The spinning Earth
I can describe the motions of Earth to explain day, night and a year, and describe the motion of the Moon to explain why it appears to change shape.
The spinning Earth
I can describe the motions of Earth to explain day, night and a year, and describe the motion of the Moon to explain why it appears to change shape.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Earth is a planet. It is a sphere that spins once every 24 hours.
- Earth's spin explains day and night.
- Earth orbits the Sun, with each orbit taking 365.25 days (1 year).
- Earth orbits the Sun in a circle so stays the same distance from the Sun all year.
- The Moon orbits the Earth about once per month (27.3 days), this explains why the Moon appears to change shape.
Keywords
Sphere - A sphere is the shape of a ball.
Spin - Spinning objects are rotating.
Day - One day is the time taken for Earth to complete one spin (24 hours).
Orbit - An orbit is the movement of one object in a loop around another object.
Year - One year is the time taken for Earth to orbit the Sun (365.25 days).
Common misconception
Pupils can find it challenging to see how the movements of Earth as seen from the perspective of space (looking back at Earth) give rise to the observations experienced from Earth's surface.
Model the motions of objects in space with pupils as part of the model (i.e. representing Earth, moving as Earth moves) and with pupils observing the model. This enables them to experience how the same motion appears from both perspectives.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), 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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Starter quiz
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Exit quiz
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