Earth and Space: Day and Night — Year 5 Lesson Plan
National Curriculum: Science — Earth and space, Year 5: use the idea of the Earth's rotation to explain day and night
Overview
The second of four Earth and Space lessons. Pupils use a lamp and globe to model how the Earth's rotation on its axis causes day and night. They explain why it can be daytime in one country and night-time in another, and set up a shadow stick to collect evidence for the final lesson.
Earth and Space: Day and Night learning objectives
- Explain that the Earth spins on its axis once about every 24 hours.
- Use a model of the Sun and Earth to explain why we have day and night.
- Explain why it is day in some countries while it is night in others.
Success criteria
- I can explain that the Earth spins on its axis once about every 24 hours.
- I can use a lamp and globe to show day and night.
- I can explain why it is night in Australia when it is day in the UK.
Key Vocabulary
Suggested Lesson Structure
Ask: where does the Sun go at night? Pupils discuss in pairs and draw their idea. Collect a range of explanations without correcting them yet (the Sun goes behind the hills, the Moon covers it, the Sun goes round the Earth). Remind the class never to look directly at the Sun.
Show a photograph of the Earth from space with one half lit and one half dark. Explain that the Earth spins on its axis, like a spinning top, once about every 24 hours. The half facing the Sun has day; the half facing away has night. As the Earth turns, places move from night into day (sunrise) and from day into night (sunset). Make the distinction clear: spinning (rotation) gives us day and night, while travelling around the Sun (orbit) takes a whole year. Show a world clock: when it is lunchtime in the UK, it is evening or night in Australia.
In a darkened room, groups use a lamp as the Sun and a globe as the Earth. Put a small sticker on the UK and another on Australia. Turn the globe slowly anticlockwise (as seen from above the North Pole). Pupils call out when the UK sticker reaches sunrise, midday, sunset and midnight, and say what time of day it is in Australia at each point. Each group records the four positions as labelled diagrams.
Pupils write an explanation titled 'Why do we have day and night?' using rotate, axis, day and night, with a labelled diagram. Return to the starter: pupils write one sentence explaining what was wrong with an idea from the start of the lesson. Challenge: if the Earth spun twice as fast, how long would one day and night last together?
Set up a shadow stick (a metre stick or pole standing upright) in a sunny part of the playground. Explain that the class will mark the end of its shadow with chalk at the start of school, at break, at midday and at the end of the day, and use the results in lesson 4. Ask pupils to predict how the shadow will change.
Video for this lesson
Why Do We Have Day and Night? | Year 5 Earth and Space, Lesson 2 | KS2 Science (No Narration)
The Earth seen from above the North Pole, turning from sunrise to midnight with a pin on the UK, then rotation compared with orbit and why it is night in Australia at lunchtime here. The words are on screen, so you can pause and talk it through. Ends with a three-question quiz.
Watch on YouTube →Support and extension for earth and space: day and night
Support
- Give a four-picture sequence of the globe at sunrise, midday, sunset and midnight for pupils to label rather than draw.
- Provide a word bank with pictures: rotate, axis, day, night, faces the Sun, faces away.
- Work with a small group on the globe model, letting each pupil turn the globe and describe what is happening to the UK.
Extension
- Use a world clock to find three cities where it is night right now and explain why, using the globe.
- Explain why sunrise happens at different times in London and in Cardiff or Plymouth.
- Explain the difference between a day (one rotation) and a year (one orbit) and work out roughly how many rotations happen in one orbit.
Check for understanding
Quick questions for the plenary or an exit ticket. Tap a question to see the answer.
1. What causes day and night?
Answer: The Earth spinning (rotating) on its axis; the side facing the Sun has day and the side facing away has night.
2. How long does the Earth take to rotate once?
Answer: About 24 hours.
3. Why is it night in Australia when it is daytime in the UK?
Answer: Australia is on the other side of the Earth, facing away from the Sun at that moment.
4. Does the Sun go round the Earth each day?
Answer: No. The Earth rotates, which makes the Sun look as if it moves.
Resources you will need
- Photograph of the Earth from space, half lit and half dark
- Lamps or strong torches and globes, one set per group
- Small stickers to mark the UK and Australia
- A world clock website or app on the board
- Metre stick or pole and chalk for the shadow stick
Common Misconceptions
- The Sun moves around the Earth every day. The Sun stays still; the Earth's rotation makes it look as if the Sun moves.
- Night happens because something blocks the Sun, such as clouds, hills or the Moon. Night is our side of the Earth facing away from the Sun.
- Day and night are caused by the Earth orbiting the Sun. One orbit takes a year; one rotation takes about 24 hours.
- It is the same time everywhere in the world. When it is midday in the UK, it is night on the other side of the Earth.
Prior Knowledge
Pupils should already be able to:
- Know that the Sun is a star at the centre of the solar system and that the Earth orbits it (lesson 1).
- Know that the Earth is approximately spherical (lesson 1).
- Know that shadows form when an opaque object blocks light (Year 3 Light).
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