Choose one task, model or clip within the current lesson stage. These resources support the existing two separate 40-minute lessons; they do not add another lesson or extra time.
Week 6 · Tuesday: Use a model, name its limits
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
We Do · think together
Test a year-length claim
Approximate orbital periods in Earth days. Which comparisons support “farther out, longer year” for these planets?
A model helps explain an idea. It does not measure real planetary motion or prove an observation. Label any given numbers as reference values.
| Planet | Year / Earth days |
|---|---|
| Mercury | 88 |
| Earth | 365 |
| Mars | 687 |
- Compare Earth with Mars.
- Why is a single hand-made orbit not enough evidence to measure a year?
Discuss, point, draw, write or dictate a first explanation. Choose one example first; extend only if there is time.
Reveal a worked explanation after an attempt
Mars takes about 322 more Earth days than Earth (687 − 365). Mercury’s 88 days is shorter than Earth’s year. The reference values support the stated pattern for these examples; hand speed in a counter model is chosen by us.
Give a smaller support cue
Use “The model shows … . It does not show …”. Compare 687 with 365.
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Apply it
Use the current workshop
Draw a two-arrow orbit model and use two values from the table to explain a year-length comparison. Add one limitation of your model.
Teacher model · compare with the pupil’s evidence
Gravity points towards the Sun; motion is along the curved path. Mars’s year is about 687 Earth days, longer than Earth’s 365. A counter model does not show real scale or orbital speed, and our hand is moving it.