Share with Your Students
Day and Night
Name
Date
solar system the Sun and all the
objects that move around it
The word solar refers to the
Sun. There are nine planets and
almost 150 known moons in our
solar system. All of these objects
get their light and energy from
the Sun.
rotate to spin around a straight line
that holds still
To rotate means to spin
completely around. The wheels on
a car rotate. A basketball spinning
on a player’s fingertip rotates.
Earth rotates once every twentyfour hours. The straight line
around which it rotates is called
its axis.
8 • SPACE • SECTION 1 DAY AND NIGHT
Student Resource 1.1 (p. 8)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.
axis an imaginary line that Earth
spins around, that passes from
the North Pole to the South Pole
through Earth’s center
When you ride a carousel,
you can see the axis that it spins
around. The Earth’s axis is invisible.
It is the straight line around which
the whole planet spins. Each
planet and moon has its own axis.
1. Make copies of Student Resource 1.1, Vocabulary, and
distribute to students. Discuss the definitions with students as the terms come up throughout the section.
STUDENT RESOURCE 1.1
INFORMATION SHEET
Vocabulary
2. Find out what your students know about the solar
system. Ask: What is the solar system? (Students may
list planets, moons, but may also list objects that are
outside the solar system, such as galaxies.) Explain that
solar refers to our star, the Sun, and that the solar system is the Sun and everything that moves around it. Tell
students they will be learning about the solar system.
They will begin by exploring how our planet, Earth,
moves in space.
3. Ask: What are the times of day? (morning, noon,
afternoon, and so forth) Explain that these are names
that people have invented to describe daily changes in
the Sun’s position in the sky. These changes repeat in a
predictable pattern. Ask: If it is early in the morning
and still dark, what do you expect the Sun to do
soon? Why? (to rise; because the Sun rises every day) If
it is midnight, what will the sky look like? (It will
be dark.) Can you always count on day and night
happening? Why? (Yes, because they always happen.)
Tell students that there are scientific reasons for this
predictable pattern.
4.Ask students to think about the causes of day and
night. Tell them that this section will help them picture
how day and night happen on Earth.
4 • EXPERIENCE SCIENCE
Name
Date
Why Does Earth Have Day
and Night?
STUDENT RESOURCE 1.2
ACTIVITY SHEET
Why Does Earth Have
Day and Night?
Shade the side of Earth that has night. Label the Day
and Night sides of Earth.
20 minutes
Whole Class
Objectives
• Students observe a model of sunlight falling on Earth.
Sun
Day
Night
• Students model the rotating Earth by using their bodies.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.
Earth
• Students ask questions about Earth’s rotation and use the models
to understand the answers.
Materials
1
*book, heavy
Diagram not to scale
SPACE • SECTION 1 DAY AND NIGHT • 9
1
*extension cord
1
*globe
1
lamp, clip-on
1
light bulb, 100-W
1
sticky note
Student Resource
• 1.2 Why Does Earth Have
Day and Night?
Inquiry Focus
• Ask Questions
*Not provided in kit
Student Resource 1.2 (p. 9)
In Advance
• Prepare to darken the classroom or plan to bring students to a
room that is easily darkened. Place one desk in the center of the
room and clear a large floor area around the desk.
• Put the bulb into the lamp. Stand up the lamp by clamping it onto
a thick book that can stand on end. Set up the lamp where the
cord will not create a tripping hazard. Tape the cord to the floor
and make sure the connection between the lamp cord and the
extension cord is out of students’ reach.
• Fold the sticky note so it stands up when stuck to a surface. Cut a
paper doll out of the non-sticky part of the note.
Teaching Tip
Step 1: To achieve the desired
effect on the globe, you may
need to place the lamp higher. To
do this, place a clothes hanger
through the clamp and hook it to
the ceiling.
1. Set up the model Sun.
Place the lamp, clamped to the book, on the desk. Plug
it in, using the extension cord if necessary, then switch
on. Introduce the lamp as a model of the Sun.
2. Observe the axis on the globe.
Point out that the globe is mounted in a stand at both
ends of its axis—the North and South Poles. Refer students to the definition of axis on the Vocabulary Resource page. It is easy for students to imagine the North
Pole as “up” and the South Pole as “down.” Point out
that there are no directions in space. “Down” means
toward Earth, “up” means away from Earth.
SECTION 1 DAY AND NIGHT • 5
Why Does Earth Have Day and Night? (continued)
3. Rotate the globe.
Next, point out where you live. Stick the paper doll to
that location on the globe. Then hold the globe so the
paper doll is facing the Sun. Ask: Does the person on
the globe see the Sun? (yes) Is it day or night for
this person? (day) Slowly rotate the globe from west
to east (counterclockwise from the top view) so that the
paper doll travels into the shadow of the globe. Ask:
Does the person on the globe see the Sun now?
(no) Is it day or night for this person? (night)
A A model to demonstrate day and night
4.Students identify times of day in the model.
Continue to rotate the globe slowly so that the paper
doll travels through periods of day and night. As you
turn it, have students name the times of day the person
is experiencing: morning, noon, afternoon, and night.
Invite students to help you place the globe in the correct position for this moment, based on your location at
morning, noon, or afternoon.
Safety
5. Students model day and night.
Put the globe aside and ask students to stand in a large
circle around the model Sun. Tell them to imagine that
each of them is a model of planet Earth. Have students
point their right index finger to the left and ask them
to rotate slowly in this direction. Explain that when they
face the “Sun” it is day and when they cannot see the
“Sun” it is night.
Step 5: The light bulb will be
hot after it has been on for several minutes. Keep students from
touching it.
Earth turns
Noon
Sunrise
Sunset
A When you are at noon, where
on Earth is sunset?
6 • EXPERIENCE SCIENCE
6. Students model three days and nights.
Have the whole class rotate slowly in unison three
times. Students may raise a hand when they experience
night. Ask: How many days and nights just went
by? Hold up that many fingers. (three) Observe
students and help those who do not yet understand.
Ask volunteers to identify when they are experiencing
sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight.
7. Students ask questions and answer them using
the models.
Invite students to ask questions that can be answered
using themselves or the globe as a model of Earth. For
example, “If it is sunrise here what time of day is it in
China?” “Can I see anything on the other side of the
Sun in the daytime?” Have student volunteers use the
model to answer the questions.
Why Does Earth Have Day and Night? (continued)
8. Discuss Earth’s rotation.
Ask: What does Earth do that leads to day and
night? (rotates) Can we feel the rotation of Earth?
(no) What events do we see every day that show
us that Earth rotates? (sunrise, sunset, Sun moves
across the sky) Have students shade in the night side of
Earth and label day and night on the Resource page.
Assessment
Ask: Is it possible to have daylight all over
the whole Earth at the same time? Explain. (no,
because only half of Earth can face the Sun at one time)
Section Assessment
Name
Materials
For the station
Date
STUDENT RESOURCE 1.3
ASSESSMENT SHEET
Section 1 Assessment
Vocabulary
1 What word names the Earth action that causes day
and night? Circle your answer.
rotate
solar system
axis
1
*globe
4
1
*heavy book
*Not provided in kit
1
Day and Night
2 Why does the Sun rise in the east and set in the
west?
lamp, clip-on, with bulb
sticky notes
Student Resource
• 1.3 Section 1 Assessment
Because Earth rotates from west to east.
Look at the globe but do not touch it. The globe is set
up so it is sunrise where you live. Which places are
having these other times of day? Fill in the chart below
with the correct names from the labels on the globe.
Time
Place
sunrise
your state
midday
answers should match labels teacher placed
on globe
sunset
midnight
10 • SPACE • SECTION 1 DAY AND NIGHT
Student Resource 1.3 (p. 10)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.
Comparing Time of Day
1. Set up one station in a darkened corner of the room.
Allow enough space for one-third of the class to view
the model at one time. At the station, set up the
equipment so that the lamp shines on the globe.
2. Write the name of your state on a sticky note and put it
on the globe on your state. Turn the globe so your state
location is at sunrise, then find one location each for
midday, sunset, and midnight. Write the names of those
locations on sticky notes and stick them to the globe.
Students will copy these labels onto their assessment
sheets.
3. Make copies of Student Resource 1.3, Section 1
Assessment, and distribute to students.
4.Divide the class into three groups. While one group is
working at the station to complete the hands-on
portion of the assessment, the other two groups can
be completing the top part of the assessment. Rotate
the groups through the stations until each has completed the hands-on portion of the assessment.
5. Discuss answers as a whole-class activity.
SECTION 1 DAY AND NIGHT • 7