The Sun, the Moon and the stars

Curriculum links

Quoted word for word from the official documents.

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 Pupils only appear only in the pupil lesson.

1. 01

   The Sun

   Presented and for pupils

   Caption

   This is the Sun, a star made of hot, glowing gas.

   Talking points

   • NASA Space Place: a star is a hot, glowing ball of gas, and the light of daytime comes from our closest star, the Sun.
   • Safety first: never look straight at the Sun, even with sunglasses on. NASA Space Place says never to look directly at the Sun without very special protective eyewear, and the national curriculum asks that pupils are warned it is not safe even when wearing dark glasses.

   Sources 1 6Present from this step →

2. 02

   Daytime

   Presented and for pupils

   Caption

   Sunlight lights up one side of Earth, and on that side it is daytime.

   Talking points

   • NASA: in our whole solar system the only object that shines with its own light is the Sun, and its light lights up half of our planet at a time.
   • Ask the class where the Sun must be in this picture. The bright side faces it.

   Ask the class

   Which side of Earth is having daytime?

   1. AThe bright sideRight answer
   2. BThe dark side

   WhyThe bright side is facing the Sun, so it has daytime. The dark side has night.

   Sources 2Present from this step →

3. 03

   The Moon

   Presented and for pupils

   Caption

   The Moon shines because sunlight bounces off it.

   Talking points

   • NASA: the Moon does not make its own light, and moonlight is really reflected sunlight.
   • A NASA scientist puts it this way: unlike our Sun, the Moon does not create its own light, and we can only see it because light from the Sun is reflecting off its surface.
   • This view looks at the Moon from the Sun's side, so the half the Sun is lighting faces us.

   Ask the class

   Which one makes its own light?

   1. AThe SunRight answer
   2. BThe Moon

   WhyThe Sun makes its own light. The Moon shines because the Sun's light bounces off it.

   Sources 2 3Present from this step →

4. 04

   The Moon in the day

   Presented and for pupils

   Caption

   The Moon goes round and round Earth, and we can often see it in the daytime sky too.

   Talking points

   • A NASA scientist: the Moon spends almost as much time in the daytime sky as in the night sky; you just have to look a little harder to see it.
   • NASA: a first quarter Moon rises around midday and is high in the sky in the evening, so on those days it is up while it is still light.
   • The clock runs at a day a second. NASA gives the Moon's trip round Earth as 27.3 days measured against the stars, so one trip takes about half a minute here.
   • This view is not to scale. NASA says the gap between Earth and the Moon could hold about 30 Earths.

   Ask the class

   Can we sometimes see the Moon in the daytime?

   1. AYesRight answer
   2. BNo

   WhyYes. The Moon is often up in the daytime sky, and it is bright enough to see even when the sky is light.

   Sources 2 3 4Present from this step →

5. 05

   Stars at night

   Presented and for pupils

   Caption

   At night our side of Earth faces away from the Sun, and we can see the stars.

   Talking points

   • NGSS gives this pattern as an example for first grade: stars other than our Sun are visible at night but not during the day.
   • A NASA scientist: the stars are still up there during the day, but we cannot see them because the sky is too bright.
   • This is the night side of Earth at midnight in London on 20 March 2027, with the stars behind it.

   Ask the class

   Are the stars still in the sky in the daytime?

   1. AYes, but the bright sky hides themRight answer
   2. BNo, they go away in the day

   WhyThe stars are there all the time. In the day the sky is so bright that we cannot see them.

   Sources 3 5Present from this step →

6. 06

   The Sun is a star

   Presented and for pupils

   Caption

   The Sun is the closest star to us, and the other stars are much, much farther away.

   Talking points

   • NASA Space Place: the Sun is our closest star, way, way closer than the other stars. The next closest star, Proxima Centauri, is about 4 light-years away.
   • The Sun and the planets in this view are not to scale.

   Ask the class

   Which of these make their own light? Choose all that do.

   More than one answer is right.

   1. AThe SunRight answer
   2. BThe Moon
   3. CThe other starsRight answer

   WhyStars are hot, glowing balls of gas, so the Sun and the other stars make their own light. The Moon shines with light from the Sun.

   Sources 1 2Present from this step →

7. 07

   Find the Moon

   Pupils only

   Caption

   Your turn: find the Moon and click on it.

   Talking points

   • The Moon is the small ball on the circle round Earth. The circle is the Moon's path, drawn by the orbits overlay.
   • This view is not to scale.

   Pupil task

   Find the Moon near Earth and click on it.

   HintFollow the circle round Earth until you find a small round ball. That is the Moon.

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

   Sources 2Open this step as a pupil →

Sources

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

1. All About the Sun, NASA Space Place
2. Moon Phases, NASA Science
3. Why Can You See the Moon During the Day? We Asked a NASA Scientist, episode 19, NASA
4. Moon Fact Sheet, NASA NSSDCA
5. 1-ESS1-1 Earth's Place in the Universe, Next Generation Science Standards
6. National curriculum in England: science programmes of study, Department for Education