Year 5 · Autumn 1.2 · Step 8

Earth & Space

The Moon

Earth's natural satellite — it makes no light of its own, but reflects the Sun's as it orbits us.

Arrival Starter I do We do Independent Exit ticket
🌱 Seedling · Working towards 🌿 Sapling · Expected 🌳 Oak · Greater depth

⏱ Whole lesson ≈ 44 min · pick a tier in the bar, or leave on "All"

Arrival 4 min

Whiteboard recap of last lesson: night and day.

Recap: night and day

🌱 Seedling
Working towards

Fill the gaps:

Day = the side facing the ___ · night and day come from Earth's ___
🌿 Sapling
Expected
  1. What causes day and night?
  2. Does the Sun move at night?
  3. How long is one rotation?
🌳 Oak
Greater depth

Explain why it can be day in one country and night in another.

Bridge into todayThere is one more object we see in the sky — sometimes even in daytime. Our last lesson: the Moon.
Starter 5 min

Ask: where does the Moon's light come from?

Does the Moon glow?

The Moon shines brightly at night — but does it make its own light?

🌱 Seedling
Working towards

True or false: the Moon makes its own light.

🌿 Sapling
Expected

If the Moon makes no light of its own, where does its glow come from?

🌳 Oak
Greater depth

The Moon is sometimes visible in the day. What does that tell you about its light?

I do · 1 6 min

Teacher models. Watch how the Moon moves and shines.

Earth's Moon

▶ Can't see it? Watch "The Moon, Earth and Sun (KS2)" on YouTube

Swap the clip: change the ID after /embed/ (now xtLn4wADe5U).

Say thisThe Moon is a natural satellite that orbits Earth — about once every 27–28 days — held by Earth's gravitational pull. It makes no light of its own; it reflects sunlight. Other planets have moons too.
🌙
Satelliteorbits Earth
🪞
Reflectssunlight
🧲
Gravitykeeps it in orbit
We do · 1 6 min

Trace the Moon's orbit and its light together.

Orbit and light

Reason it out
The Moon orbits Earth (not the Sun). Its glow is sunlight bouncing off its surface — like a mirror.
"Earth's gravity keeps the Moon in orbit, just as the Sun's gravity keeps Earth in orbit."
I do · 2 4 min

Play the animation. Bust the "makes its own light" myth.

Reflected light

Sun Earth The Moon reflects sunlight as it orbits Earth

The Moon makes no light of its own — it reflects sunlight as it orbits Earth.

Bust the mythsThe Moon does not make its own light — it reflects the Sun's. It can be seen in the day as well as at night. And Earth is not the only planet with a moon — many planets have their own.

Watch for: "the Moon is a light" or "only Earth has a moon."

We do · 2 5 min

Sort true/false statements about the Moon together.

True or false?

Check it
"The Moon makes its own light" → ?    "The Moon orbits Earth" → ?    "Only Earth has a moon" → ?
A satellite is anything that orbits a planet or a star — the Moon is Earth's natural satellite.
Independent 10 min

On your own. Sort each statement, then answer the big question.

The Moon sorter

✅ True about the Moon

🚫 Myth to bust

🔁 About orbit & gravity

Tap a statement to sort it…

🌱 Seedling
Working towards

Sort the statements. Then finish: The Moon reflects light from the ____.

🌿 Sapling
Expected

Sort them, then explain in a sentence why the Moon shines.

🌳 Oak
Greater depth

Sort them, then explain what keeps the Moon orbiting Earth.

Exit ticket 4 min

Answer at your tier, then hand it in — and finish the block!

Show what you know

🌱 Seedling
Working towards
  • The Moon orbits the ____.
  • The Moon's light is ____ from the Sun.
🌿 Sapling
Expected
  1. What does the Moon orbit?
  2. Where does its light come from?
  3. Is Earth the only planet with a moon?
🌳 Oak
Greater depth

Block review: answer the enquiry question — how have ideas about the Solar System changed over time?

🎉 Block completeYou've explored the whole Solar System — from the Sun to the Moon, and how our ideas about it changed over time.
TA Focus · The Moon
Traps to watch

Myths: the Moon makes its own light (no — it reflects the Sun's), the Moon is only seen at night (it can appear in the day), and only Earth has a moon (no — many planets do).

Tier steer
Always

Moon = natural satellite of Earth · reflects sunlight · held by gravity.
Cold Call · Question bank
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