Patterns in the Sky
Aligned to 5-ESS1-2 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Earth spins once each day and orbits the sun each year, which creates repeating patterns: shadows shift through the day, day turns to night, and different stars appear in different seasons.
Worked example
A stick in the ground casts a long shadow in the morning, a short one at noon, and a long one again in the evening. The shadow moves in the same pattern every single day as Earth spins.
Practice questions
- Measure a shadow's length three times in one day and record the times.
- Graph how the shadow changed from morning to evening.
- Use your data to explain what causes the daily pattern of day and night.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Patrones en el Cielo
La Tierra gira una vez cada día y orbita el sol cada año, lo que crea patrones que se repiten: las sombras se mueven durante el día, el día se convierte en noche, y en distintas estaciones aparecen distintas estrellas.
Ejemplo: Un palo clavado en la tierra proyecta una sombra larga en la mañana, una corta al mediodía, y una larga otra vez en la tarde. La sombra se mueve con el mismo patrón todos los días mientras la Tierra gira.
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