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that light is a form of energy that travels as a wave

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that the different wavelengths of light connect to the colors we see

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that the colors we see depend on how our eyes detect light

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that the gases in the atmosphere affect the light that reaches Earth’s surface

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that we see the sky as blue because of the way light is scattered

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make predictions

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build content vocabulary

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identify important information

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interpret graphic features in nonfiction text

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Visualize

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generate questions

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identify cause-and-effect relationships

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conduct simple experiments with filtered light and colors

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The title of the book presents a focusing question for inquiry-based learning. Students can attempt to predict the answer to the question before reading. They can then identify important information to help them answer the question as they read.

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Previewing the table of contents gives students the opportunity to notice that the heading of the last chapter repeats the title question. This gives a strong clue about where students can find the key information for answering the book’s central question. You may wish to ask students why they would read the rest of the book if they know the most important information will come at the end. Possible answers include: "to build the background we need to understand that last chapter" or "to learn information that may not answer the question but is still useful or interesting."

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The boldfaced words connect to glossary definitions at the back of the book. You may choose to preview the glossary with students before reading. Content vocabulary words are also often explained directly in the text. Tell students that they can often read ahead or reread to find such context clues. Model doing this with the word filament on page 7 (defined as the thin wire inside a lightbulb) or atmosphere on page 13 (defined as a "kind of shell" of gases).

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the book includes several diagrams, scientific illustrations, and labeled pictures to help students make visual connections to the scientific concepts and vocabulary. Preview pages 5, 6, 9, 13, 20, 23, and 24 with students before reading. Tell them that these pictures show them pieces of information that are difficult to describe with text alone. Say that the labels help make clear the different things that are shown in pictures and diagrams. Point out that labeled diagrams can also help readers understand vocabulary, such as the layers of the atmosphere on page 13 (the names of the different layers are not defined in the glossary, making this diagram particularly important). Encourage students to think about how these graphic features help them as they read, supplying sticky notes for them to record their thoughts. After reading, discuss students’ thoughts about the features.

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Several of the scientific concepts that are described in the text are challenging to understand, especially on an initial reading, and especially for visual learners. Encourage students to monitor their reading. Give them strategies to clarify their understandings, such as rereading, reading ahead, or flagging what they simply don’t understand for later discussion (they might flag these difficult parts with sticky notes or bookmarks). You might model self-correcting your own understanding by saying that you had to reread page 6 because you had trouble remembering the differences between atoms, electrons, and photons. Say that you flagged this page to reread later and to check the glossary definitions.
After they read, ask what students did to self-correct their own understandings of difficult vocabulary and concepts. Help them with the concepts they could not understand on their own. For other activities that may clarify understandings, see the "After Reading" and "Extension Activities" sections of this lesson, below.

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ELLs and some other students may need help understanding certain idioms, similes, and vocabulary that this book uses. When possible, share physical examples of some of the objects used in similes such as "like a wiggly line" (page 5) and "an atom is like a building block" (page 6). Use direct explanations, drawings, or gestures to explain other challenging words and phrases, such as "two peaks on this wiggly line" (page 5), "a beam of light" (page 7), "the ‘ceiling’ of the thermosphere" (page 15), and so on.

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Language Arts, Grades 3–6: 1, 2, 3, 8, 12

Maryland State Science Standards

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Science, Grade 3: 2 (Earth/Space Science), Grades 5–6: 5 (Physics)

The book also addresses the following Maryland science topics and indicators, for Grades 3, 5 and 6:

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Grade 3: 2.E.1, 2.E.1.a

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Grade 5: 5.D.4, 5.D.4.d

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Grade 6: 5.D.1, 5.D.1.a, 5.D.3, 5.D.3.d

*To find full descriptions of standards and benchmarks, visit the Marshall Cavendish Correlations site

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Conduct a visualization exercise to have students make personal connections and generate questions that will help them engage with their reading. Ask them to close their eyes and picture a clear, sunny day. What color is the sky? Can they think of other times when it is not this color? Tell them to imagine that the sun is starting to set. How is the sky starting to change colors as the light decreases? After students open their eyes, ask if this exercise put any questions in their heads. Why do they think the sky is a certain color when it is clear? Do they have any questions about what happens to the sky’s colors as the sun sets? Write students’ questions on the board to revisit after they read the book.

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If you haven’t already done so, preview challenging content vocabulary with students before reading (as discussed in the "Text Supports" section of this lesson, above). Also preview the photographs and diagrams in the book and ask students how they think these will relate to the book’s title question (tell students that this may be difficult to see before reading, and that it’s okay to make the best guesses they can at this point).

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Provide students with sticky notes to record additional questions and facts that they learn as they read. Say that you will discuss what they write down after they read.

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Discuss student predictions to the answer to the title question, as noted in the "Text Supports" section of this lesson.

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Review any predictions students made before reading about why the sky is blue. Ask students what they learned from the book that they didn’t predict.

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Remind students of the title question: "Why is the sky blue?" Ask students to work in pairs to review the facts that they recorded while reading. Which facts are most useful for answering the book’s main question? Where are most of these facts found? Guide students to recognize that the answer to the central question is answered most directly in the last chapter and that the rest of the book mostly provides background to understand this last chapter.

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Review pages 20 and 21 with students. Ask if the information about the greenhouse effect and how light affects bone growth seems important. Ask if these discussions answer the question "Why is the sky blue?" Help students see that these topics may be interesting, but are less important to understanding the book’s focus question.

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Review any questions students flagged while reading. Ask students if the book answered their questions, and if it didn’t where they might look for additional information.

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Clarify any challenging vocabulary or concepts that students could not figure out on their own. Discuss the central scientific concepts, including the fact that light is a form of energy that travels as a wave (pages 5–7), that the different wavelengths of light connect to the colors we see and that the colors we see depend on how our eyes detect light (pages 8–11), that the gases in the atmosphere affect the light that reaches Earth’s surface (pages 13–14 and 18–19), and that we see the sky as blue because of the way light is scattered (pages 23–26).

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Have students work in pairs to review the book for mentions of cause-and-effect relationships. They can fold a sheet of paper in half down its center line and record causes on one side and effects on the other. After recording causes and effects from the book, they would then be able to fold one half back and check that they could remember which cause went with which effect (and vice versa). To locate the causes and effects within the book, suggest that they look for key words, such as because , so , and therefore . For example, the word because indicates a cause and effect on page 7. Also note that some causes and effects will not use these key words directly. Tell students that questions with answers can also sometimes show cause-and-effect relationships. If students need guidance, model writing out the cause and effect for the question and answer on page 9: "humans can’t see most colors" (cause); "we can’t count the wavelengths in light" (effect).

Science

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Provide students with flashlights, rubber bands, and sheets of variously colored cellophane wrap (the cellophane can often be bought from art supply stores or even stores that sell wrapping paper, but if this is unavailable, sunglasses with colored lenses may be used instead). Have students experiment with wrapping different colored cellophane around the lights and shining the lights on a blank white background. Can they explain what is happening to the light as it passes through the cellophane? Have them predict what will happen to the light when they cover a flashlight with red, green, and blue cellophane filters all at once. Will the light be totally shut out? If light gets through, will it be a color? Have students do Internet research on sites such as this one or this one that explain colored filters and use them in other activities. Encourage them to connect their experiments and research with what the book said about different colors of light having different wavelengths. If the filters let through certain colors of light, which colors do they block?

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See pages 27–28 of the book for an activity that involves scattering light through a fish tank to show how different wavelengths of light create different colors.