1. The Cycle of Day and Night
DE Science Elementary
“5-Minute Prep” For The Earth, Sun, and Moon
Earth
The Cycle of Day and Night

2. The Cycle of Day and Night – The Big Ideas
Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, causing the cycle of day and night.
When it is day on the side of Earth facing the sun, it is night on the other side.
Earth’s rotation makes it appear that the sun, planets, and stars are orbiting Earth once a day.

3. The Cycle of Day and Night – Prior Knowledge
Students may come with different levels of understanding about the cycle of day and night. It will be important for teachers to use a KWL (Know, What to know, What I have Learned) chart to find out what their students understand about why we have day and night. It would be helpful for students to view the FUN-damental Cycles in the Sky. It would also help if they:
Know that Earth rotates around the sun.
Know that Earth also orbits on its axis.

4. The Cycle of Day and Night – Common Misconceptions
The Earth goes around the Sun once a day.
Reality: The Earth revolves around the Sun in one year. One day is represented by the Earth’s rotation.
If it is daytime in one part of the world, it is also daytime in other parts of the world.
Reality: As the Earth rotates, different parts of the world experience day and night at different times.
The Earth’s revolution around the sun causes day and night to occur.
Reality: Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, causing the cycle of day and night.

5. The Cycle of Day and Night – Using DE Science Content
When you close this presentation, you can review the following recommended resources for The Cycle of Day and Night.
Exploration: The Cycle of Day and Night
Virtual Lab: When’s the Shadow There?
E Book: Diurnal and Nocturnal
Video: The Movement of the Earth
Use the PowerPoint version of this presentation for hyperlinks to these resources or you can get to them through the browser or search feature.

6. The Cycle of Day and Night – Instructional Ideas
Use the Exploration with the whole class. Students will see animation that shows how the sun and moon appear to move across the sky. Then students will see how the Earth rotates and revolves. The students will also drag and drop pictures to show that it is night in some parts of the Earth while it is day in other places.
The Virtual Lab is a great way for students to investigate how shadows move because of the changing position of the sun. Students need to make predictions about the location of the sun by choosing a date and time of day. Students will feel like real scientists as they change different variables and observe their results.

7. The Cycle of Day and Night – Instructional Ideas
As students watch the video The Movement of the Earth, there are many key words that appear on the screen. Give students a list of these words in advance, and have students use these key words to take notes of important information as they read.
Students can work in partners to read the E Book Diurnal and Nocturnal. Then, students can use print and online resources to research 10 animals that are diurnal and 10 animals that are nocturnal.

8. Additional Information:
State standards:
If you wish to review your state standards regarding the Cycle of Day and Night, click here to get to the curriculum standards search feature of DES.
You can click on any standard to see what resources are available to teach it.
Additional Information:
For additional content, check the Extend section within the concept.