Year 6 Science EARTH, SUN and MOON

The Sun, Earth and Moon are approximately spherical. FACT 1 The Sun, Earth and Moon are approximately spherical. Write down each fact in Science books Discuss what is spherical means (not to scale)

CHALLENGE! Approximate diameter (km) Sun 1 400 000 Earth 13 000 Moon 3 500 Approximate distance (km) Earth  Sun 150 000 000 Earth  Moon 390 000 Complete the challenge – look at how the distances have been divided by 1000 (bit of extra maths) CHALLENGE!

FACT 2 It is the Earth that moves not the Sun. The Earth spins on its own axis once every 24 hours. The Earth rotates from west to east. Introduce some drama – have children representing the sun and the earth

As the Earth spins around on its axis we can see the Sun when our side of the Earth is facing towards the Sun. As the Earth carries on spinning the Sun will become out of sight and it will be dark (night time). The Earth carries on spinning and the Sun comes back into view (sunrise). Use lamp and globe to demonstrate

The Earth moves around the Sun. It takes 365.25 days to orbit the Sun. Discuss at length – talk about the seasons and the effect on the tilt of the earth The Earth moves around the Sun. It takes 365.25 days to orbit the Sun. The length of the day varies according to the time of the year and the position on the Earth.

Look at the position of the sun in the sky. Why is it not the same? How would the height of the sun in the sky affect the size of shadows on the ground? Link to work on shadows – the higher the sun the smaller the shadow

FACT 3 The Sun rises in the general direction of the east and sets in the general direction of the west. West East How would this affect working in the classroom – when would we have to close the blinds and which ones? sunset midday sunrise

Plot this data on a bar graph. Date Sunrise Time Sunset Time 1 January 08:15 16:00 1 February 07:45 17:00 1 March 07:00 17:45 1 April 05:45 18:45 1 May 04:30 19:30 1 June 04:00 20:15 1 July 03:45 20:30 1 August 20:00 1 September 05:15 19:00 1 October 06:15 1 November 16:45 1 December 08:00 Discuss the charts – talk about the changes with BST and the hours moving on and back Plot this data on a bar graph.

Use the finished bar chart to describe how the daylight hours change during the year. Time (in hours) Work on own bar charts – discuss the results Months of the year

Link is to a website that has an animation of Moon orbiting Earth whilst Earth is orbiting Sun http://www.bnsc.gov.uk/5263.aspx

THE MOON - FACTS The moon is a satellite We see the Moon because it reflects light from the Sun The Moon orbits around the Earth every 28 days The Moon also spins on its own axis One spin takes 28 days Because it spins at the same speed as it orbits the Earth we always see the same side of the Moon facing the Earth We see different amounts of the Moon ‘lit up’ as it orbits the Earth – these are called ‘Phases of the Moon’ Discuss and stick a copy of the facts in the Science books HOMEWORK TASK – record of the phases of the moon over 28 days (worksheet) Look at the website http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/moon/moon_challenge/moon_challenge.html

http://www. bbc. co. uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/earth_sun_moon http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/earth_sun_moon.shtml

http://www.scienceyear.com/planet10/solar_preload.html