Year 5: Earth and space
Earth and Space
Curriculum Requirement
- describe the movement of the Earth, and other planets, relative to the Sun in the solar system
- describe the movement of the Moon relative to the Earth
- describe the Sun, Earth and Moon as approximately spherical bodies
- use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement of the sun across the sky.
Pupils should be introduced to a model of the Sun and Earth that enables them to explain day and night. Pupils should learn that the Sun is a star at the centre of our solar system and that it has eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (Pluto was reclassified as a ‘dwarf planet’ in 2006). They should understand that a moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet (Earth has one moon; Jupiter has four large moons and numerous smaller ones).
Note: Pupils should be warned that it is not safe to look directly at the Sun, even when wearing dark glasses.
Pupils should find out about the way that ideas about the solar system have developed, understanding how the geocentric model of the solar system gave way to the heliocentric model by considering the work of scientists such as Ptolemy, Alhazen and Copernicus.
Pupils might work scientifically by: comparing the time of day at different places on the Earth through internet links and direct communication; creating simple models of the solar system; constructing simple shadow clocks and sundials, calibrated to show midday and the start and end of the school day; finding out why some people think that structures such as Stonehenge might have been used as astronomical clocks.
National Curriculum in England: primary curriculum, Section: "Earth and space", p. 170.
Our Place in Space
We live on a planet called Earth, which is part of a giant system of planets, moons, and asteroids that all travel around a star. We call this amazing neighbourhood the Solar System!
Our Star and Our Planet
The Sun
The Sun is our very own star, the fiery powerhouse at the centre of our Solar System! It's not just a light bulb in the sky; it's an unimaginably huge, churning ball of super-hot gas (mostly hydrogen and helium). Think of it as a giant explosion that's been burning for billions of years.
Its jobs are to:
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Be the "boss" of the Solar System. Its massive gravity (pulling force) is what holds all eight planets, including Earth, in their orbits, stopping them from flying off into deep space.
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Blast out a colossal amount of energy as light and heat. This energy travels across space, warming our planet, giving us light to see, and providing the power for all plants to grow (which is what makes all other life possible!).
💡 Fun Facts
- The Sun is so enormous that you could fit one million Earths inside it! If the Sun were a hollow football, you'd need to fill it with one million tiny peas (the Earths).
- It's our long-distance power station! The Sun is about 93 million miles (150 million km) away. Its light feels instant, but it actually takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds to travel all that way to us. So, the sunlight you see now actually left the Sun over 8 minutes ago!
- It's a "middle-aged" star! Our Sun is about 4.5 billion years old, and scientists think it has enough fuel (hydrogen) to keep burning for about another 5 billion years. Phew!
- The surface of the Sun is a sizzling 5,500°C, but its centre (the core) is a mind-boggling 15 million degrees Celsius!
- The Sun has "weather"! It has dark, cooler patches on its surface called sunspots (which are still hotter than a volcano) and sometimes it burps out giant, powerful loops of energy called solar flares.
- NEVER look directly at the Sun! Not even for a second, and never with sunglasses, binoculars, or a telescope. Its light is so powerful it can permanently damage your eyes before you even feel any pain.
The Earth
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Our home! Earth is the third planet from the Sun. It's a special, rocky planet because it's the only one we know of that has liquid water on its surface and is home to life.
Its shape:
The Earth is an approximately spherical body, which means it's shaped like a slightly squashed ball.
💡 Fun Facts
- The Earth is constantly in motion. It takes 365.25 days (one year) to make one full journey, or orbit, around the Sun.
- At the same time, it's constantly spinning on its axis (an imaginary line through its centre). This spinning is called rotation.
- From space, the Earth looks like a "blue marble" because about 70% of its surface is covered by oceans.
The Moon
The Moon is Earth's natural satellite. This means it travels (or orbits) around the Earth. It's a large, spherical body made of rock.
Its job is to:
Orbit the Earth. Its gravity also pulls on our oceans, which is what causes the tides (the sea coming in and out).
💡 Fun Facts
- The Moon doesn't make its own light. It looks bright because it reflects the light from the Sun, just like a giant, dusty mirror.
- It takes the Moon about 27 days to orbit the Earth once.
- The dark patches you can see on the Moon are called 'maria' (Latin for 'seas'), which are ancient, flat plains of volcanic rock.
Day and Night
Day and Night happen because the Earth rotates (spins). It's like a spinning top that's also moving around the Sun!
Daytime
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Daytime is when the part of the Earth you are on is facing towards the Sun.
The Sun's light shines on your part of the world, making it bright. This is when the Sun appears to move across our sky.
💡 Fun Facts
- The Sun doesn't actually move across the sky! It just looks that way because the Earth is spinning.
- This is called the Sun's apparent movement. In the morning, we spin towards the Sun (sunrise), and in the evening, we spin away from it (sunset).
- You can track this apparent movement by making a shadow clock. The shadow cast by a stick will move and change length throughout the day as the Earth spins.
Night-time
Night-time happens when the part of the Earth you are on has spun around and is facing away from the Sun.
You are in the Earth's own shadow, so it becomes dark and you can see the Moon and distant stars.
💡 Fun Facts
- It takes the Earth 24 hours to complete one full rotation, which is why one full day and night cycle lasts 24 hours.
- When it is daytime for you in the UK, it is night-time for people on the opposite side of the Earth, like in Australia.
- During the night, we can see other stars. These are just like our Sun, but they are so far away they look like tiny pinpricks of light.
The Solar System Family
The Earth isn't the only planet orbiting the Sun. There are eight in total, all moving in their own paths (orbits) around our star.
The Eight Planets
The planets are all spherical bodies that orbit the Sun.
The order from the Sun is:
Mercury → Venus → Earth → Mars → Jupiter → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune
💡 Fun Facts
- A fun rhyme (mnemonic) to remember the order is: "My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming".
- Jupiter is the biggest planet. It's so large that all the other seven planets could fit inside it at the same time!
- The first four planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are small, rocky planets. The last four (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) are known as 'gas giants' and are enormous.
More Nature Examples: Using Space to Survive
The movements of the Earth, Sun, and Moon are not just for us to look at! Many creatures on Earth use these massive objects and their cycles to survive, find food, and navigate the globe.
Creatures of the Sun & Day/Night
The Swallow's Sun Compass
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You've probably seen these amazing little birds zipping through the sky in summer, with their pointy wings and forked tails. But swallows are actually super-tough travellers! They are tiny globetrotters, and their lives are completely ruled by the Earth's seasons (its orbit) and the Sun's daily path across the sky (the Earth's rotation).
How they use space:
They have a built-in "sat-nav"! Swallows use the Sun's apparent movement as a compass to navigate thousands of miles.
💡 Fun Facts
- Swallows are "chasing the summer"! They make an incredible 6,000-mile journey (migration) from the UK all the way to southern Africa every single autumn to escape the cold winter. When our spring arrives, they fly all the way back!
- The Sun isn't a simple compass because it moves across the sky (or appears to move, as the Earth rotates!). To use it, a swallow has an amazing internal clock. It "knows" what time it is, so it can look at the Sun's position and instantly calculate which way is south. It's like having a watch and a compass rolled into one!
- How do they know when it's time to leave? They sense the change in day length! In autumn, as the Earth orbits the Sun, our part of the world tilts away, and the days get shorter. This is the swallow's secret signal to start its long journey south.
- Why come back to the UK at all? Because our long summer days (when our part of Earth is tilted towards the Sun) mean there is a massive buffet of insects flying around, which is the perfect food for raising their hungry chicks.
- What about on cloudy days? Scientists believe that as well as their Sun compass, swallows can also sense the Earth's invisible magnetic field to keep them on the right track, just like a real compass!
The Badger's Night Life
The badger is a mammal whose whole life is ruled by the Earth's rotation.
How they use space:
They are nocturnal, which means they have adapted to be active during the night, which is caused by the Earth's rotation.
💡 Fun Facts
- Badgers sleep all day in their underground homes, called setts, and only come out at dusk to forage for food.
- Their eyesight is not very good, but they have a powerful sense of smell, which is perfect for finding their favourite food (earthworms) on the surface in the dark.
- Their famous black and white stripes are thought to be a warning to other animals in the low light of the night, telling them to "stay away!".
Creatures of the Moon
The Limpet's Moon Clock
Limpets are small, cone-shelled creatures that live on rocks by the sea.
How they use space:
Their survival depends on the ocean's tides, which are caused by the Moon's movement and its gravity pulling on the Earth.
💡 Fun Facts
- Limpets live in the "intertidal zone"—the area that is underwater at high tide and exposed to the air at low tide.
- When the tide (controlled by the Moon) goes out, the limpet clamps itself tightly to its "home scar" on the rock. This traps a tiny bit of water inside its shell, stopping it from drying out.
- When the tide comes back in, it "wakes up" and wanders around its rock, scraping off and eating algae, before returning to its exact same spot as the tide goes out again.
The Turtle's Moonlit Dash
Imagine being buried under the sand! After weeks of growing, tiny baby sea turtles, called hatchlings, all dig their way out of their deep, sandy nest together. But their adventure is just beginning! They face a dangerous 'mad dash' across the beach to reach the safety of the sea, trying to avoid hungry crabs and birds.
How they use space:
They use the light of the Moon, our planet's natural satellite, as their very first guiding light!
💡 Fun Facts
- Hatching at night, especially under a bright Moon, helps keep them safe. It's too dark for many sea birds to hunt them, and the sand is much cooler than in the blazing hot daytime sun.
- When the hatchlings burst from the sand, they have one mission: find the brightest thing they can see! This isn't something they learn; it's a super-smart instinct they are born with.
- On a natural, dark beach, the brightest thing is always the Moon's light reflecting on the shimmering, shushing waves of the ocean. For a baby turtle, 'bright' means 'safe water'!
- This is why bright lights from streets, houses, and hotels near a beach are a big problem. The baby turtles get confused and crawl towards the artificial light instead of the sea, putting them in great danger.
- Once they hit the water, their amazing navigational skills continue! Scientists believe that as they swim, they use the Earth's invisible magnetic field (like a built-in compass) to find their way across the giant oceans.
Activities & Reflections
Activities
More Nature-Based Activities
Sun-Seekers Plant Race
Let's see just how much plants need the Sun! We will plant two pots of cress or bean seeds. We'll give them both the same amount of water, but we will place one in a bright, sunny window and the other in a dark cupboard.
- Observe them every two days for a week.
- Measure any stems that grow and draw a picture of the plants in a diary.
- What do you notice about the colour and strength of the plants? This shows how the Sun's light (daytime) gives plants the energy to make their food and grow, which is the start of almost every food chain on Earth.
Nocturnal Nature Log
The Moon and the Earth's rotation (day/night) have a huge effect on animal behaviour.
- With a grown-up, spend 10 minutes safely looking or listening out of a window or in your garden just after it gets dark. Do this once when the Moon is very thin or new (dark night) and again when the Moon is full and bright.
- Keep a log. What do you see or hear? Are there moths around a light? Do you hear foxes or owls?
- As a class, we can compare our logs. Do animals behave differently in bright moonlight versus a dark night? We can discuss why a hunter (like an owl) might find a full Moon helpful, but a mouse might find it dangerous.
Human Orrery
Let's model the Solar System with our bodies! In a large space (like the hall or playground), choose one person to be the 'Sun' (standing still), one person to be the 'Earth', and one person to be the 'Moon'.
- The 'Earth' must walk slowly in a big circle (orbit) around the 'Sun'.
- While orbiting, the 'Earth' must also spin (rotate) on the spot.
- The 'Moon' must walk in a small circle around the spinning, orbiting 'Earth'. This shows how the Earth, Moon, and Sun all move relative to each other.
Day & Night Demo
We can show why we have day and night in a dark room. You will need a globe (or a plain ball) to be the Earth and a bright torch to be the Sun.
- Place a small sticker on the globe where the UK is.
- Shine the torch (the Sun) on the globe (the Earth).
- Slowly spin (rotate) the globe on its axis.
- Watch how the sticker (the UK) moves from the light (daytime) into the globe's own shadow (night-time) and then back into the light.
Make a Shadow Clock (Sundial)
On a sunny day, go outside to a playground or field.
- Place a stick (like a metre ruler or a cane) upright in the ground.
- Every hour, use chalk or a stone to mark the end of the stick's shadow. Write the time next to your mark.
- What do you notice about how the shadow moves and how its length changes? This is happening because the Earth is spinning, making the Sun's position in the sky appear to change.
Reflections
Self-Reflection (Exit Ticket)
On a sticky note, draw the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon. Use arrows to show:
- What the Earth is orbiting (moving around).
- What the Moon is orbiting.
- Which one is rotating to cause day and night.
Paired Reflection (Think-Pair-Share)
With a partner, try to answer this: If the Sun doesn't actually move across the sky, why does it look like it rises in the morning and sets in the evening?
Group Reflection
In small groups, discuss: What would happen to day and night if the Earth stopped spinning? What would it be like to live here?
Whole Class Share-Out
As a class, discuss: We learned that scientists' ideas about the Solar System changed from a geocentric (Earth-centred) model to a heliocentric (Sun-centred) model. Why is it important for scientists to be able to change their ideas when they get new evidence?
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