Building understanding

Understanding day and night through a sensory story

Numeracy

﻿Hello, my name is Helen and I am your teacher. Today's lesson is lesson one of four in the time unit, building understanding number. For today's lesson, we're going to be looking at understanding the difference and similarities of day and night. For this lesson, you will need some shiny stars, you could make these out of foil, a white sheet, a dark sheet, a torch, some pillows and blankets, a yellow circle, and some toys or food. So now you know who I am, and you've got your resources ready. Let's find out what we're going to do during today's lesson. We're going to look at what happens during the day. Then we will look at what happens during the night. Finally, you will do a sorting activity while you will decide, do these events happen during the day or the night? Let me tell you a story about what happened to me yesterday. Yesterday, I was a little bit confused because I wasn't sure whether I should be going to bed with my pillow and covers or eating a meal because I didn't know what time of day it was. So I had to have a good look around me to try and find out whether it was day or night. So I looked outside and saw that it was light and bright, and I knew that it was light and bright in the sky during the daytime. I also knew that in the daytime, I might see the sun shining in the sky, and there it was. So I thought it must be the daytime. And from this, I was able to tell that it was time for me to eat a meal because we do eat meals during the daytime. Now it's your turn to try and recreate what happens during the daytime. Turn the lights on, or use your white sheet. to make your learning area light. Creates a sun using your yellow circle. You could shine your torch to make your sun bright. Eat your lunch or play with your toys. Pause video to complete your task. Once you've finished, click to resume. Later on, I realised when I looked in the sky, it was dark, and I thought, it's usually dark during the night. When I looked a little closer, I could see there were some stars in the sky and they did light up, but not quite as bright as the sun. And I knew that it was dark with stars that were lighting up, but not quite as bright as the sun, during the nighttime. So it must be nighttime. And from this, I knew it was time for me to get my pillow and my covers and goes to sleep. Now, have a go at recreating what happens during the night. Turn your lights off or use a dark sheet to make your learning area dark. Use your shiny stars to make the stars in the night sky. Pretend to go to sleep with your pillows and blankets. Pause the video to complete your task, and once you've finished, click to resume. when do we play with our toys? Do we do this during the day or during the night? That's right, during the day. When do we go to sleep, during the day or during the night? Excellent, during the night. When is it dark outside, during the day or during the night? You right, that's during the night. When is the sun in the sky, during the day or during the night? Excellent, during the day. When do we eat meals, during the day or during the night? Yes, during the day. When can we see the moon and the stars in the sky, during the day or during the night? That's right during the night. When is it light and bright outside, during the day or during the night? That's right, during the day. Well done. Excellent work. You've worked out that during the day, it is light and bright outside, the sun is in the sky, we eat meals, and we play with our toys. And during the night, you worked out that we go to sleep, it's dark outside, and we can see the moon and the stars in the sky. Great work. To make these tasks a little bit easier, you could focus on learning about what happens during the day to begin with, then focus on learning about what happens during the night. If you'd like to try and make it a little bit harder, you could try to describe what happens during the day and the night in your own words, signs, or pictures. And for more ideas of tasks similar to these, you could draw pictures on cards of what happens during the day. Place the cards face down in front of you and remove one card. Turn the cards over and spot the missing card. Repeat this for what happens during the night. That's a great lesson you've had. You've been able to show that you understand day and night through our sensory story. Next lesson, you'll be looking at identifying different types of events that you might do at different times of the day. If you'd like to, why don't you ask a parent or carer if they would kindly share your fantastic work with our National Academy on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. I'll see you next lesson, bye.

Understanding day and night through a sensory story

Understanding day and night through a sensory story

These resources will be removed by the end of the Spring Term 2026.

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