Minds On

Shine on!

Why is the sun important?

Share your ideas with a partner, if possible. You may also choose to write, draw or describe your ideas using an audio recording.

Press ‘Answer’ to learn why the sun is important.

The Sun is Earth’s main source of energy, including how it warms the air, land, and water. It is also a source of light for Earth and makes it possible for plants to grow.

Explore the following Space Kids video entitled “The Sun” to learn more about the sun.

What is one thing you learned about the sun?

Action

Ontario connection

This learning activity highlights people, places, or innovations that relate directly to the province of Ontario. Enjoy the exploration!

We get our energy from healthy food like plants, but plants need lots of sunlight to grow big enough for them to be harvested for us to eat.

Check out the following video of plants sprouting.

There are so many plants that grow in Ontario!

A farmer near Cookstown, Ontario has grown so many strong tall sunflowers that they’ve mapped out a maze for children to explore.

Explore the following image of a sunflower maze.

A field of sunflowers with winding paths cut through it creating a maze.

Can you think of other plants that need the sun to grow?

Make a list of these plants on paper, on a computer, in an audio clip, or in a method of your choice.

Let’s code!

Coding can be used to create computer models of things we want to explain.

You will create your own model of a plant using the Sun’s energy to grow big and strong.

SCRATCH Jr is a program that can be used to write code. Each block contains a step or an instruction for the computer program to follow.

Student Success

Let’s think about code!

To explore some possible code elements including blocks that you may come across in this learning activity, check out the following Coding Chart.

Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.

A chart of two elements and six coding blocks. There are two squares. One square has an icon of a learner. This is called the sprite, which is a character that acts out your code. The second square has an image of a landscape with a sky, a bush and the ground. This is the backdrop, which is your background. There are six coloured dots. Each dot is a kind of a block. In order, the blocks are ‘Motion’. ‘Looks’, ‘Sound’, ‘Triggering’, ‘Control’ and ‘End’. Each of the dots also has a definition, as follows: Triggering: The triggering block is the start button. It is a yellow block with a green flag. It is your first block! Motion: The motion block makes a sprite move. The arrow shows how the sprite might move! The looks block changes how a sprite looks and talks. The sound block makes audio or a sound. The control block controls when an action happens. The end block is how you end your code.

Now that you have explored what kind of blocks you can use, let’s get coding!

If possible, create a SCRATCH Jr account on a compatible device and follow the instructions to code.

https://www.scratchjr.org/(Opens in a new window)

New background button, with a grassy landscape and a clear sky.

Select new background

Grassy fields with hills in the background and a blue sky.

Select farm

An O K button with a checkmark inside a circle

Select OK

Select new character button with a plus sign inside a circle

Select new character

Sun

Select sun

An O K button with a checkmark inside a circle

Select OK

An addition sign.

Select new character

A pink tulip.

Select tulip

An O K button with a checkmark inside a circle

Select OK

A cat covered by a circle with an 'X' in it on the left, the label 'cat' in the centre, and a paint brush on the right.

Select the cat, then press and hold to delete.

A grassy field with one tulip, a sun in the sky and an arrow pointing from the grass to the sun.

Move the Sun into position by dragging it from the center of the screen.

The plant growing script.
The plant growth programming script is green flag, grow 20, play pop, end script.

Test it out!

Scratch Jr.

If you created a Scratch Jr. code project, you may use the following checklist to test your code.

Did you…

Consolidation

What does our plant growth model tell us?

Today, you used coding to model how the sun helps plants to grow.

Check out the following video of a growing plant.

Compare your coding program to how plants grow in real life.

How are they similar? How are they different?

What else do plants need to grow?

Share your ideas with a partner, if possible. You may choose to write, draw or record your ideas as an audio recording.

Press ‘Answer’ to access what plants need to grow.

Plants need water, space, healthy soil, and the sun to be able to grow. All of these are basic needs of plants.

Reflection

How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel…

Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.