• 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 shrink at night. / Our eyes are too small. / They are extremely far away. / They are made of glitter.) → They are extremely far away.Prompt: How big does an aeroplane (airplane) look when it is far away?
2. Stars: which statement is true? (Stars disappear in the morning and are made again at night. / Stars are still there in the daytime. / The Moon is a star. / Stars are small and close to Earth.) → Stars are still there in the daytime.Prompt: Remember the Sun is our nearest star.
3. True or false? Stars are switched off during the day. (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 stars are falling. / The wind blows them. / The Moon pulls them. / Earth is spinning.) → Earth is spinning.Prompt: The Sun also seems to move east to west.
2. 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?

• 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. What causes this pattern: we see different constellations in winter and summer? (Earth orbiting the Sun once a year / the Moon orbiting Earth / Earth spinning on its axis once a day) → Earth orbiting the Sun once a yearPrompt: Daily patterns come from spinning; yearly patterns from orbiting.
2. In the Northern Hemisphere one star seems to stay still while others circle around it. Which star is it? (Mars / the Moon / the Sun / Polaris, the North Star) → Polaris, the North StarPrompt: It sits almost straight above Earth's North Pole.

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