YOU ARE STARS!

Check out some of the stars drawn yesterday....
(click on the images to make them larger)

QUESTION: What is the closest star to Earth?

ANSWER: The Sun

QUESTION: Is the Sun always in the same place in the sky?

ANSWER: Let's find out!!!!

WARNING: NEVER LOOK STRAIGHT AT THE SUN...IT CAN BLIND YOU

Hopefully today is a sunny day. This means the star nearest to us (the Sun) is not hidden by clouds. This means that we can make some observations to help us understand a little more about our Earth and the Sun. This investigation is an all day investigation - it is best set up early -  and then visited several times during the day, ideally every hour - maybe 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm....

You Will Need

• A space outside which has the sun on it all day - a patio, a lawn, a drive, the pavement...
• A longish stick type thing e.g, a stick, a garden cane, a tall brush, a mop or even just your own body
• Something to mark places on the ground e.g chalk, small stones, mugs, sticks...

(You could also do a mini version using a pen or pencil on a piece of paper outside)

What You Will Do

1. Decide on a spot which gets the sun all day. This exact spot is where you will come to each time. Can you mark it in some way?
2. Stand/hold your tall 'stick' upright on this exact spot.
3. Look at its shadow. Can you mark the tip of the shadow...or draw a line along the shadow with chalk or a pencil? Maybe you could label this line with the time of day.
4. Return to this exact spot and repeat steps 2 and 3 several times during the day ... maybe each hour

(You could also do a mini version using a pen or pencil as the stick on a piece of paper outside)

We will discuss what happens later this afternoon.

STEP 2:

Click below to watch the teaching video and pause when it asks you to answer the questions. Answer the questions in your Exercise Book at the Maths end.

Today we are going to use computer animation to create a model of the Earth orbiting the Sun.

You will need to log into Purplemash: Year5 Year5

Below is the animation I made:

It's time to think about our observations. We have been tracking shadows all day. Have a close look?

What have you noticed?

In your Exercise Book at the English end you could write this investigation up.

Use the title:

The Sun in the Sky

Use the sub-headings:

What I Used

What I Did

What I Observed - you could draw a picture here of your experiment. (you could send me a photo?)

So, what did you observe? Did the shadow move? Did the shadow change in length? Did the shadow move in the same direction?

What This Tells Me

Now here comes the being a scientist bit.... the shadow moved....why? It is either because the Earth stays still and the sun moves in the sky OR because the Sun stays still in one spot and the Earth is moving. Using what you know about the Sun and the planet Earth which do you think you have just proved?

The video below will help you to understand:

Is David Walliams not to your taste? 
If not, then visit our audio library where you can listen to books such as Harry Potter and a whole library of books and stories! Find somewhere comfortable...click below and then choose a story to listen to.

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