• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (The Sun, Moon and stars). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Why does the Sun look bigger and brighter than other stars? (It is the biggest star in the universe / Other stars are not real / It is a different kind of light / It is much closer to us) → It is much closer to usPrompt: Things far away look smaller and dimmer.
2. Sun, Moon and stars: which statement is true? (The Moon reflects light from the Sun. / The Sun goes round the Earth. / The Moon makes its own light. / You can only see the Moon at night.) → The Moon reflects light from the Sun.Prompt: Which objects make their own light?
3. Sun, Moon and stars: which statement is NOT true? (Stars are still in the sky during the day. / The Sun appears to move across the sky during the day. / You can only see the Moon at night. / The Sun is a star.) → You can only see the Moon at night.Prompt: Does the Sun really move round us?

• Ask why we see the Moon change shape over a month.
• Share the objective: Day and night. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: When it is daytime in the UK, it is night-time in…
• Step 1: New Zealand is roughly on the opposite side of Earth, so it faces away from the Sun.
• Step 2: So the answer is: New Zealand
• Answer: New Zealand
• 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 the Earth take to spin once? (one year / about 24 hours / one week / one month) → about 24 hoursPrompt: It is one day and one night.
2. The Sun rises at 07:00 and sets at 18:00. How many hours of daylight are there? Give your answer in hours as a decimal (e.g. 12.5). → 11 hPrompt: Count the whole hours first, then the extra minutes.

• 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. The Sun rises at 05:00 and sets at 17:30. How many hours of daylight are there? Give your answer in hours as a decimal (e.g. 12.5). → 12.5 hPrompt: Count the whole hours first, then the extra minutes.
2. Why does the Sun seem to move across the sky? (The wind pushes it / The Sun orbits the Earth each day / It is falling / The Earth is rotating) → The Earth is rotatingPrompt: Think about watching trees from a moving train.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-4.