapungavan et al., 1996; Tao et al., 2012; Vosniadou, 1991), not tested in this study

Target Learners¶

• kindergarten and early elementary children

Target Learning Goals¶

• scientific understanding of the day and night cycle
• scientific understanding of the earth's shape

Affordances¶

• Mental Models Framework Day Night Cycle

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Saçkes, M. (2015). Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood Classrooms. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 15(4), 997-1006. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2015.4.2741