Explain to Students
Night and day are determined by the Sun's presence in the sky. As Earth rotates, the portion of the planet that is illuminated by the Sun experiences day while the portion that faces away from the Sun experiences night. As observed from most locations on Earth, the Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west every day. Students observe time-lapse video of a sunrise and a sunset. Students will watch the video and make predictions with their science partner using discussion prompts Students will put their questions and predictions in their science notebook. Note: The teacher will use these time-lapse videos of sunrise and sunset to review what students know.
Here are some discussion questions:
- Why does it look like the Sun is moving?
- Which way would you face to look in the direction of the Sun in the morning? In the middle of the day? In the afternoon?
- Do any other objects in the sky seem to move in the same way as the Sun? Explain.
- Does the Sun really move this fast? Why do you think it looks like its moving fast in the video?
Students watch and do the activity instruction