I can use a rotating-Earth model to collect and explain evidence across one complete day-night cycle.
Success looks like
Record four clear positions for one place on Earth.
Link each position to light, darkness and the observer's view.
Use the evidence to show how rotation explains the observed day-night pattern without changing the lamp.
We will observe, work together, then use the evidence ourselves.
Arrival task
Arrival task
Choose a route. Think first, then check the answers together.
1. Turn and travel
Rotation means turning on an axis. Show rotation with a finger or a paper circle.
An axis is an imaginary line through a turning object.
Answer: Accept one clear turn around a centre or axis.
2. Follow the light
A marker faces the fixed lamp. Is it in day or night?
The lamp represents sunlight. The facing half receives light.
Answer: Day: the marker receives light.
3. Read an observation
The lamp stayed on. The marker turned away and became unlit. What moved?
Choose: the Earth model / the lamp.
Answer: The Earth model moved; the lamp stayed fixed and on.
4. Complete a cycle
Choose what completes a full turn: return to the starting place / stop halfway.
A cycle repeats and returns to its starting point.
Answer: Return to the starting place.
1. Turn and travel
Distinguish rotation from orbit.
Rotation = turning on an axis; orbit = travelling around another body.
Answer: Rotation turns a body on its axis; orbit follows a path around another body.
2. Follow the light
A marker goes from the unlit half into the lit half. Which moment does this represent?
Sunrise enters light; sunset leaves light.
Answer: Sunrise.
3. Read an observation
The lamp stayed on while the marker became unlit. What cause does that observation support?
Track what changed: the marker’s position or the lamp’s output?
Answer: Rotation carried the marker to the side facing away from the lamp.
4. Complete a cycle
How could you check that you followed the same place through one complete cycle?
One marker; ordered pauses; return to the original position.
Answer: Track one marker through the ordered positions and return it to the start.
1. Turn and travel
Explain why a daily cycle is linked to rotation rather than Earth’s yearly orbit.
Rotation is the daily turn; the orbit takes about a year.
Answer: Rotation changes which way a place faces over a day; the yearly orbit does not explain the daily change by itself.
2. Follow the light
From above the North Pole, Sun LEFT, a marker at BOTTOM moves towards RIGHT. Which transition is happening?
The left half is lit; anticlockwise moves TOP → LEFT → BOTTOM → RIGHT.
Answer: Sunset followed by night: the marker is leaving the lit half.
3. Read an observation
Why is “the Sun appears to move” different from “the Sun orbits Earth daily”?
Apparent describes a viewpoint, not the physical cause.
Answer: The first describes what an observer sees; the second asserts an incorrect daily cause. Earth’s rotation changes the observer’s view.
4. Complete a cycle
Do four equally spaced model frames establish identical daylight length everywhere? Explain.
This model simplifies latitude, season and the light-dark boundary.
Answer: No. Real daylight length varies with latitude and season; equal frames are a model simplification.
Starter
Starter · what could cause night
“Clouds make night because they hide the Sun.”
Read these supplied observations: the model lamp stays on; the same marker is lit, then unlit; no clouds are present.
Which change could explain night? Use a model or a sketch to show your idea.
I do
I do · collect four observations
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
We do · match the evidence
Drag a card, or select it then choose its destination.
Choose a card, then a destination. You can change your mind.
I do
I do · write an evidence row
Evidence is what we observe. Apparent describes how the Sun seems from the marked place.
Marker position
Light state
Observer’s view
LEFT
Lit; facing the lamp
Sun appears higher across the sky
Read across this worked row. Earth rotates west to east, so the observer turns with Earth and sees the Sun’s daily east-to-west movement.
The observer’s sky path is simplified; it is not an exact path for every date and location.
We do
We do · repair a row
Recorded observation: marker RIGHT, facing away; the lamp stayed fixed and on.
Faulty explanation: “It became night because the lamp went out.”
Which repair agrees with the recorded observation?
Repair: “The marked place rotated onto the side facing away from the lamp.” In a north-pole view with the Sun left, shade the RIGHT half and add an anticlockwise arrow.
You do
You do · run the control room
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. Keep the model Sun on the LEFT. Put observation cards C, D, B and A in order, starting at sunrise.
Help with this question
Use each card’s action word: entering, facing, leaving, away.
2. Complete four rows using the supplied choices: TOP, LEFT, BOTTOM, RIGHT; entering light, facing light, leaving light, facing away.
Help with this question
Keep one marker identity. Read a row aloud before choosing its two labels.
3. Choose one day row and one night row. Point to the marker and tell an adult why the light is different.
Help with this question
Try the sentence “This row is ___ because our place faces ___.”
4. Complete: “Our place has night because Earth ___ and our place faces ___ from the Sun.”
Help with this question
Word bank: rotates · away · towards. Follow the marker.
5. A pupil says clouds make night. Use the row with no clouds and the lamp still on to explain why the model has night.
Help with this question
Find what changed in the supplied evidence. Do not invent clouds or a switched-off lamp.
Standard
1. Make a four-row evidence record for the same marker. Use the supplied frames or run the fixed-lamp model.
Help with this question
The four frames are supplied evidence; a physical model is optional.
2. For each row record marker position, light state and the Sun’s apparent position. Use the four reference observations.
Help with this question
Apparent means how the Sun seems from the marker’s viewpoint.
3. Show a full cycle by returning to the starting point. State what moved and what stayed fixed.
Help with this question
Four quarter turns = one full turn. Check the return, not just four pictures.
4. Use two of your rows to explain why day and night repeat. Include rotation and apparent movement.
Help with this question
Use “In row __ …; later, in row __ …; because Earth …”.
5. Use evidence to challenge “clouds cause night”. Give one limit of this classroom model.
Help with this question
Separate what the model shows from a question it leaves unanswered.
Stretch
1. Construct an ordered four-row record with a fixed Sun on the LEFT and one consistent marker. State the viewing direction.
Help with this question
Name north-pole view before choosing clockwise or anticlockwise.
2. Connect the marker’s TOP → LEFT → BOTTOM → RIGHT route to Earth’s west-to-east rotation and the observer’s apparent east-to-west solar movement.
Help with this question
A viewpoint changes the apparent direction; do not reverse Earth’s actual rotation.
3. Use two exact observations to challenge the cloud explanation and distinguish observation from inference.
Help with this question
Observation = what was seen. Inference = the explanation drawn from it.
4. Compare the fixed-lamp rotating-Earth explanation with a lamp moving around a stationary globe. Explain why similar light patterns do not prove the same physical cause.
Help with this question
A model can reproduce a pattern while assigning motion to the wrong object.
5. Give one useful feature and one limitation. State one question about real daylight that these equal model stages cannot answer.
Help with this question
Link the limitation to a specific claim you cannot make.
Exit
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.
Supplied model observations: the lamp stays fixed and on; no clouds are present. Row D: marker LEFT, lit, facing the lamp. Row A: marker RIGHT, unlit, facing away. View from above the North Pole; Sun LEFT. The model simplifies time and scale.
1. Choose the night row, D or A. Show or say what changed to make it night.
Help with this question
Use: marker · rotates · faces away. The lamp stays on.
Answer guidance: A is night. Earth rotated the marker onto the side facing away from the lamp.
2. Does this model need clouds to make night? Use one observation to explain.
Help with this question
Find the words about clouds and the lamp. Point or say your reason.
Answer guidance: No. It has no clouds, the lamp stays on and the marker becomes unlit when it faces away.
1. Use rows D and A to explain the change from day to night. Name what moved and what stayed fixed.
Help with this question
Compare the marker’s orientation while the lamp stays on.
Answer guidance: Earth rotates, moving the marker from the lit side facing the lamp to the unlit side facing away; the lamp remains fixed and on.
2. Explain the Sun’s apparent daily movement, then state one limit of the four-position model.
Help with this question
Link the observer’s turning to the changing view. Choose a limit of scale, time, latitude or season.
Answer guidance: We turn with Earth, so the Sun appears to cross our sky. The model cannot establish exact local daylight duration; scale, time and seasonal/latitude detail are simplified.
1. Use the two rows to challenge the cloud explanation. Separate an observation from the inference it supports.
Help with this question
Identify what was actually seen before giving the cause.
Answer guidance: Observation: lamp fixed/on, no clouds, D lit and A unlit. Inference: changed orientation with rotation explains night without clouds.
2. Why would the same light pattern from a moving lamp not prove a daily Sun orbit? State one remaining limit.
Help with this question
Separate a model’s output from the physical cause; name an unrepresented detail.
Answer guidance: Different models can produce similar illumination; that pattern alone cannot establish the physical cause. Earth rotates in the accepted explanation. The simplified model cannot establish exact real-world sunrise times or daylight lengths.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Supported
Arrival task
Say, point, draw, sign or write. An adult may read the questions or write your answer for you.
1. Turn and travel
Rotation means turning on an axis. Show rotation with a finger or a paper circle.
An axis is an imaginary line through a turning object.
2. Follow the light
A marker faces the fixed lamp. Is it in day or night?
The lamp represents sunlight. The facing half receives light.
3. Read an observation
The lamp stayed on. The marker turned away and became unlit. What moved?
Choose: the Earth model / the lamp.
4. Complete a cycle
Choose what completes a full turn: return to the starting place / stop halfway.
A cycle repeats and returns to its starting point.
STAFF ANSWERS · GROW Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Week 8 · w/c 19 October 2026 · Supported
Arrival task · answer guidance
1. Turn and travel
Rotation means turning on an axis. Show rotation with a finger or a paper circle.
Answer guidance: Accept one clear turn around a centre or axis.
2. Follow the light
A marker faces the fixed lamp. Is it in day or night?
Answer guidance: Day: the marker receives light.
3. Read an observation
The lamp stayed on. The marker turned away and became unlit. What moved?
Answer guidance: The Earth model moved; the lamp stayed fixed and on.
4. Complete a cycle
Choose what completes a full turn: return to the starting place / stop halfway.
Answer guidance: Return to the starting place.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Standard
Arrival task
Say, point, draw, sign or write. An adult may read the questions or write your answer for you.
1. Turn and travel
Distinguish rotation from orbit.
Rotation = turning on an axis; orbit = travelling around another body.
2. Follow the light
A marker goes from the unlit half into the lit half. Which moment does this represent?
Sunrise enters light; sunset leaves light.
3. Read an observation
The lamp stayed on while the marker became unlit. What cause does that observation support?
Track what changed: the marker’s position or the lamp’s output?
4. Complete a cycle
How could you check that you followed the same place through one complete cycle?
One marker; ordered pauses; return to the original position.
STAFF ANSWERS · GROW Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Week 8 · w/c 19 October 2026 · Standard
Arrival task · answer guidance
1. Turn and travel
Distinguish rotation from orbit.
Answer guidance: Rotation turns a body on its axis; orbit follows a path around another body.
2. Follow the light
A marker goes from the unlit half into the lit half. Which moment does this represent?
Answer guidance: Sunrise.
3. Read an observation
The lamp stayed on while the marker became unlit. What cause does that observation support?
Answer guidance: Rotation carried the marker to the side facing away from the lamp.
4. Complete a cycle
How could you check that you followed the same place through one complete cycle?
Answer guidance: Track one marker through the ordered positions and return it to the start.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Stretch
Arrival task
Say, point, draw, sign or write. An adult may read the questions or write your answer for you.
1. Turn and travel
Explain why a daily cycle is linked to rotation rather than Earth’s yearly orbit.
Rotation is the daily turn; the orbit takes about a year.
2. Follow the light
From above the North Pole, Sun LEFT, a marker at BOTTOM moves towards RIGHT. Which transition is happening?
The left half is lit; anticlockwise moves TOP → LEFT → BOTTOM → RIGHT.
3. Read an observation
Why is “the Sun appears to move” different from “the Sun orbits Earth daily”?
Apparent describes a viewpoint, not the physical cause.
4. Complete a cycle
Do four equally spaced model frames establish identical daylight length everywhere? Explain.
This model simplifies latitude, season and the light-dark boundary.
STAFF ANSWERS · GROW Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Week 8 · w/c 19 October 2026 · Stretch
Arrival task · answer guidance
1. Turn and travel
Explain why a daily cycle is linked to rotation rather than Earth’s yearly orbit.
Answer guidance: Rotation changes which way a place faces over a day; the yearly orbit does not explain the daily change by itself.
2. Follow the light
From above the North Pole, Sun LEFT, a marker at BOTTOM moves towards RIGHT. Which transition is happening?
Answer guidance: Sunset followed by night: the marker is leaving the lit half.
3. Read an observation
Why is “the Sun appears to move” different from “the Sun orbits Earth daily”?
Answer guidance: The first describes what an observer sees; the second asserts an incorrect daily cause. Earth’s rotation changes the observer’s view.
4. Complete a cycle
Do four equally spaced model frames establish identical daylight length everywhere? Explain.
Answer guidance: No. Real daylight length varies with latitude and season; equal frames are a model simplification.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room
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.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Supported
Your task · 1 of 2
Marker position
Light state
Sun appears…
TOP
LEFT
BOTTOM
RIGHT
1. Keep the model Sun on the LEFT. Put observation cards C, D, B and A in order, starting at sunrise.
Help with this question
Use each card’s action word: entering, facing, leaving, away.
2. Complete four rows using the supplied choices: TOP, LEFT, BOTTOM, RIGHT; entering light, facing light, leaving light, facing away.
Help with this question
Keep one marker identity. Read a row aloud before choosing its two labels.
3. Choose one day row and one night row. Point to the marker and tell an adult why the light is different.
Help with this question
Try the sentence “This row is ___ because our place faces ___.”
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Supported
Your task · 2 of 2
4. Complete: “Our place has night because Earth ___ and our place faces ___ from the Sun.”
Help with this question
Word bank: rotates · away · towards. Follow the marker.
5. A pupil says clouds make night. Use the row with no clouds and the lamp still on to explain why the model has night.
Help with this question
Find what changed in the supplied evidence. Do not invent clouds or a switched-off lamp.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Supported
GROW · W8B · Supported · 4 minutes
Exit ticket
Say it, write it, draw it, sign it, choose it or show it; an adult can scribe it.
Supplied model observations: the lamp stays fixed and on; no clouds are present. Row D: marker LEFT, lit, facing the lamp. Row A: marker RIGHT, unlit, facing away. View from above the North Pole; Sun LEFT. The model simplifies time and scale.
1. Choose the night row, D or A. Show or say what changed to make it night.
Help with this question
Use: marker · rotates · faces away. The lamp stays on.
2. Does this model need clouds to make night? Use one observation to explain.
Help with this question
Find the words about clouds and the lamp. Point or say your reason.
GROW · W8B · Supported · 4 minutes
Exit ticket
Say it, write it, draw it, sign it, choose it or show it; an adult can scribe it.
Supplied model observations: the lamp stays fixed and on; no clouds are present. Row D: marker LEFT, lit, facing the lamp. Row A: marker RIGHT, unlit, facing away. View from above the North Pole; Sun LEFT. The model simplifies time and scale.
1. Choose the night row, D or A. Show or say what changed to make it night.
Help with this question
Use: marker · rotates · faces away. The lamp stays on.
2. Does this model need clouds to make night? Use one observation to explain.
Help with this question
Find the words about clouds and the lamp. Point or say your reason.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Standard
Your task · 1 of 2
Marker position
Light state
Sun appears…
TOP
LEFT
BOTTOM
RIGHT
1. Make a four-row evidence record for the same marker. Use the supplied frames or run the fixed-lamp model.
Help with this question
The four frames are supplied evidence; a physical model is optional.
2. For each row record marker position, light state and the Sun’s apparent position. Use the four reference observations.
Help with this question
Apparent means how the Sun seems from the marker’s viewpoint.
3. Show a full cycle by returning to the starting point. State what moved and what stayed fixed.
Help with this question
Four quarter turns = one full turn. Check the return, not just four pictures.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Standard
Your task · 2 of 2
4. Use two of your rows to explain why day and night repeat. Include rotation and apparent movement.
Help with this question
Use “In row __ …; later, in row __ …; because Earth …”.
5. Use evidence to challenge “clouds cause night”. Give one limit of this classroom model.
Help with this question
Separate what the model shows from a question it leaves unanswered.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Standard
GROW · W8B · Standard · 4 minutes
Exit ticket
Say it, write it, draw it, sign it, choose it or show it; an adult can scribe it.
Supplied model observations: the lamp stays fixed and on; no clouds are present. Row D: marker LEFT, lit, facing the lamp. Row A: marker RIGHT, unlit, facing away. View from above the North Pole; Sun LEFT. The model simplifies time and scale.
1. Use rows D and A to explain the change from day to night. Name what moved and what stayed fixed.
Help with this question
Compare the marker’s orientation while the lamp stays on.
2. Explain the Sun’s apparent daily movement, then state one limit of the four-position model.
Help with this question
Link the observer’s turning to the changing view. Choose a limit of scale, time, latitude or season.
GROW · W8B · Standard · 4 minutes
Exit ticket
Say it, write it, draw it, sign it, choose it or show it; an adult can scribe it.
Supplied model observations: the lamp stays fixed and on; no clouds are present. Row D: marker LEFT, lit, facing the lamp. Row A: marker RIGHT, unlit, facing away. View from above the North Pole; Sun LEFT. The model simplifies time and scale.
1. Use rows D and A to explain the change from day to night. Name what moved and what stayed fixed.
Help with this question
Compare the marker’s orientation while the lamp stays on.
2. Explain the Sun’s apparent daily movement, then state one limit of the four-position model.
Help with this question
Link the observer’s turning to the changing view. Choose a limit of scale, time, latitude or season.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Stretch
Your task · 1 of 2
Marker position
Light state
Sun appears…
TOP
LEFT
BOTTOM
RIGHT
1. Construct an ordered four-row record with a fixed Sun on the LEFT and one consistent marker. State the viewing direction.
Help with this question
Name north-pole view before choosing clockwise or anticlockwise.
2. Connect the marker’s TOP → LEFT → BOTTOM → RIGHT route to Earth’s west-to-east rotation and the observer’s apparent east-to-west solar movement.
Help with this question
A viewpoint changes the apparent direction; do not reverse Earth’s actual rotation.
3. Use two exact observations to challenge the cloud explanation and distinguish observation from inference.
Help with this question
Observation = what was seen. Inference = the explanation drawn from it.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Stretch
Your task · 2 of 2
4. Compare the fixed-lamp rotating-Earth explanation with a lamp moving around a stationary globe. Explain why similar light patterns do not prove the same physical cause.
Help with this question
A model can reproduce a pattern while assigning motion to the wrong object.
5. Give one useful feature and one limitation. State one question about real daylight that these equal model stages cannot answer.
Help with this question
Link the limitation to a specific claim you cannot make.
GROW · Science · Day and Night: 24-Hour Control Room · Stretch
GROW · W8B · Stretch · 4 minutes
Exit ticket
Say it, write it, draw it, sign it, choose it or show it; an adult can scribe it.
Supplied model observations: the lamp stays fixed and on; no clouds are present. Row D: marker LEFT, lit, facing the lamp. Row A: marker RIGHT, unlit, facing away. View from above the North Pole; Sun LEFT. The model simplifies time and scale.
1. Use the two rows to challenge the cloud explanation. Separate an observation from the inference it supports.
Help with this question
Identify what was actually seen before giving the cause.
2. Why would the same light pattern from a moving lamp not prove a daily Sun orbit? State one remaining limit.
Help with this question
Separate a model’s output from the physical cause; name an unrepresented detail.
GROW · W8B · Stretch · 4 minutes
Exit ticket
Say it, write it, draw it, sign it, choose it or show it; an adult can scribe it.
Supplied model observations: the lamp stays fixed and on; no clouds are present. Row D: marker LEFT, lit, facing the lamp. Row A: marker RIGHT, unlit, facing away. View from above the North Pole; Sun LEFT. The model simplifies time and scale.
1. Use the two rows to challenge the cloud explanation. Separate an observation from the inference it supports.
Help with this question
Identify what was actually seen before giving the cause.
2. Why would the same light pattern from a moving lamp not prove a daily Sun orbit? State one remaining limit.
Help with this question
Separate a model’s output from the physical cause; name an unrepresented detail.
Teacher answers · W8B
Shared activities
C → D → B → A: TOP sunrise, LEFT middle of day, BOTTOM sunset, RIGHT night. Anticlockwise from above the North Pole; west-to-east Earth rotation. Sun appears to move east to west. A daily cycle is about 24 hours. The fixed lamp stays on. Equal stages do not establish equal daylight everywhere.
Supported arrival
1. Accept one clear turn around a centre or axis.
2. Day: the marker receives light.
3. The Earth model moved; the lamp stayed fixed and on.
4. Return to the starting place.
Supported independent task
1. C, D, B, A.
2. TOP entering light; LEFT facing light; BOTTOM leaving light; RIGHT facing away.
4. Earth rotates; the place faces away from the Sun.
5. The marker rotates onto the unlit side even though there are no clouds and the lamp stays on. Clouds can dim daylight, but they are not the cause of this day-night cycle.
Supported exit
1. A is night. Earth rotated the marker onto the side facing away from the lamp.
2. No. It has no clouds, the lamp stays on and the marker becomes unlit when it faces away.
Standard arrival
1. Rotation turns a body on its axis; orbit follows a path around another body.
2. Sunrise.
3. Rotation carried the marker to the side facing away from the lamp.
4. Track one marker through the ordered positions and return it to the start.
Standard independent task
1. Four ordered rows track a single marker, rather than four unrelated places.
2. TOP enters light/Sun low east; LEFT lit/Sun higher; BOTTOM leaves light/Sun low west; RIGHT unlit/Sun below local horizon.
3. The marker returns to TOP after the fourth quarter turn. Earth turns; the model lamp remains fixed and on.
4. Rotation carries a place into sunlight and away from it; we turn with Earth, so the Sun appears to cross our sky. Link specific lit and unlit rows.
5. The model has night without clouds while its lamp stays on. A valid limit concerns scale, seasons, latitude, exact times or the fact that it is a representation, not a measurement of space.
Standard exit
1. Earth rotates, moving the marker from the lit side facing the lamp to the unlit side facing away; the lamp remains fixed and on.
2. We turn with Earth, so the Sun appears to cross our sky. The model cannot establish exact local daylight duration; scale, time and seasonal/latitude detail are simplified.
Stretch arrival
1. Rotation changes which way a place faces over a day; the yearly orbit does not explain the daily change by itself.
2. Sunset followed by night: the marker is leaving the lit half.
3. The first describes what an observer sees; the second asserts an incorrect daily cause. Earth’s rotation changes the observer’s view.
4. No. Real daylight length varies with latitude and season; equal frames are a model simplification.
Stretch independent task
1. North-pole view, same marker, right half unlit throughout; return to the start after four quarter turns.
2. Anticlockwise in this view represents west-to-east Earth rotation. The observer turns with Earth; the Sun appears to move east to west.
3. For example: the lamp stayed on at LEFT and RIGHT; the marker was lit at LEFT and unlit at RIGHT; no clouds were present. Observations support illumination changing with orientation.
4. Moving the lamp could reproduce changing illumination, but it represents an incorrect daily Sun orbit. Similar outputs are not enough to establish the physical cause; the accepted astronomical explanation is Earth’s rotation.
5. Useful: track one place with controlled light. Limit: compressed time, scale, simplified latitude or season. Cannot establish exact sunrise times or identical 12-hour daylight everywhere.
Stretch exit
1. Observation: lamp fixed/on, no clouds, D lit and A unlit. Inference: changed orientation with rotation explains night without clouds.
2. Different models can produce similar illumination; that pattern alone cannot establish the physical cause. Earth rotates in the accepted explanation. The simplified model cannot establish exact real-world sunrise times or daylight lengths.
GROW SCIENCE · W8B · Week 8 · w/c 19 October 2026
Feedback and marking · this lesson
Staff copy — not for pupil books
Lead with VF. Practical and exit tasks carry no written-comment expectation (Curriculum Policy 2026/27 §14.3: written marking where it adds value, typically Launch GCSE and Functional Skills writing).
Code
Meaning
VF
Verbal feedback given here
WS
Worked with support
I
Independent
NS + …
Next step one specific thing
E
Evidence captured on the school’s digital evidence platform
R
Responded loop closed (Audience has happened)
//
Self-edit point
?
Read this back to me
Curriculum Policy 2026/27 §14.3 summary: VF WS I NS E R (six codes; NS “next step”, E “evidence on digital software app”, R “responded to feedback”). The Feedback Policy, the code source, adds // and ? and expands NS to one specific thing and R to loop closed.
Voice + Audience = R: the pupil responds AND the adult genuinely engages with that response; add R only when both have happened. For a margin edit, the policy says: “in the same colour, on the same page”.
One NS + next step: choose the relevant prompt
Supported: Use rows D and A to complete “The light changed because the marked place …”.
Standard: Keep one marker and the lamp fixed; repair the row where your position and light state disagree.
Stretch: Separate “I observed …” from “this supports …”; add one limit before judging the competing explanation.
Read the cause, then choose the teaching move
Secure: Transfer the same explanation to a fresh orientation after half term.
Mixed: Re-model one mismatch between a row and its diagram.
Misconception: Contrast the lit and unlit rows with the lamp still on and no clouds.
Access barrier: Use the large diagram and pupil-directed row choices.
Method-or-data problem: Re-establish one marker, fixed lamp and consistent viewpoint.
Named involvement opportunity
We do: match an observation to its moment. Invite a pupil to choose the placement and cite the light clue; respond to the reason. Use VF only when verbal feedback is actually given.
Spoken arrival guidance · say once
In our Sky Shift lesson, your evidence showed ___, so today we're starting with ___.
GROW: the pupil owns the response. The adult reads the margin edit and names the change before R. No counter-initial, extra receipt, tally, second next step or retrospective closure. Codes stay in books.
GROW SCIENCE · W8 · w/c 19 October 2026
First lesson back
Staff copy — not for pupil books
Before the lesson · scan the books for five minutes
Notice which codes appear, any unclosed NS +, and whether pupil responses are present. The policy allows an edit in the same colour, on the same page.
Existing NS + is history
Read a next step set during the absence for information. Do not chase it, back-mark it or retrospectively close it. Begin fresh feedback from W8A; never recreate a missed close.
Ask the cover teacher and TAs
What was actually taught? Who was in the room? What changed for any individual pupil?
Check the roll
Compare the current register with the names in the books. New arrivals have no prior evidence; that is not a deficit. Everyone meets the same lesson from the same page.
Arrival read-off · decide by about minute eight
Use the four arrival questions, with the help used in view. An absent response is information about access and starting point, not a pupil label. Choose ONE adjustment for that pupil within the existing lesson time.
1 · Light and viewpoint
Secure: separates reflected light from what we see. Partial: names the Sun but confuses the visible part. Absent: no usable response yet. Secure → ask for the observer caption. Partial → hold the existing observer model longer. Absent → use the supported light clue and point to the lit half.
2 · Rotation and orbit
Secure: distinguishes turning from travelling around. Partial: names one movement only. Absent: no movement identified. Secure → offer the stretch explanation. Partial → contrast the two definitions beside the task. Absent → model one turn, then let the pupil direct it.
3 · A useful model
Secure: links a fixed lamp to an interpretable change, or names a relevant limit. Partial: says “fair” without why. Absent: changes lamp and globe together. Secure → ask which claim the model cannot establish. Partial → ask what changed in the shown model. Absent → run the We do with its supported prompt.
4 · A place in light
Secure: links illumination to the moving place. Partial: names day/night without a cause. Absent: no link or an alternative cause. Secure → hand over the stretch task. Partial → pause at one boundary and ask “entering or leaving?” Absent → follow one marker through the existing model.
Choose a route at each task, using what the pupil shows. Switching takes no extra task, record or label.
After W8B · one read, once
Use the checkpoint evidence to shape the plan for w/c 2 November, after half term. The book response or one exit ticket is enough; no report or form.