Lesson video

Hello.

Welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name is Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today, guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Before we begin our story today, I want you to do something very important.

I want you to think.

Have you ever looked up at the sky at night and seen the moon or the stars?

Did they look like they were moving or did you feel still?

Now here's a tricky question.

What if the ground under your feet is moving right now even though it doesn't feel like it?

How could that be possible?

A long time ago, people believed the Earth stayed perfectly still right in the middle of everything.

No one thought to ask if that idea was really true.

But one quiet, curious man did.

In today's lesson, we are going to meet Nicolas Copernicus, a man who looked carefully at the night sky, asked a very brave question, and changed how people understood the world forever.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain how Copernicus changed ideas about the Earth and the Sun.

Right, let's get our brains ready for today's learning.

We are going to learn some important words that will help us understand the story.

We'll say each word together.

I will say the first then it's your turn to repeat it back to me.

Ready?

My turn.

Planet.

Your turn.

Good.

A planet is a world that moves around the Sun.

From far away, it can look like a tiny star in the night sky.

The Earth is a planet.

It's the one we live on.

Okay, let's move on to the second word.

My turn.

Telescope.

Your turn.

Good.

A telescope is a tool that helps people see far away things in the sky.

It helps us look closely at stars and planets.

My turn.

Scientist.

Your turn.

That's right.

A scientist is a person who learns about science and carries out investigations.

That means they ask questions and look carefully to find answers.

My turn.

Discovery.

Your turn.

Good.

A discovery is finding out something important for the very first time.

It's a big wow moment.

Well done for helping me to repeat those important words.

So let's see if we can spot those words in today's lesson.

Today's lesson is called Nicolas Copernicus, the Man Who Moved the Earth.

And our lesson is split into three parts.

I'll talk you through them so you know what's coming.

First, Copernicus looks at the night sky.

We will learn about what he saw when he looked up at the stars and planets and how people at the time thought the sky worked.

In the second part of the lesson, we'll learn about Copernicus making a big discovery.

And this is where he asks a brave question and realizes something very surprising about the Earth and the Sun.

Finally, we'll learn about scientists proving Copernicus was right.

Okay, let's begin the lesson with Copernicus looks at the night sky.

Okay, let's begin here.

So this slide helps us to think about when our story takes place.

At the top, towards the right of the slide, we can see the name Nicolas Copernicus, and he is the person we are learning about today.

And the long line underneath him is called a timeline.

A timeline shows us time going past from a long time ago towards the left to more recent times in the year 2000 on the right.

And over here on the left, we can see someone you may have learned about before, Al-Razi.

He lived a very long time ago, in the year 900.

And that helps us remember that history has lots of different people living at different times.

Now let's look at where Nicolas Copernicus is on the timeline.

Can you see how he is much later than Al-Razi but still a long time before us?

Copernicus lived over 500 years ago.

That means no cars, no phones, no electricity, just people, buildings, and the night sky above them.

So now we know who we are learning about and when he lived, let's go back in time and find out what Copernicus saw when he looked up at the night sky.

Long ago, more than 500 years in the past, there lived a quiet, thoughtful man named Nicolas Copernicus.

He grew up in Poland, in a place with cobbled streets, wooden market stalls, and a tall brick church whose bells chimed across the rooftops each morning.

In the summer, the air smelled of fresh bread from the baker's oven.

Yum.

And in winter, snow gathered softly on the red-tiled houses.

From his window, Copernicus could see the rooftops stretching out beneath the wide, open sky he loved so much.

Each evening, when the town grew quiet and people settled down for the night, he stepped outside to watch the stars glimmer over the chimneys, shining like tiny lanterns.

He would spend hours watching the planets drift slowly across the velvet black sky.

He wasn't just looking for fun, he was carefully watching where each star and planet appeared, as if the sky were a giant map.

Back then, people didn't have telescopes, no zooming in like we can today.

So they watched the sky with their eyes and used careful maths to help them.

Take a look at this picture.

We can see Copernicus standing outside at night.

In his hands, Copernicus is holding a special tool.

It's not a telescope.

Remember, those didn't exist yet.

This tool helped him measure and mark where the stars and planets were in the sky.

On the table in front of him, we can see paper and drawings.

These were his star charts.

This shows us that he didn't just look at the sky, he wrote down what he saw and tried to make sense of it.

This picture shows us something important about Copernicus.

He was patient, he looked carefully, he came back night after night to watch the sky.

He wasn't guessing, he was thinking.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Copernicus looked at the sky to, a, count clouds, b, look at the flights of birds, c, see where stars and planets appeared.

Pause the video, select the correct answer, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was Copernicus looked at the sky to, c, see where stars and planets appeared.

Okay, let's continue.

So in those times, long ago, most people believed Earth was at the center of everything.

Most people at the time already thought they knew how the stars and the planets moved across the night sky.

They were sure, completely sure, so sure they didn't even stop to ask questions.

They were convinced that the Earth sat right in the middle of everything and that the planets all traveled around us.

They imagined the Sun and all the stars spinning around us like dancers circling a king.

Let's stop for a moment and look carefully at this picture.

This picture shows what most people believed long ago.

Can you see the Earth in the middle?

It's right at the center of the picture.

People thought the Earth stayed still.

Now look around the Earth.

Can you see the blue circles going round and round?

These circles show paths, like invisible tracks in the sky.

On those paths, we can see the Sun and the other planets.

People believed they all traveled around the Earth.

They thought everything went around us again and again.

This made sense to people at the time.

Children grew up learning this, teachers repeated it, and grownups trusted it.

No one thought to question it.

After all, they thought, when you stand still on the ground, it feels like the Earth isn't moving at all.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

What I want you to do here is fill in the blank.

And I've got a sentence here which has a blank space for you to put a word into it.

So let's read the sentence.

500 years ago, most people believed that blank sat right in the middle of everything.

So you need to choose a word to complete that blank.

And I've given you three choices here: Earth, the Moon, or the stars.

So pause the video, choose your word, and come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back and well done if you knew the correct word was Earth.

Let's see how that sentence should have read.

500 years ago, most people believed that Earth sat right in the middle of everything.

Okay, let's have another check.

Put these in the order they happened.

So I've given you three events in a mixed up order and I want you to put them into the right order.

So the first mixed up event is Copernicus drew maps of the planets.

Number two is Copernicus watched the night sky.

Number three, Copernicus compared his maps from different months.

Pause the video, place those three events in the correct order, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And let's see how those events should have appeared.

So the first event was number two, Copernicus watched the night sky.

This was the first thing that he did.

And then the next event was number one, Copernicus then drew maps of the planets.

And then finally, number three, Copernicus then compared his maps from different months.

Okay, great, now it's time for Task A.

This is a talking task and you're going to work with your partner to talk about these questions.

The first question says: what did Copernicus do every night when the sky became dark?

And the second question says: what did most people believe about the Earth and the planets long ago in Copernicus's time?

In a moment, we'll share some ideas together and see what we remembered from the story so far.

But for now, I want you to have those discussions with your partner and discuss these questions.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Welcome back and well done for having a go at that task.

Hopefully you had some great discussions there.

So there's many things you could have talked about, but let's look at some of the possible things that you may have discussed.

So the first question was what did Copernicus do every night when the sky became dark?

You may have said that he went outside to look at the stars or that he watched the planets move across the sky.

And that's important because he wasn't only looking, he was watching them move.

And that he looked at the sky for a long time.

Exactly, he was patient.

Or you could have said something like he watched where the stars and planets were, like it was a big map.

And that's a lovely way to think about it, the sky like a map above his head.

And finally you could have said something like he liked the night sky and looked at it carefully.

Okay, great, let's look at the second question you talked about together.

The question was what did most people believe about the Earth and the planets long ago in Copernicus's time?

And you could have said something like they believed Earth was in the middle of everything.

That's right.

They thought Earth was right at the center.

You might have said they also thought the planets went around the Earth.

Yes, they thought the Sun and stars spun around us.

You might have said something like children and teachers were taught this.

Some of you might have said that people trusted this idea and didn't question it.

And they thought Earth didn't move because it feels still when you're standing on Earth, doesn't it?

So this was the big idea everyone believed when Nicolas Copernicus was growing up.

And no one thought it needed changing, but Copernicus was watching the sky very carefully and soon he began to wonder if something wasn't quite right.

Now for these tasks, I want you to remember something.

There are no wrong answers here.

We are just thinking back to the story and trying to remember the main points.

Great, so we now know that Nicolas Copernicus loved watching the stars and planets, he looked carefully, he watched for a long time, and he noticed how things moved.

Now we are ready for the second part of our lesson, Copernicus makes a big discovery.

This is where something exciting happens.

Copernicus watched the sky carefully and noticed the planets didn't move the way people expected.

Copernicus was curious.

That means he liked asking questions and wondering why things happened.

And curiosity, as he soon found out, can lead to great discoveries.

He began to write down what he saw each night.

Night after night, he drew careful maps of where planets traveled and compared them from month to month, year to year.

That takes patience.

Could you watch something for years?

Hmm, something didn't quite match.

If everyone's old belief was right, if Earth really sat in the middle, the planets should have moved in straight lines across the sky.

Let's look closely at this picture.

This shows how people thought planets moved.

Can you see the planet moving in a straight line across the sky?

That's what everyone expected to see, neat, straight movement night after night.

However, that is not what Copernicus saw.

He noticed that the planets seemed to move in strange loops, as if they were trying to tell him a secret, a secret that no one else wanted to hear.

Now look at this next picture on the right.

This shows what Nicolas Copernicus actually saw when he watched the sky carefully.

Do you notice something different?

The planet doesn't actually move in a straight line.

It looks like it's making a curved path, even a loop.

Copernicus didn't rush past this.

He watched carefully and thought deeply.

If the planets were supposed to move in straight lines, why did they look like they were looping and wandering instead?

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Copernicus noticed the planets, a, disappeared in the daytime, b, moved in strange loops, c, stayed completely still.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was Copernicus noticed the planets, b, moved in strange loops.

Okay, let's continue.

So one cold, clear night, Copernicus thought to himself, "Hmm, what if everyone is looking at the sky the wrong way round?

What if Earth isn't at the center after all?

" Slowly and bravely, he followed this idea.

Copernicus realized that the Earth moves around the Sun, not the other way around.

Try drawing that circle in the air with your finger, the Earth moving around the Sun.

And suddenly everything made sense.

Look carefully at this picture.

This picture shows the new idea that made everything make sense to Copernicus.

Can you see what is right in the middle of the picture?

It's the Sun.

The Sun stays in the center, nice and steady.

Now look at the blue circles going around the Sun.

These circles show the paths the planets travel on.

We can see the Earth and the other planets following these paths around the Sun.

When Copernicus imagined it in this way, the strange movements in the sky finally made sense.

He had discovered that the Sun was at the center and that the Earth was just one planet traveling around it.

So Earth wasn't the boss after all.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

What I want you to do here is fill in the blank.

Copernicus discovered that Earth moves around the blank.

And your word choices here are the Sun, the moon, clouds.

Pause the video, choose the correct word, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done if you knew the correct word was Sun.

So let's see how the sentence should have looked.

Copernicus discovered that Earth moves around the Sun.

Okay, so what I want you to do for this check is I want you to match the ideas on the left to the correct ideas on the right.

So on the left-hand side, we can see old idea and Copernicus's new idea.

And you need to match that to the correct idea on the right, which is Sun is at the center or Earth is at the center.

Pause the video, match the ideas, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So let's check those answers together.

So the first idea was the old idea.

And well done if you knew the old idea was that Earth is at the center.

That means Copernicus's new idea was that the Sun is at the center.

Okay, let's continue.

Copernicus's idea was a huge discovery for his time, the kind that makes people gasp.

If Earth moved, then the sky was not dancing around us.

We were doing the moving.

Copernicus wrote a book explaining his discovery, using his neat star charts and careful thinking.

Copernicus shared his new idea, but many people disagreed because it challenged what their leaders taught.

If you have a look at the picture on the left, it shows Copernicus standing up, telling the people around him his new idea.

And we can see those people discussing it amongst themselves.

They do not look very happy.

I don't think they're convinced by this new idea.

When people first read about Copernicus's idea, they were shocked.

Imagine being told everything you learned was wrong.

Teachers and leaders wondered how such a gentle man could claim something so different from what everyone had always believed.

Some people even said his idea was wrong or even dangerous.

It was called dangerous because it disagreed with what the leaders taught and they didn't want anyone to question them.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

True or false.

Some leaders said Copernicus's idea was dangerous because it did not match what they taught.

Is that true or false?

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was true.

Yes, some leaders said Copernicus's idea was dangerous because it did not match what they taught.

But what I want you to do now is tell me why that is true.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So the reason this was true was that many people were shocked by Copernicus's idea because it went against what teachers and leaders had always said.

Some even called it dangerous as it challenged what the leaders wanted everyone to believe.

Okay, great, now it's time for Task B.

This is a drawing task.

This task helps us show what we understand about Nicolas Copernicus and his big idea.

You have two choices for this task.

You only need to choose one.

Option A: draw the Sun in the center and Earth moving around it.

If you choose this option, your picture should show the Sun in the middle, the Earth going around the Sun, and some other planets too.

And you should also label your picture.

That means writing where the Sun, the Earth, and other planets are.

Your labels help show your learning.

For Option B, you need to draw what Copernicus saw in the sky.

If you choose this option, you might draw some stars in the sky and show the planets moving across the sky.

This picture shows what Copernicus was carefully watching.

Remember, this is not about perfect drawing, it's about showing your ideas.

Take your time and try your best.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Welcome back.

And I know you all have some wonderful drawings in front of you right now.

Let's look at what you may have drawn.

If you chose Option A, your drawings hopefully show the Sun in the center, with the Earth moving around it, and even some other planets too.

And that's exactly what Copernicus realized.

Hopefully you've written your labels for the Sun, the Earth, and the other planets.

If you chose Option B, your picture will show what Copernicus saw when he looked up at the night sky.

And in this example here, we can see stars, the sky, and planets moving in strange ways.

That's important because those unusual movements are what made Copernicus stop and think.

Both drawings are correct.

They just show different parts of the story.

And remember, your drawings might look slightly different from the ones I have here.

And that is perfectly fine as long as you are showing your learning of the Copernicus story.

Okay, let's move on to the second part of Task B.

And this is a talking task, so I want you to talk to your partner for this task.

What I want you to do is tell your partner how Copernicus's idea was different from what people believed before.

Now to help you in your discussions, you can choose one of the sentence starters below to help you.

Sentence starters are the beginning of a sentence that helps us know what to say next.

So let's read the sentence starters together.

Before Copernicus, people thought that.

.

.

That's when you can turn to your partner and complete the sentence.

The second sentence starter is Copernicus's new idea was different because.

.

.

And the final sentence starter is the old belief was, but Copernicus discovered.

.

.

And again, you can turn to your partner and complete those sentences.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and hopefully you had some great discussions there.

And there's many things that you might have said, but let's have a look at some of the example answers I have here.

So you may answered something like: Before Copernicus, people thought that Earth was in the middle and everything moved around it.

But Copernicus said the Sun was in the middle and Earth moved around the Sun.

The second sentence starter, you might have completed that one by saying Copernicus's new idea was different because he put the Sun in the center instead of the Earth.

He said Earth travels around the Sun.

And the final sentence starter.

You could have said that the old belief was that Earth sat in the middle of everything and didn't move.

But Copernicus discovered that Earth goes around the Sun and the Sun is in the center.

Great.

We've now reached the final part of the lesson.

And we've learned that Nicolas Copernicus loved watching the stars and planets and he noticed all details that others missed.

And by thinking carefully, he realized something very surprising, that the Earth moves around the Sun.

This was a brave idea because it was different from what everyone else believed, and it took some time for Copernicus's idea to be accepted.

Let's move on to the final part of the lesson, scientists proved Copernicus was right.

Even though lots of people didn't believe Copernicus and thought his idea was dangerous, still, Copernicus didn't shout or argue.

He stayed calm and patient.

He simply allowed his book to share the truth for him.

And slowly, year by year, other scientists began to test his idea.

Long after Copernicus died, about 50 years later, a brand new invention changed everything, the telescope.

For the first time, people could take a much closer look at the skies above.

They pointed this strange new tube towards the planets and watched carefully.

Take a look at the picture on the left.

This picture shows a group of scientists standing outside at night.

They're all gathered together, looking up at the sky.

And in the middle, we can see a man holding a long tube and pointing it upwards.

That tube is a telescope.

The telescope helped scientists check Copernicus's idea.

When scientists looked through telescopes like this one, to their surprise, and maybe a little embarrassments, they began to see that Copernicus had been right all along.

Earth really did travel around the Sun.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Which new invention helped prove that Copernicus was right?

Is it a, a bicycle, b, a magnifying glass, c, a telescope.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct invention was the telescope.

Now I've got another question here for you.

This one might be tricky.

Did Copernicus use a telescope to make his discovery?

Pause the video, discuss your ideas with your partner, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that was a trick question and the answer was no.

Copernicus didn't use a telescope to make his discovery.

Copernicus used his eyes and maths.

Telescopes were invented about 50 years after his discovery.

Copernicus's brave idea helped scientists discover more about planets, stars, and our Sun.

Today, hundreds of years later, we remember Nicolas Copernicus as the man who moved the Earth not by pushing it, that would be impossible, but by changing how people understood the sky and their place in the universe.

He was brave enough to think differently and patient enough to study the stars very carefully.

When other scientists saw the evidence from telescopes, they had to admit their old ideas had been wrong and that Copernicus had been right.

And that takes courage too.

Copernicus is important because his ideas helped future scientists learn even more about planets, stars, and our Sun.

His story reminds us that big changes can begin with just one person asking a question and daring to think in a new way.

So never stop being curious.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

And I want you to fill in the blank for this sentence.

Copernicus is important because his ideas helped future blank learn more about planets, stars, and our Sun.

And I've given you three words to choose from: scientists, or builders, or farmers.

Pause the video, select your word, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct word was scientists.

Let's see how the sentence should have looked.

Copernicus is important because his ideas helped future scientists learn more about planets, stars, and our Sun.

Okay, great, let's move on to the final task, Task C.

This task helps us retell the story of what Copernicus discovered from the beginning to the end.

You can choose between two options.

For Option 1, we're going to use some sentence starters to help our thinking.

And remember, sentence starters are the beginning of a sentence that help us know what to say next.

Listen carefully to the sentence starters.

First, Copernicus looked at the night sky and noticed.

.

.

And that's where you'll go on to complete the sentence for me.

Then, he had a brave idea that maybe.

.

.

Again, you'll complete that sentence.

Finally, people later proved that.

.

.

And you'll complete that sentence also.

So use these sentence starters to help you retell what Copernicus discovered.

If you want to choose Option 2, you need to act out Copernicus's story of discovery.

You will still use the same sentence starters, but this time you might pretend to look up at the night sky or show the moment of having a brave idea.

Now, remember, you only need to choose one option.

Both options help you show your learning.

And this is not about getting every word perfect, it's about showing that you understand the story of discovery.

If you're not sure what to say, just look back at the sentence starters.

They are there to help you.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Welcome back and well done for having a go at that task.

Let's look together at what you may have said if you chose Option 1.

And remember, it's okay if your answer isn't exactly the same as the examples I have here.

We're just looking at ideas, not perfect words.

Right, let's see how you could have finished the first sentence starter.

So you might have written something like: First, Copernicus looked at the night sky and noticed that the planets did not move in straight lines like people thought, but made strange loops in the sky.

And for the second sentence, you might have written: Then, he had a brave idea that maybe the Earth was not in the middle and that the planets, including the Earth, went around the Sun.

For the final sentence, you could have written: Finally, people later proved that Copernicus was right when they used telescopes and saw that Earth really travels around the Sun.

Well done.

You did a brilliant job of putting the story in the right order.

Okay, let's look at what you could have done for Option 2.

And remember, these are just example ideas.

Your acting might have looked a bit different, and that's okay.

Let's look at what you may have acted out.

So let's first look at what Izzy is doing in the middle of the slide.

"I'm pretending to be the Sun.

Copernicus discovered that I'm the center of everything.

" Good job, Izzy.

She's standing still in the center, and that shows Copernicus's big discovery that the Sun is in the middle.

And let's have a look at Alex here.

He's walking around Izzy, who's pretending to be the Sun.

Alex says, "I'm pretending to be the Earth and other planets.

We go around the Sun, not the other way around.

" Well done, Alex.

Using movement like this is a brilliant way to show understanding.

And what about Sam there on the left?

Oh, look, she's got a telescope.

Sam says, "I'm using a telescope, and I can see that Copernicus was right.

" Sam is showing how scientists later looked closely at the sky and realized that Copernicus was right.

That's a great way to show proof.

Well done, everyone.

Okay, great, let's sum up today's lesson, Nicolas Copernicus, the Man Who Moved the Earth.

And in this lesson, we have learned that Copernicus loved watching the night sky and carefully mapped the stars and planets.

Most people believed Earth was in the center of everything.

Copernicus noticed the planets moved in strange loops.

He discovered that Earth travels around the Sun.

And later, scientists proved he was right using telescopes.

And Copernicus's discovery helped people understand the universe in a new way.

Well done, everyone.

And today, you followed the story of a man who didn't shout or argue, but watched carefully, thought deeply, and asked a brave question.

Nicolas Copernicus showed us that learning doesn't always start with having an answer.

Sometimes it starts with wondering, being curious.

Other scientists came later, used new tools, and checked his idea.

And together they helped people understand the world in a new way.

So today wasn't just about the Sun and the Earth, it was about being curious, being patient, and being brave enough to think differently.

And that's something you can do too.

I'll see you again soon.