Our Solar System

Lesson plan · Ages 9 to 11 · 20 minutes

Day and night

Earth spins once a day, so every place turns into the Sun's light and out of it again.

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Present to the class

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Ages
9 to 11
To present
20 minutes
Steps presented
6
Steps for pupils
6
Questions
4
Pupil tasks
1

The lesson

The class watches Earth spin in sunlight, sees London turn from day into night, and finds out which way the planet turns. Pupils then stop the clock at midnight in London.

What they take away

Earth spins once a day, so the half facing the Sun has day and the other half has night. Because it spins towards the east, the Sun rises in the east and seems to cross the sky to the west.

Curriculum links

Quoted word for word from the official documents.

England national curriculum

  • Key stage 2, year 5: Earth and space

    use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement of the sun across the sky

    Read it on gov.uk
  • Key stage 2, year 5: Earth and space (notes and guidance, non-statutory)

    Pupils should be introduced to a model of the sun and Earth that enables them to explain day and night.

    Read it on gov.uk

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

  • 5-ESS1-2

    Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.

    Read it on nextgenscience.org

Step by step

The caption is what the class reads on screen; the talking points are in your notes drawer (N) when you present. Steps marked Presenter only appear only when you present. Steps marked Pupils only appear only in the pupil lesson.

  1. 01

    Half in sunlight

    Presented and for pupils

    Caption

    The Sun lights up one half of Earth at a time. On that half it is day. On the other half it is night.

    Talking points

    • NASA: the only object in our Solar System that shines with its own light is the Sun, and that light always comes from the Sun's direction, lighting half of our planet.
    • Ask the class where the Sun must be in this picture. The lit side faces it.

    Ask the class

    Why is it night where you live for part of every day?

    1. The Sun switches off at night
    2. Your side of Earth is facing away from the SunRight answer
    3. The Moon gets in front of the Sun

    WhyThe Sun keeps shining all the time. At night your side of Earth faces away from it, so its light cannot reach you.

    Sources 3Present from this step

  2. 02

    One turn a day

    Presented and for pupils

    Caption

    Earth spins round once every day. Watch London turn into the sunlight and out again.

    Talking points

    • The clock runs at one hour a second, so a whole day takes 24 seconds.
    • NASA gives the length of a day, noon to noon, as 24.0000 hours. One turn measured against the distant stars takes 23.9345 hours.
    • The axis drawn here is the imaginary line through the North and South Poles that Earth spins around.
    • The London marker sits at Greenwich, on longitude 0 degrees, the Prime Meridian.

    Sources 1 2 4 9 10 11Present from this step

  3. 03

    Which way does it turn?

    Presented and for pupils

    Caption

    Looking down on the North Pole, Earth turns anticlockwise. That means it spins towards the east.

    Talking points

    • Answering this question on NASA Goddard's From Stargazers to Starships site, a NASA scientist points out that clockwise and anticlockwise depend on where you look from, so spins are described as seen from far above the North Pole. From there Earth turns anticlockwise.
    • NASA StarChild: Earth rotates, or spins, towards the east.
    • This view looks down from above the plane of Earth's orbit. Earth's axis leans 23.44 degrees from straight up, so the North Pole sits a little off centre.

    Ask the class

    Seen from above the North Pole, which way does Earth turn?

    1. Clockwise
    2. AnticlockwiseRight answer

    WhyFrom above the North Pole Earth turns anticlockwise, carrying every place towards the east.

    Sources 1 5 6Present from this step

  4. 04

    Sunrise and sunset

    Presented and for pupils

    Caption

    Sunrise is when your part of Earth turns into the sunlight. Sunset is when it turns out of the light again.

    Talking points

    • US Naval Observatory times for Greenwich on 20 March 2027: sunrise 06:03 UTC, sunset 18:13 UTC. The scene opens at sunrise.
    • NASA StarChild: because Earth spins towards the east, the Sun, the Moon, the planets and the stars all rise in the east and set in the west.

    Ask the class

    Earth spins towards the east. In which direction do we see the Sun rise?

    1. North
    2. EastRight answer
    3. South
    4. West

    WhyAs Earth turns it carries you towards the east, so the Sun comes up over the eastern horizon.

    Sources 5 7 9 10 11Present from this step

  5. 05

    The Sun seems to move

    Presenter only

    Caption

    In the day the Sun seems to travel across the sky from east to west. That is Earth turning under it.

    Talking points

    • This is the view from the Sun. London comes in at the dawn edge, is nearest the middle of the disc at noon and leaves at the dusk edge.
    • NASA StarChild: Earth spins towards the east, and that is why the Sun, Moon, planets and stars rise in the east and make their way westward across the sky.
    • USNO: on 20 March 2027 the Sun is highest over Greenwich at 12:08 UTC, halfway between sunrise (06:03) and sunset (18:13).

    Sources 5 7Present from this step

  6. 06

    Find midnight

    Pupils only

    Caption

    Your turn. Run the clock and stop it when it is the middle of the night in London.

    Talking points

    • The check uses local mean solar time. Greenwich is on longitude 0 degrees, where mean solar time is Universal Time (the time once called Greenwich Mean Time), so midnight is 00:00 UTC.
    • Anything within half an hour of midnight counts.

    Pupil task

    Play the clock. Pause it when London is in the middle of its night, on the side of Earth facing away from the Sun.

    HintAt midnight London points straight away from the Sun. Slow the clock down as it gets close.

    The viewer checks the task as the pupil works and says when it is done.

    Sources 8 9 10 11Open this step as a pupil

  7. 07

    Explain it

    Presented and for pupils

    Caption

    Earth spins on its axis once a day. The half facing the Sun has day, and the half facing away has night.

    Talking points

    • NASA Space Place: Earth spins around its axis, making one complete turn each day, which is why we have day and night and why every part of Earth's surface gets some of each.
    • A good answer says that Earth spins once a day, so London spends part of each turn facing the Sun (day) and part facing away (night).

    Ask the class

    In your own words, explain why London has day and night.

    AnswerWritten in the pupil’s own words, up to 280 characters. It is not marked.

    Sources 1 4Present from this step

Presenter keys

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R
Reveal the answer
N
Your notes
P
Play or pause the clock
L
Labels on or off
B .
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F
Full screen
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Sources

Every fact in this lesson comes from these sources, and each step lists the ones it uses.

  1. Earth Fact Sheet, NASA NSSDCA
  2. Notes on the Planetary Fact Sheets, NASA NSSDCA
  3. Moon Phases, NASA Science
  4. What Causes the Seasons?, NASA Space Place
  5. Why does the Sun rise in the east and set in the west?, NASA StarChild
  6. Clockwise or counter-clockwise? (question 69), From Stargazers to Starships, NASA Goddard
  7. Sun rise, set and transit at Greenwich, 20 March 2027, US Naval Observatory
  8. Astronomical Almanac Glossary, US Naval Observatory
  9. What is the Prime Meridian, and why is it in Greenwich?, Royal Museums Greenwich
  10. Stand on the Prime Meridian, Royal Observatory Greenwich, Royal Museums Greenwich
  11. Airy transit circle, An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Paris Observatory

More lessons

Our Solar System · 3dsolarsystem.online/teachers/lessons/day-night/

Day and night

NameDate

  1. Why is it night where you live for part of every day?

    • A. The Sun switches off at night
    • B. Your side of Earth is facing away from the Sun
    • C. The Moon gets in front of the Sun

  2. Seen from above the North Pole, which way does Earth turn?

    • A. Clockwise
    • B. Anticlockwise

  3. Earth spins towards the east. In which direction do we see the Sun rise?

    • A. North
    • B. East
    • C. South
    • D. West

  4. In your own words, explain why London has day and night.

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