1. Light and viewpoint
The Moon reflects light. Which lights it: the Sun or a street lamp?
Reflected light bounces off a surface. In this space model the Sun provides the light.
Answer: The Sun lights the Moon. We see reflected sunlight.
GROW · Science · Week 8A · Explore
Day and Night: Sky Shift
Learning objective
I can explain that Earth's rotation causes day and night and makes the Sun appear to move across our sky.
Success looks like
- Identify the lit side of Earth as day and the unlit side as night.
- Sequence one place on Earth through a full rotation.
- Use rotate and apparent to explain what an observer sees.
We will observe, work together, then use the evidence ourselves.
Arrival task
Choose a route. Think first, then check the answers together.
2. Rotation and orbit
Earth travels around the Sun. Choose: Earth orbits the Sun / Earth orbits the Moon.
Orbit means travelling around another body.
Answer: Earth orbits the Sun.
3. A useful model
A lamp represents the Sun. To watch one place on a turning globe, should the lamp stay still or move too?
A model represents an idea. Change one thing to see its effect.
Answer: Keep the lamp still and track the marked place as the globe turns.
4. A place in light
A marker on a globe faces the lamp. Is it on the lit side or the unlit side?
Lit means receiving light; unlit means not directly receiving it.
Answer: The lit side. This models daytime at that place.
1. Light and viewpoint
The Moon stays spherical. Why can the lit part we see look different?
The Sun lights about half the Moon. As it orbits Earth, our viewpoint changes which part of that lit half we see.
Answer: The Sun lights about half the Moon. As the Moon orbits Earth, our viewpoint shows different amounts of that lit half.
2. Rotation and orbit
What does it mean to say Earth orbits the Sun?
Orbit = travel around another body. Rotation = turn on an axis.
Answer: Earth travels around the Sun. One orbit takes about a year.
3. A useful model
Why keep a model Sun lamp fixed while testing what happens as a globe turns?
The lamp represents the Sun. The investigation changes the globe’s rotation only.
Answer: It lets us see the effect of the globe turning without also changing the light's position.
4. A place in light
A marked place on the globe turns from the lit half into the unlit half. What would this model for someone there?
Lit = receiving sunlight. Unlit = facing away. Track the same place.
Answer: A transition towards night: sunset as the place leaves the lit half. This is a prediction to test with the model.
1. Light and viewpoint
At a crescent Moon, is only a thin crescent of the whole Moon lit? Explain.
About half the Moon is sunlit. Our viewpoint can show only part of that half.
Answer: No. About half is sunlit, but from Earth we see only a thin part of the lit half. A crescent is not Earth's shadow covering most of the Moon.
2. Rotation and orbit
Distinguish rotation from orbit in one sentence.
Rotation is turning on an axis; orbit is a path around another body.
Answer: Rotation is turning on an axis; orbit is travelling around another body.
3. A useful model
Give one limitation of a classroom lamp-and-globe model of space.
The lamp is nearby; the globe is small; a turn takes only seconds.
Answer: Valid examples: sizes and distances are not to scale; the nearby lamp's rays spread more than sunlight at Earth; a quick turn compresses time; Earth's tilt may be simplified.
4. A place in light
If the Sun only appears to cross our sky each day, what movement could explain the changing view?
Apparent means how something seems from an observer’s viewpoint. Earth can rotate while the model Sun stays fixed.
Answer: Earth rotates, carrying the observer with it, so the direction they face changes relative to the Sun. Test this with the fixed-lamp model.
Starter
“It is night here. Has the Sun switched off?”
Make a prediction. Use a ball and a fixed light, or your hands, to show what could change.
We will test the explanation with a model.
I do · turn Earth, track one place
Sunrise: our place is entering the lit half.
Simplified view from above the North Pole. The dot represents a place away from the poles. Size, distance and time are not to scale; equal stages do not mean equal daylight everywhere. Keep the Sun fixed for this short daily model.
Rotate means turn on an axis: an imaginary line through Earth. A quarter turn is one of four equal turns making a full turn. Lit means receiving light. A daily cycle is about 24 hours.
We do · organise one daily cycle
Use the arrows to organise the steps. Read the sequence aloud before checking.
- Sunset · our place leaves the light
- Sunrise · our place enters the light
- Night · our place faces away
- Middle of the day · our place faces the Sun
Use Up and Down to organise the steps.
I do · change the viewpoint
Stand in for the marked observer. Turn slowly while keeping a fixed object in view.
As you turn, the fixed object appears to move across your view.
Use a finger or paper arrow if you prefer to stay still.
Morning: the Sun appears in the eastern sky.
A sketch of apparent daily movement, not a precise path for every date or location.
Earth rotates west to east. We turn with it, so the Sun appears to move east to west across our sky.
Apparent means how something seems from a viewpoint. Rotation is Earth turning on its axis; orbit is travelling around another body.
We do · sketch and orientate
Sketch an Earth circle. Put the Sun on the left. Shade Earth’s right half.
Mark a place at the top, then predict where it goes next. Add a rotation arrow.
From this north-pole view, where does the top marker go next?
Sun LEFT; right half shaded; anticlockwise arrow; top marker moves towards the LEFT. Label the lit half day and the unlit half night.
You do · explain day and night
Use the supplied evidence. Write, draw, point, explain or direct an adult.
Open evidence and reference diagrams
Model evidence: fixed Sun on the LEFT; RIGHT half unlit; view from above the North Pole. Follow the same marked place TOP → LEFT → BOTTOM → RIGHT → TOP.
C · Sunrise
Entering light. Sun appears low in the east.
D · Middle of day
Facing light. Sun appears higher across the sky.
B · Sunset
Leaving light. Sun appears low in the west.
A · Night
Facing away. Sun appears below the local horizon.
Rotation = turning on an axis (an imaginary line through Earth). Apparent = how something seems from the observer’s viewpoint. Cycle = a sequence that returns to its start.
Earth rotates west to east, anticlockwise in this view. A daily cycle is about 24 hours. The observer turns with Earth, so the Sun appears to move east to west. The lamp stays on; no clouds are needed.
Supplied model observations, not pupil measurements. Size, distance and time are not to scale. Equal quarter turns simplify season and latitude; they do not establish 12 hours of daylight everywhere.
Supported
1. Order these four observation cards, starting at SUNRISE: A — facing away, NIGHT. B — leaving the light, SUNSET. C — entering the light, SUNRISE. D — facing the lamp, MIDDLE OF THE DAY.
Help with this question
Find the card named as the starting moment. Ask what would happen next as your place turns through the light.
2. Use a fixed Sun card on the LEFT and one paper Earth circle. Move a marker: TOP → LEFT → BOTTOM → RIGHT → TOP. This is an anticlockwise turn viewed from above the North Pole.
Help with this question
Keep the Sun card in one place. Move the marker one position at a time and pause to notice the light.
3. Match your four cards to those positions: top, left, bottom, right. Keep the Sun card still.
Help with this question
Use the action clue on each card: entering, facing, leaving or facing away. Match that action to your marker.
4. Complete by saying, pointing or writing: Facing the Sun gives ___. Facing away gives ___. Earth ___. Word bank: day, night, rotates.
Help with this question
Read the word bank aloud or point to each word. Test whether your chosen word describes what the model shows.
5. Choose the explanation: the Sun switches off / our place turns away from the Sun.
Help with this question
Retell what moved in your model and what stayed on. Use that evidence to choose your explanation.
Standard
1. Draw four Earth circles. In EVERY picture put the Sun on the LEFT; shade the RIGHT half of Earth. View the circles from above the North Pole.
Help with this question
Before adding a marker, check that the light comes from the same side in all four frames.
2. Mark the same place at the TOP in picture 1, LEFT in picture 2, BOTTOM in picture 3 and RIGHT in picture 4. Add anticlockwise rotation arrows.
Help with this question
Keep one marker identity throughout. Check the viewing direction before drawing an arrow.
3. Label the four moments: sunrise, middle of the day, sunset, night. Use the evidence: entering light; facing the Sun; leaving light; facing away.
Help with this question
Use the marker’s movement into or out of the lit half to distinguish sunrise from sunset.
4. Explain day and night using 'Earth rotates'. Then finish: 'The Sun appears to move across the sky because…'.
Help with this question
Link an Earth movement to a change in illumination. For the second sentence, imagine looking out from the marker.
5. State about how long one full daily turn takes. Give one thing the model simplifies.
Help with this question
Give an approximate duration, then name a feature your small, quickly turned diagram cannot reproduce exactly.
Stretch
1. Build a four-frame explanation for someone who says, 'The Sun goes around Earth every day.' Keep the model Sun fixed on the LEFT in all frames.
Help with this question
Separate what the observer sees from the movement that explains it. Keep the model’s viewing direction consistent.
2. Use the north-pole view: shade Earth's RIGHT half. Track one marker TOP → LEFT → BOTTOM → RIGHT with anticlockwise arrows. Label sunrise, middle of day, sunset and night.
Help with this question
Audit all four frames for a fixed light direction, a consistent marker and a physically consistent rotation arrow.
3. Add one caption from the marked observer's viewpoint and one explaining Earth's actual motion. Include rotate and apparent.
Help with this question
Use two viewpoints: ‘From my place…’ and ‘Viewed from space…’. Do not use an apparent movement as the cause.
4. Explain why moving the lamp around a stationary globe would teach the wrong cause of the daily pattern.
Help with this question
A model can reproduce a pattern while showing the wrong cause. Identify which object must move to explain the real daily cycle.
5. Evaluate the model: give one useful feature and one limitation. Would the four equal quarter turns prove exactly 12 hours of daylight everywhere?
Help with this question
Link the useful feature to the question being explained. Link the limitation to a conclusion the model cannot establish.
Exit ticket
Use your book OR one ticket. Show your explanation with the supplied evidence. Say it, write it, draw it, sign it, choose it or show it; an adult can scribe it.
Model view: above the North Pole. The Sun is on the LEFT; Earth’s RIGHT half is unlit. X marks a place on the RIGHT, away from the poles. The lamp stays on. Size, distance and equal stages are simplified.
1. Is X in day or night? Show or explain what Earth does so X can reach daylight.
Help with this question
Point to the lit and unlit halves. Use a finger to move X with Earth. Word bank: day · night · rotates.
Answer guidance: X is in night. Earth rotates, carrying X around into the lit half. Accept a clear demonstration with explanation, signing or exact scribing.
2. About how long is one daily cycle: 1 hour, 24 hours or 1 year? What keeps shining during our night?
Help with this question
Think about one day followed by its night. Use the model to check the second part.
Answer guidance: About 24 hours. The Sun continues shining during our night; our place faces away from it.
1. Explain why X has night and how it will reach daylight. Include Earth’s movement.
Help with this question
Link the direction of the light to what happens to one place as Earth turns.
Answer guidance: X faces away from the Sun, so it has night. Earth rotates, carrying X into the sunlit half and daylight. Anticlockwise in this north-pole view is correct.
2. Why does the Sun appear to cross our sky? About how long is one daily cycle?
Help with this question
Imagine standing at X and turning with Earth. Separate what you see from what causes it.
Answer guidance: We turn with Earth, so the Sun appears to move across our view. Earth rotates west to east and the apparent daily Sun movement is east to west. One daily cycle is about 24 hours; compass directions may extend a correct causal explanation.
1. Explain X’s night and later daylight using both the observer’s view and Earth’s actual movement.
Help with this question
Distinguish apparent movement from rotation. Keep the north-pole view and fixed model Sun consistent.
Answer guidance: X is on the unlit half. Earth rotates west to east, anticlockwise in this view, carrying X into sunlight. An observer turns with Earth and sees the Sun appear to move east to west.
2. Give the approximate daily-cycle length. Do four equal model stages prove 12 hours of daylight everywhere? Explain.
Help with this question
Separate the useful daily-cycle model from details it leaves out.
Answer guidance: About 24 hours. No: equal stages are a model simplification; daylight length varies with latitude and season. The diagram does not establish equal daylight everywhere.