Products > EasyTech > Project Ideas
Summer Solstice
Celebrate the longer days and warmer weather the summer solstice (on June 21) brings to the northern hemisphere with these activities. Each of these activities meets a variety of state and national standards for technology and core subject areas.
Grades K-2
Show students a diagram of the position of the Earth and the sun on the summer solstice and the fall equinox. Discuss the movements and rotations of the Earth and sun, and how they impact daylight and weather. Then have students practice their keyboarding skills by using Word Processing software to type these three sentences, completing them with an ending of their own: “On the summer solstice, the sun __________.” ; “On the summer solstice, the Earth __________.”; “On the summer solstice, I like ____________.”.
EasyTech units: Introduction to Keyboards, Word Processing Basics
Grades 3-5
Discuss with students what the summer solstice means, in terms of astronomy and weather and the beginning of the summer season. Have each student write their favorite summer activity on a piece of paper. Place all pieces into a hat. Then have each student pull a piece of paper from the hat. As a class, discuss some of the criteria that go into choosing a summer activity (distance, cost, weather, etc.). Use this list to determine the fields that would be relevant for a Summer Activity database. Create a class database based on these criteria. Then have students use the Web to research the activity they selected from the hat, adding at least three specific locations/events of that type to the class database. When the database is complete, have each student use it to find activities that match the topic they first wrote on a piece of paper and put in the hat.
EasyTech units: Database Creation, Queries and Reports, Database Searches
Aha!Science units: Weather, Meteorology
Grades 6-8
Have students plan a Summer Solstice Party. Students should use the Web to research the history, traditions, and science behind the summer solstice. Then they should create a web page designed to advertise their party. The page should include images, activities, and information that reflect their knowledge of this special day. Students should also include blogs (non-working, but with descriptions) where visitors can share ideas and thoughts on activities and events.
EasyTech units: Web Browsing, Basic HTML, Communicating Online
Reference Sites
Share: Reddit |
Digg |
del.icio.us |
Google |
Yahoo |
What is this?
www.learning.com/easytech/projects/summer-solstice.htm
|
