• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Stars: when we see them and what they are). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Why do stars look tiny even though many are bigger than the Sun? (They are extremely far away. / They shrink at night. / They are made of glitter. / Our eyes are too small.) → They are extremely far away.Prompt: How big does an aeroplane (airplane) look when it is far away?
2. Stars: which statement is true? (Groups of stars that make patterns are called constellations. / Stars disappear in the morning and are made again at night. / The Moon is a star. / Stars are small and close to Earth.) → Groups of stars that make patterns are called constellations.Prompt: Remember the Sun is our nearest star.
3. True or false? All stars are the same size and brightness. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: What hides stars, and how far away are they?

• Ask why we see the Moon change shape over a month.
• Share the objective: Why we see different stars in different seasons. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Why can we see different constellations in winter and summer?
• Step 1: Earth's orbit changes which stars are in the night sky through the year.
• Step 2: So the answer is: As Earth orbits the Sun, our night side faces different parts of space.
• Answer: As Earth orbits the Sun, our night side faces different parts of space.
• 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. Over one night, the stars seem to move across the sky from east to west. Why? (The Moon pulls them. / Earth is spinning. / The stars are falling. / The wind blows them.) → Earth is spinning.Prompt: The Sun also seems to move east to west.
2. True or false? The same constellations return at the same time each year. (True / False) → TruePrompt: Earth spins (daily) and orbits (yearly). Which explains what?

• 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. True or false? You can see every constellation on any night of the year. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Earth spins (daily) and orbits (yearly). Which explains what?
2. Orion is easy to see on winter evenings in Europe, but not on summer evenings. Has Orion moved? (No, in summer Orion is in the sky during the day, hidden by sunlight. / Yes, it flies south for the summer. / No, it is destroyed every summer. / Yes, it shrinks in summer.) → No, in summer Orion is in the sky during the day, hidden by sunlight.Prompt: Stars do not go away; where is the Sun?

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