Day and Night - PowerPoint

In Year 5 Science, students explore the fascinating concepts of Earth and Space, focusing on understanding the cycle of day and night. They delve into the reasons behind the Earth's alternation between daylight and darkness and the illusion of the Sun's movement across the sky. The Earth's rotation on its axis, which is an imaginary line passing through the North and South Poles, is the key to this natural phenomenon. It takes 24 hours for the Earth to complete one full rotation, and this rotation is what causes day and night. To help students visualise this, they are encouraged to use a torch to represent the Sun and a ball to act as the Earth in a darkened room, observing how light falls on the ball as it turns.

The teaching resources also include a practical demonstration and a hands-on activity to further illustrate these concepts. Students are invited to place a stick in the ground on a sunny day and measure the length of its shadow at different times, recording their observations. This activity not only demonstrates the Earth's rotation but also helps them understand why it's colder at night and why it can be day in one part of the world and night in another. Additionally, students learn that the Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west due to the Earth's rotation, not because the Sun is moving. By engaging with these activities, students gain a clearer understanding of the Earth's rotation and its effect on our perception of day and night.