Our Solar System - Term 1 Science
Lesson 1 Our Solar System
Items in this lesson
Lesson 1 Our Solar System
Prior to lesson: Print one of these for each student to be used at the end of lesson 1
Assessment
What to look for:
Can students model how the Earth’s rotation around its axis causes day and night?
ST2-SCI-01Can students create a labelled diagram that shows Earth’s axis and the direction of its rotation? ST2-SCI-01
Can students use labels to explain why some places are in daylight while others are in darkness? ST2-SCI-01
Collect students’ annotated diagrams of Earth’s rotation.
Assess students' ability to draw and annotate what causes day and night.
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria.
It assesses students’ ability to use diagrams and labels to explain Earth’s rotation.
Learning Intentions and Success Criteria
Learning Intentions:
that the Earth rotates on its axis
to use diagrams and annotations to explain physical systems.
Success criteria:
model how the Earth’s rotation around its axis causes day and night
create a labelled diagram that shows Earth’s axis and the direction of its rotation
use labels to explain why some places are in daylight while others are in darkness.
Students are to use their workbooks as an explorer logbook throughout the unit.
They will use it to record vocabulary, labelled diagrams, observations and explanations.
Vocabulary Revision record these definitions in your explorer logbook.
Rotate:
Rotation:
the Earth spinning on its axis.
Axis:
an imaginary line through the Earth from the North to the South Poles, around which the Earth rotates.
Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER)
Topic: [insert topic]
Concept: [insert concept]
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a claim is what you think is true
evidence is what you saw, observed, or learned
reasoning is why your evidence supports your claim.
The CLAIM is the rotation of the Earth around its axis causes day and night.
What EVIDENCE do you think we could record in the EVIDENCE column?
What have you observed in the sky that supports this CLAIM?
How would you describe the Sun’s position through the day?
What do models of Earth show us when we spin them?
Let’s link the EVIDENCE to the CLAIM:
How does Earth’s rotation explain what we see each day?
Evidence is what you saw, observed, or learned
Reasoning is why your evidence supports your claim.
Guide students to collaboratively write a reasoning statement.
For example, because Earth spins on its own axis once every 24 hours, different parts of Earth face the Sun or turn away from it. When our part faces the Sun, it is daytime. When it faces away, it is nighttime.
Assess students’ readiness to move to the Core lesson or reteach how the Earth’s rotation causes day and night.
Explain that throughout the unit, students will be learning about our solar system.
Prompt students to share what they already know, notice and wonder about the solar system.
Guide students to create a wonder wall by writing their questions about the solar system on sticky notes.
Students take turns reading their questions aloud to the class before placing them on a large display board or wall space dedicated to the unit.
Guide students to group similar questions together on the wonder wall to identify patterns and common curiosities.
Briefly discuss which questions might be explored throughout the unit.
Explain that students are to use their workbooks as an explorer logbook throughout the unit. They will use it to record vocabulary, labelled diagrams, observations and explanations.
Model how to set up the first page with today’s date, a heading for 'Day and Night' and space for notes.
Connect the Earth’s tilt and line of axis.
Model the correct direction of spin – anticlockwise when viewed from above the North Pole.
What causes day and night?
Is it the Sun moving, or the Earth moving, that causes day and night?
What kind of movement causes day and night?
What is the name of the imaginary line that the Earth spins around?
How long does it take the Earth to complete one full rotation?
When it is daytime in Australia, what is happening on the opposite side of the Earth? Why?
Where does the Sun rise?
Where does it set?
How does the Earth’s rotation explain why we see the Sun move across the sky from east to west?
What causes day and night? (The rotation of the Earth on its axis.)
Is it the Sun moving, or the Earth moving, that causes day and night? (Earth.)
What kind of movement causes day and night? (Earth’s rotation or spin around its axis.)
What is the name of the imaginary line that the Earth spins around? (Axis.)
How long does it take the Earth to complete one full rotation? (About 24 hours.)
When it is daytime in Australia, what is happening on the opposite side of the Earth? (nighttime) Why? (Because that side is facing away from the Sun.)
Where does the Sun rise? (In the east.)
Where does it set? (In the west.)
How does the Earth’s rotation explain why we see the Sun move across the sky from east to west?
Students form small groups.
Each group is provided with a light source and a Styrofoam ball with a wooden skewer through the middle
To check for understanding, ask:
- What does the light source represent? (The Sun.)
- What does the ball represent? (Earth.)
- What does the skewer represent? (Axis.)
Assess students’ readiness to continue or reteach the Sun, the Earth and the axis.
Students model day and night by shining the light on one side of the ball and slowly rotating it anticlockwise to show how different areas move into and out of the light.
Prompt groups to explain what they are modelling.
Ask:
What happens to the position of day and night as the Earth rotates?
How much of Earth is in daylight?
Which way does Earth spin (when viewed from the top)?
Regroup and discuss what was observed.
Address any misconceptions and ensure students understand that it is the Earth’s rotation, not the Sun moving, that causes day and night.
Students draw an annotated diagram showing the Earth, the Sun and arrows indicating rotation in their logbooks.
Prompt students to use specific vocabulary such as rotation, axis, day, night.
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
Students share their diagram with a peer and provide peer feedback using Resource 2 – Earth’s rotation checklist. (next slide)
Students edit their annotated diagram based on the peer feedback provided. Reminder: collect this work sample to complete the optional assessment.
Refer to the learning intentions and success criteria to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections to their new learning.
Lesson 1 Earth’s Rotation Checklist
Example of how student’s drawings should resemble: (don’t show this to students, until after they complete their drawings and you have given feedback on the correct annotations on the diagram.
Lesson 2 Earth’s Rotation
Lesson 2 Earth’s Revolution Checklist
Lesson 3 Earth’s Place in Space
Lesson 3 Vocabulary Challenge
Lesson 3 Explanation Planning
Lesson 4 Light Producers
Lesson 4 Solar Energy
Lesson 4 Code of Conduct for Collaborating Online
Lesson 4 Researching Solar Energy
Lesson 4 Research Questions
Lesson 5 Solar Oven Instructions
Lesson 5 Solar Oven Instructions
Lesson 6 Distance From the Sun
Lesson 7 Solar System Sizes
Lesson 7 Inner Planet Sizes
Lesson 7 Outer Planet Sizes
Lesson 7 Planet Scale
Lesson 8
Lesson 8 Planet Years
Lesson 8 Researching Planets
Lesson 9 Symbol Matching
Lesson 9 Symbol Matching Answers
Lesson 11 Asteroids and Comets
Lesson 11 Kuiper and Asteroid Belts
Lesson 11 Peer Feedback
Lesson 12 Falling to Earth
Lesson 12 Mass and Gravity
Lesson 12 Distance and Gravity
Lesson 12 Gravity Pulls Towards the Centre
Lesson 12 Gravity cartoon
Lesson 12 Hammer and Feather
Lesson 13 Satellite Model
Lesson 14 Romans
Lesson 14 Planet Research Table
Lesson 14 Planet Research Resources
Lesson 15 Connections to Sky Country
Lesson 15 Matching Activity
Lesson 15 Research Support
Lesson 15 Matching Activity Answers
Lesson 16 Visible Planets
Lesson 16 Note Taking Template
Lesson 16 Note Taking WAGOLL
