 Need flashlight app on phone. This will be used in the blank slide that says experiment time. Shine the light and have students model rotation with their bodies by spinning. They are to use this experiment to try to infer when day and night happen during that rotation for their first group question.  Provide students with 6 index cards each for vocabulary terms which are in red.  Each student needs science journal out for notes  Each group needs one paper out with everyone in group’s name for group responses

The Earth is always moving. It moves in two ways: rotating and revolving.

The cycle of day and night happens on Earth because Earth rotates. Rotate: to spin about the center Earth’s center is called its axis. Axis: an imaginary line that passes through the center of the Earth from the North Pole to the South pole. ing_earth_axial_tiles_to_orbit.gif

Without talking, stand next to your desk and show me a rotation with your body.

Listen for teacher instruction!

One rotation of the Earth takes 24 hours, one day. The Earth’s rotation makes the sun look like it is rising and setting, but it is really the Earth turning towards and away from the sun. Thus, we have night and day.

Talk about the experiment with your group! If you are the Earth rotating on your axis, will it be day or night on your side that is facing towards the sun? Why do you think so? Write your response on your group paper!

Because Earth is rotating, night and day occur at different times in different places. People decided to divide Earth into sections to set up standard time zones. There are 24 times zones around the world, but only 7 are in the United States. If you travel east from one time zone to the next, the time becomes one hour later. If you travel to the west the same way, it becomes one hour earlier each time zone.

We have learned that the Earth is rotating, it is always spinning in place. The Earth is also traveling around the sun all year long! After 365 days, the Earth travels in its path around the sun one full time. Earth revolves around the sun one time per year. The path Earth travels in is called its orbit. Revolve: To travel in a path around Orbit: The path one object travels around another object in space

Without talking, pretend you are the Earth and your desks are the sun. Show me how the Earth revolves in its orbit around the sun!

The axis of the Earth is NOT straight up and down, it is TILTED. This TILT is what causes Earth’s seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

Earth is divided by an imaginary line called the equator into two hemispheres (half spheres). The top is the Northern Hemisphere and the bottom is the Southern Hemisphere.

The sun’s rays shine more directly on one hemisphere than the other. So when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it will be winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Solstices- longest hours of light and dark 1. Summer Solstice, June 21: the day of the year with the most hours of daylight 2. Winter Solstice, December 21: the day with the most hours of darkness Equinoxes- daylight and darkness same amount 1. Autumn Equinox, September 21: first day of autumn 2. Spring Equinox, March 21: first day of spring

If it is the Summer Solstice, is the Southern Hemisphere tilted towards or away from the sun’s direct rays? Write your response on your group response paper and be prepared to explain.

The moon is a small planet-like body that revolves around the Earth. Earth revolves around the sun and the moon revolves around the Earth. The moon also rotates on its axis, but it takes about 27 days instead of 24 hours like the Earth.

In your groups, act out the moon revolving around the Earth and the Earth revolving around the sun at the same time. HINT: This will take three people: moon, Earth, and sun. The fourth person in the group will explain to the class what is happening.

Discuss with your group. Thumbs up if you think the moon does produce light. Thumbs down if you think the moon does not produce light.

If you had your thumb down, you were correct! The moon does NOT produce light; it reflects light from the sun! Half of the moon is always being lit up by the sun, but since it is revolving around the Earth we can only see part of the lit up half each night.

Each time the moon seems to grow or shrink, it seems to change shape. We call these shape changes of the moon phases.

The first half of the moon phase cycle, the side of the moon seen from earth seems to increase in size. This is called waxing. This occurs after the new moon.

The second half of the moon phase cycle, the side of the moon seen from earth seems to decrease in size. This is called waning. This occurs after a full moon. The whole cycle repeats about every 29 and a half days.

When the moon is between the Earth and the sun, we cannot see any of the reflected rays. The moon appears to be completely dark. This is called a New Moon. The moon appears to wax after this phase. When the Earth is between the moon and the sun, the moon is able to reflect the most light towards Earth. We see the moon as a fully lit circle. This is called a Full Moon. The moon appears to wane after this phase.

With your group members, quietly come up with a way to remember the difference between waxing and waning. Write this on your group paper and wait quietly to share with class. If you finish before time is up, practice index card vocabulary with one partner in your group.

Use your index cards with your vocabulary words to practice with one partner from your group. We will have a quick vocabulary quiz to finish up our lesson!