Day & Night

 

Subject Area

 Planetary Science: Day & Night
Age or Grade

 6th-8th grade
Estimated Length

 one 30-min class period
Prerequisite knowledge/skills

 Basic knowledge of Earth's solar system including planets, orbits, and the sun.
Description of New Content

 1. Day is caused by the sun shining on the Earth. Night is caused by the Earth itself
blocking
the sun's rays, casting a shadow.
2. At a single point on Earth, there is day and
times and night at other times. This is
because
the Earth rotates.
3. The speed of a planet's rotation
determines the length of night and day. There
is
approximately 12 hours of day and night on
Earth.
4. The moon also has day and night. The
cause is the same as described for Earth.
Goals

 Students will be able to demonstrate an
understanding of Day and Night using 3-D
models in the classroom.
Materials Needed


 standing lamp (Sun), large Styrofoam ball
(Earth), smaller Styrofoam ball (Moon), Day
& Night PowerPoint images (optional), glass
ball (optional)

Procedure

 

 

 

Opener Ask students, “What makes Day on
Earth? What makes Night?”

Development
1. Demonstrate how the sun (lamp) shines on
only 1⁄2 of the large Styrofoam ball (Earth)
while the other half is dark.
2. Mark one spot on the ball with a
pen/sticker. Demonstrate how a specific spot
on ‘Earth’ is sometimes in Day and other
times in Night
(Optional: demonstrate this with a glass ball
in place of the ‘Earth’- if Earth were made of
glass we would not have night)
3. Allow the students to experiment with
these items themselves, working in small
groups. Make sure that multiple lamps are
placed far enough apart so that they don’t
interfere with other groups!
4. Now demonstrate how the same principles
apply to the Moon- use the ‘Earth’, ‘Moon’,
and ‘Sun’ to demonstrate this.
5. Show the Day and Night PowerPoint
images taken from space.

Closure

Link actual photos from space with
models used in class.

Evaluation

 Use Think Questions to assess
understanding either verbally or in written
form.
Extensions

 1. Introduced the Far Side of the Moon
2. Have students write on Think Questions
(link in Evaluations)
3. Discuss what causes seasons on Earth
References FOSS Planetary Science Course, © The
Regents of the University of California