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Earth & Sun
This week Lesson 1 & Lesson 2 are combined.
Objectives
To ask scientific questions which provoke us to find evidence.
To understand that the Earth rotates on an axis, as well as orbiting the Sun.
Resources
Cambridge Primary Science Book 4 | Library books about Earth, Sun and Space
Today's Lesson
Main Activity
Introduce the topic of Earth and Sun by discussing what your child already knows about the Earth, the Sun and Space. This conversation should be open-ended, and should be a chance for you to establish the depth of your child’s current knowledge. Some children have a natural curiosity about this topic and so may already know a lot, whilst others may have a more limited understanding. Make a note of the concepts that your child talks about, as some of them may be addressed in future lessons.
Next, download the Statements worksheet. Cut out the statements and read them aloud with your child. All the statements are true, or factual. However, some of them might be more challenging to accept or believe because of the misconceptions that we have as we learn about the Earth and the Sun.
📄 PRINT & CUT OUT - Statements worksheet
Ask your child to sort the statements into two piles:
- Pile 1 - Statements that your child finds it easy to believe.
- Pile 2 - Statements that your child needs further proof or evidence of, in order to believe them.
Note that there may well be some statements that your child won’t yet understand. Reassure them that this is fine, as there will be time to find out about them.
Once the statements have been sorted, ask your child to turn the statements from Pile 2 into questions that can be investigated.
For example:
- What is the Earth’s axis and how can we prove that the Earth spins on it?
- How can we prove that the Earth and the other planets orbit the Sun?
Spend the remainder of this lesson, and Lesson 2 of this week, exploring the answers to your child’s questions about the Earth and Sun.
There are several ways this can be done, for example:
- Explore pages 108–111 in in Cambridge Primary Science Book 4. Answer the questions on page 111.
- Visit the library to find books about specific areas of interest and research.
- At night, if the sky is clear, observe the stars in the sky.
- Visit a Science museum or planetarium.
- Use the internet to read up on the Earth and Sun.
Encourage your child to draw diagrams and to make notes over the course of the week to demonstrate the progress in their understanding of this topic.
Quiz
Citations
[1] www.youtube.com [2] www.youtube.com [3] www.youtube-nocookie.com [4] www.youtube-nocookie.com