Before the lesson
- On a projector, open the menu (top right) and choose the Light look: it is made for bright rooms.
- To present, press P, or the present button by the zoom: the panels step aside and the captions grow. Esc to come back.
- For a patchy school network, open the site once beforehand: it saves itself and works without internet after that (except street maps and the other worlds’ photos the first time).
1The planets go round the Sun, Year 5
Describe the movement of the Earth, and other planets, relative to the Sun in the solar system.
Show it
- The solar system, liveThe planets where they are today, going round at their true speeds: speed time up to a year a second and watch Mercury lap Neptune hundreds of times.
- How far is far?A story on the map: the Sun in London, the Earth at Frankfurt, Neptune in New Zealand, every distance to one scale.
- Why do we have seasons?A short story: the Earth goes round the Sun leaning over, so each half takes its turn tilted towards it.
- A year on Mars, and on NeptuneEach world’s card gives its year in Earth days: 687 for Mars, 165 Earth years for Neptune.
Ask
- Why does Neptune take 165 of our years to go round the Sun once?
- Which planet has the shortest year, and why?
Check
Children put the planets in order from the Sun on paper, then scroll the distance view to check.
2The Moon goes round the Earth, Year 5
Describe the movement of the Moon relative to the Earth.
Show it
- A tour of the MoonSix stops: the face we always see, why a day there lasts a month, the Apollo landings, the far side.
- The Moon’s own dayTurn the dial through a month: the Sun crosses the Moon’s sky, and the phase we see from the Earth changes with it.
- The Earth and the Moon at true sizeSide by side at one scale: the Moon is about a quarter of the Earth’s width.
Ask
- Why do we always see the same face of the Moon?
- If you stood on the Moon, how long would one day last?
Check
Find it on the Moon: five places to tap a day, from Tranquility Base to the far side.
3The Sun, Earth and Moon are spheres, Year 5
Describe the Sun, Earth and Moon as approximately spherical bodies.
Show it
- The Earth as a globe, then flattenedPress Equal Earth under the map to fold the globe flat, and back: every flat map has to stretch something.
- One truth, many shapesA Learn chapter: the same round Earth drawn flat in many ways, each wrong somewhere.
- The Moon and Mars as globesThe same map on other worlds: drag them round, then flatten them.
Ask
- What evidence tells us the Earth is round, not flat?
- Why can’t a flat map get every country’s shape and size right at once?
Check
Peel an orange in as few pieces as you can and try to lay the skin flat, then compare it with the Equal Earth map.
4Day and night come from the Earth turning, Year 5
Use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement of the sun across the sky.
Show it
- The sun dialTurn the dial through a day: the Earth turns under the Sun, and day and night sweep round it. It opens on your own sky.
- What time is it there?A story: why it is morning in one country while it is night in another.
- Is the Sun ever straight overhead?A story: where the Sun is right above you, and why it never is in the UK.
- A day on MarsFor comparison: Mars turns too, a little slower, so its day is 24 hours 40 minutes.
Ask
- If the Sun isn’t moving, why does it rise in the east and set in the west?
- When it is noon in London, where in the world is it midnight?
Check
Find it on the Earth: five places to tap a day, including the lines the Sun stays between.
What children often think
Each of these is reasonable from what we see, and each has a view that answers it.
- ✕"The Sun goes round the Earth." It looks that way because the Earth turns. Turn the sun dial
- ✕"The Moon makes its own light." It is lit by the Sun; the phases are how much of its sunlit half faces us. Turn the Moon’s dial
- ✕"Summer is when we are closest to the Sun." The Earth is closest in early January. Seasons come from the tilt. Why do we have seasons?
- ✕"The planets are close together." Pictures squeeze them up. Neptune is 30 times further out than we are. The solar system, live
- ✕"The Sun is about the size of the Earth." It looks small because it is far away: 109 Earths would fit across it. Every world beside the Sun
The statutory requirements are quoted from the national curriculum in England: science programmes of study (Department for Education, 2013), under the Open Government Licence v3.0.