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  • Year 2

Nicolas Copernicus, the man who moved the Earth

I can explain how Copernicus changed ideas about the Earth and Sun.

View unit
Lesson 2 of 6
New
New
  • Year 2

Nicolas Copernicus, the man who moved the Earth

I can explain how Copernicus changed ideas about the Earth and Sun.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Copernicus studied the night sky carefully and noticed the planets did not move as people expected them to.
  2. Most people believed Earth was at the centre, but Copernicus bravely imagined the Sun at the centre instead.
  3. His new idea explained why planets moved in loops in the night sky and helped people understand the sky in a new way.
  4. Many leaders were shocked by his discovery because it challenged old beliefs they thought were correct.
  5. Later scientists used new tools to test his ideas and proved he was right about Earth moving around the Sun.

Keywords

  • Planet - a world that moves around the Sun; from far away, it can look like one of the tiny stars in the night sky

  • Telescope - a tool that helps people see faraway things in the sky

  • Scientist - a person who learns about science and carries out investigations

  • Discovery - finding out something important for the first time

Common misconception

Pupils may think that most early astronomy was conducted using telescopes.

Remind pupils that astronomers didn’t have telescopes, so they used their eyes and mathematical calculations to help them.


To help you plan your year 2 history lesson on: Nicolas Copernicus, the man who moved the Earth, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You could use a torch and balls to act out the Sun and planets; pupils could move to show rotation and orbit.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Al-Razi was a who was always curious about how to help sick people.

Correct Answer: doctor

Q2.
What did Al-Razi hang around the streets of Baghdad to help him choose the best place for a hospital?

colourful cloth
cooking pots
Correct answer: raw meat

Q3.
Starting with the first, sort these events into the correct order:

1 - A worried mother carried her sick child through the streets.
2 - The mother reached the hospital.
3 - Al-Razi listened to the mother and felt the boy’s forehead.
4 - Al-Razi used observation and his past learning to treat the boy.

Q4.
Al-Razi tested different mixtures to make that would help sick people get better.

Correct Answer: medicines, treatments, medicine, treatment

Q5.
Which of these actions showed how Al-Razi learned as a doctor?

he copied old books without question
Correct answer: he observed his patients
Correct answer: he tested different mixtures
Correct answer: he wrote down what he had seen

Q6.
Why did Al-Razi’s ideas spread to Persia, India, and Europe?

he travelled to all those places
Correct answer: people copied and shared his books
people found meat hanging in those countries

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is a planet?

a bright star that stays still in the sky
a tool used to look at the stars
Correct answer: a world that moves around the Sun

Q2.
Copernicus treated the night sky like a giant and recorded where planets appeared.

Correct Answer: map

Q3.
Copernicus believed the was at the centre and the planets circled it.

Correct Answer: Sun

Q4.
Starting with the earliest, sort these events into time order:

1 - Copernicus watched the sky with his eyes.
2 - The telescope was invented.
3 - Scientists proved Copernicus right.

Q5.
Why were leaders shocked when they read Copernicus’ book?

Correct answer: It challenged old beliefs they thought were correct.
It described new planets they had never heard of.
It was written in secret code.

Q6.
Why do we remember Copernicus as someone who “moved the Earth”?

Correct answer: because he changed how people understood the sky
because he discovered every star
because he pushed the Earth with his hands