ESS.6.1.1: Use models to explain how the relative motion and relative position…

Sun, Earth and Moon Grades 4–5 · partly supports this outcome

Why it's breakfast time in Calgary and bedtime in Singapore, why your shadow swings round the stick, why the Moon changes shape and why some places barely have seasons. Students build models with balls and lamps, track real shadows and read real sky data from cities around the world.

• Why does the Moon change shape? 45–60 min, plus 2 minutes a night for two weeks

  Students hold a ball on a stick at arm's length and turn slowly in front of a lamp, and the Moon's phases appear in their own hands. They test the idea that Earth's shadow makes the phases, then start a two-week Moon diary to check the model against the real sky.

• Why are there seasons, and why do some places barely have them? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods

  Teams shine a flashlight on squared paper at different angles, then carry a tilted ball around a lamp to see how the Sun's height and day length change through the year. They graph real day lengths for London, Singapore and Cape Town and explain seasons with tilt, not distance.

Printable practice for ESS.6.1.1

These pages practise a closely related idea; the match to ESS.6.1.1 is partial.

• Sun, Earth and Moon workbook included with the unit

  2 English-support pages, 2 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• The Reason for the Seasons: Tilt, Daylight and the Solstice workbook included with the unit

  3 practice pages, 3 readings, 2 English-support pages, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

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