- Science
- Grade 5
- Earth and space
The student is expected to demonstrate that Earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours and explain how that causes the day/night cycle and the appearance of the Sun moving across the sky, resulting in changes in shadow positions and shapes.
Research
Ashmann, Scott. “A Sun-Earth-Moon Activity to Develop Student Understanding of Lunar Phases and Frames of Reference.” Science Scope 35, no. 6 (February 2012): 32–36. https://www.proquest.com/docview/920350295?sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals.
Summary: The activity described in this article can help students better understand the relative positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. It provides a series of questions to guide students to a deeper understanding of the phases of the Moon and the Moon’s relation to the Sun and Earth. In this activity, the teacher uses a dark room with a lamp representing the Sun. A student represents the Earth. Another student is added to represent the Moon. During this time, the teacher should ask guiding questions about the Earth’s rotation and allows the class to discuss their thoughts. Asking students what the Moon represents one day enables the teacher to see what misconceptions students have about the Moon and its movement.