Observing Changes: The Day and Night Sky

During the Day…. In the morning, the Sun rises. As the day goes by, the Sun appears to rise higher in the sky. Around noon, 12:00pm–the Sun appears to be straight up in the sky. Then, it appears to start to move downward. In the evening, the Sun appears to go down completely. We call this sunset. The Sun does not move; the Earth does. This causes the Sun to look like it’s moving in the sky. This happens everyday, even if the day is cloudy and you cannot see the Sun. Do you see the changes in the day time sky? Do you see a pattern?

Day Turns Into Night As the Sun sets, the Moon rises. This is day turning into night. Can you see a pattern? Teacher Note: Try using an Internet search engine, and search for “Time Lapse Moon Rise Over San Francisco”. There’s a short video that shows the day time turn in to night with a Moon rise.

Let’s Observe the Night Sky: The Moon

When You Look Up at the Night Sky, What do you See? Ask students the title of this slide: When you look up at the night sky, what do you see? Allow for various responses including, but not limited to: Moon and stars.

Even during the day… Did You Know… Even on a cloudy night the moon is always there Even during the day…

Did You Know? The Moon appears to have different looks. Did you know that the Moon appears to have different looks? Help students understand that this is the same Moon, every night. But it’s appearance seems to change. Ask: Why do you think the Moon’s appearance seems to change over time? Allow for various responses, and accept all responses.

Have You Ever Noticed? Or like this? How about this? When the Moon Sometimes, it seems you can’t see the Moon at all. Or like this? Students can discuss names of the Moon they have heard before, such as: full moon, crescent, half moon, etc. However, at this age, they do not need to learn and memorize the moon phases; this will come at a later grade. When the Moon looks like this? How about this?

The Moon’s Pattern… Click the picture to play animation. The Moon appears to change in the night sky; it takes almost a month for this to happen. Then, it starts all over again. Do you see a pattern? Why do think the appearance of the Moon seems to change over this period of time? Click the picture to play animation.

The Moon’s Pattern If you were to look up at the night sky tonight, what do you think the Moon will look like? If you were to look up at the night sky tonight, what do you think the Moon will look like? Teacher note: It is important to keep this conversation very simple. This is laying the foundation for the conceptual understandings of Earth and space science. Have students discuss ideas and accept all ideas. Provide foundational information for their learning. NASA. (Photographer) (2012). Lunar phases [Print].