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

1. How long does the Earth take to spin once? (one year / one week / one month / about 24 hours) → about 24 hoursPrompt: It is one day and one night.
2. The Sun rises at 05:15 and sets at 20:15. How many hours of daylight are there? Give your answer in hours as a decimal (e.g. 12.5). → 15 hPrompt: Count the whole hours first, then the extra minutes.
3. What causes day and night? (the Sun moving around the Earth / the Moon blocking the Sun / clouds covering the sky / the Earth spinning on its axis) → the Earth spinning on its axisPrompt: Half the Earth faces the Sun at any time.

• Ask why we see the Moon change shape over a month.
• Share the objective: Earth's orbit, years and seasons. 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 it take the Earth to orbit the Sun once?
• Step 1: One orbit takes about 365.25 days, which is why we have a leap year every 4 years.
• Step 2: So the answer is: about 365¼ days
• Answer: about 365¼ days
• 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. When it is summer in the UK, the Northern Hemisphere is… (tilted towards the Sun / not tilted / tilted away from the Sun / furthest from the Sun because of distance) → tilted towards the SunPrompt: Summer comes with longer days and more direct sunlight.
2. A year is 365 days, plus one extra day every 4 years (a leap year). How many days are there in 8 years in a row? → 2922Prompt: How many leap days are there in 8 years?

• 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 8 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. Seasons and orbit: which statement is NOT true? (The Earth orbits the Sun once a year. / Every place on Earth has the same four seasons. / Earth's orbit is almost a circle. / Seasons in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are opposite.) → Every place on Earth has the same four seasons.Prompt: When is Earth closest to the Sun?
2. What causes the seasons? (the tilt of Earth's axis as it orbits the Sun / the Moon blocking sunlight / Earth getting closer to and further from the Sun / the Sun getting hotter and colder) → the tilt of Earth's axis as it orbits the SunPrompt: Earth is actually closest to the Sun in early January.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-6.