• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Day and night). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. What causes day and night? (the Earth spinning on its axis / clouds covering the sky / the Moon blocking the Sun / the Sun moving around the Earth) → the Earth spinning on its axisPrompt: Half the Earth faces the Sun at any time.
2. The Sun rises at 05:45 and sets at 20:00. How many hours of daylight are there? Give your answer in hours as a decimal (e.g. 12.5). → 14.25 hPrompt: Count the whole hours first, then the extra minutes.
3. Day and night: which statement is NOT true? (It is always daytime somewhere on Earth. / Night happens because the Sun switches off. / The Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west. / The Earth rotates once about every 24 hours.) → Night happens because the Sun switches off.Prompt: Rotation and orbit are different movements.

• Ask why we see the Moon change shape over a month.
• Share the objective: Day, month and year: spin and orbit times. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: How long does this take: Earth spinning once on its axis?
• Step 1: So the answer is: about 24 hours (one day)
• Answer: about 24 hours (one day)
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. How long does this take: Earth spinning once on its axis? (about 365¼ days (one year) / about 29½ days (about a month) / about 24 hours (one day) / about 687 Earth days (nearly 2 years)) → about 24 hours (one day)Prompt: Day, month or year?
2. How many hours does Earth take to spin 6 times? → 144 hPrompt: Each spin takes 24 hours.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. How long does this take: Mars travelling once around the Sun? (about 365¼ days (one year) / about 687 Earth days (nearly 2 years) / about 24 hours (one day) / about 29½ days (about a month)) → about 687 Earth days (nearly 2 years)Prompt: Day, month or year?
2. A year is 365 days, plus an extra day every 4 years (a leap year) because Earth's orbit takes about 365¼ days. How many days are there in 8 years in a row that include 2 leap years? → 2922Prompt: Multiply the years by 365 first.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-5.