UNIT13.indd - Wikispaces · Web view• plate tectonics changes the surface of the Earth, and so...

This unit uses the theme of amateur astronomy, showing thatthere are many observations that can be made without the need for a full-scale observatory. It revises ideas about the Sun, Moon and Earth that pupils met in KS2 by looking at how observations of the Sun, Moon and stars can be explained.The unit goes on to look at why we have seasons, and then to the wider picture of the Solar System, stars, galaxies and space exploration.We recommend between 9 and 10.5 hours of teaching time for this unit.From KS2 most pupils will:• know that the Sun, Moon and Earth are spherical• be able to explain why shadows move during the day,

and why we have day and night• know that the Earth orbits the Sun and the Moon orbits the Earth.This unit builds on ideas introduced in KS2: Unit 5E Earth, Sun andMoon and Unit 6F How we see things.The nature of the content of this unit does not lend itself topractical work. Several data handling exercises are provided, along with display-making and ‘cut and stick’ activities. The use of the videos and presentations on the ActiveTeach, along with any other appropriate videos or CD-ROMs for research, will help to maintain interest and motivation. Exploring 3 in Topic 7Lc and Exploring 5and Exploring 6 in Topic 7Ld can be used to assess AttainmentTarget 1. Marking guidance is provided for the 7Ld tasks in the ASP.• Topic 7La starts by revisiting KS2 work on the shape of

the Earth, the reasons we have day and night, and the definitions of yearsand leap years. Could level work is provided on time zones and on latitude and longitude.

• Topic 7Lb describes the Moon, phases of the Moon and eclipses. Could level work is provided on the tides and on the features of the Moon’s surface.

• Topic 7Lc looks at the differences in day length, temperature and Sun elevation through the seasons, and explains why this happens. Could level work is provided on day and night in highlatitudes.

• Topic 7Ld discusses the Earth’s place in the Solar System, briefly describes the other planets and explains that we can only see the planets because of reflected light. Could level work is provided on the exploration of Mars and on the idea that there may be life on Europa. There is a data handling exercise that can be used as a

Most pupils should:(L5) Recognise that astronomers from different countries collaborate and exchange ideas.(L5) Recognise that modern astronomy is based on the work of scientists from many cultures and different civilisations.(L5) Recall one way in which our Solar System model has changed. (L6) Use a model of the Sun, Earth and Moon to explain how eclipses and the phases of the Moon occur.(L6) Recognise that astronomy relies heavily on observation rather than experiment, unlike many other areas of science.(L7) Give reasons for why you agree or disagree with others when discussing the arguments for and against governments spending money on astronomy and space research.Some pupils could:(L7) Use models to explain patterns in Solar System data (e.g. the relationship between the distance from Sun and length of year).(L7) Use information from a range of secondary sources to describe and explain observations about stars and planets, Key processesAt the end of this unit…All pupils must:(L4) Describe how the Sun appears to move across the sky.(L5) Describe some of the patterns in the changes that happen during a year (e.g. changes in day length).(L5) Find information about the Solar System from selected secondary sources.Most pupils should:(L5) Describe some ways in which scientists collect evidence to support theories about the Solar System and the universe.(L6) Find, select and use information from secondary sources to investigate an idea or to compile a report.Some pupils could:(L7) Obtain information from secondary sources to investigate the relationships in astronomical data (e.g. between day length and latitude at different times of the year).(L7) Use calculations to turn data into a form where it can Range and contentAt the end of this unit…All pupils must:(W4) Name some planets.(L4) Identify some differences between the Earth and the other planets.(L4) Give examples of luminous and non-luminous sources. State that the Sun and the other stars are sources of light.(L5) Explain how we see the Moon.Most pupils should:(L6) Describe how the planets are arranged in the Solar System and compare them to Earth.Some pupils could:(L7) Describe some ways in which the features of planets andmoons are formed.

ExpectationsKey conceptsAt the end of this unit…All pupils must:(L4) Explain how we gets days and nights using a model of theEarth and Sun.(L4) Recall ways in which technology helps us to find out more about the planets and stars.(L5) Explain how we get years and seasons using a model of the

For a list of updated and vetted websites that can be used to(http:// g roups.google.co.uk/ g roup/exploringscien ce).

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7L The Solar System and beyond

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/exploringscience

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/exploringscience

The Solar System and beyond

7L

7L NC statements covered

3 Range and content

4 Curriculum opportunities

At KS31 Key concepts

Links with other units

Cross-curricular links

2 Key processes

Skills opportunities for Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS),literacy, numeracy and ICT are included in the individual topic notes.

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Statement Topic4b Astronomy and space science provide

insight into the nature and observed motions of the Sun, Moon, stars, planets and other celestial bodies.

allStatement TopicSc4 4a That the Sun, Earth and Moon

are approximately spherical.7La

Sc4 4b How the position of the Sun appears to change during the day, and how shadows change asthis happens.

7La

Sc4 4c How day and night are related to the spin of the Earth on its own axis.

7La

Sc4 4d That the Earth orbits the Sun once each year,and that the Moon takes approximately 28

7La

Statement Topica Research, experiment, discuss and

develop arguments.7Ld

b Pursue an independent enquiry into an aspect of science of personal interest.

7Lb, 7Ld

c Use real-life examples as a basis for finding out about science.

7La, 7Lc, 7Ld

d Study science in local, national and global contexts and appreciate the connections between these.

7La, 7Le

e Experience science outside the school environment, including in the workplace, where possible.

7La, 7Lb

h Explore contemporary and historical scientific developments and how they have been communicated.

7La, 7Ld

j Consider how knowledge and understanding of science informs personal and collective decisions, including those on substanceabuse and sexual health.

7Le

Statement Topic1a Using ideas and models to explain

phenomena and developing them creatively to generate and test theories.

7La, 7Lb, 7Lc,7Ld

1b Critically analysing and evaluating evidence from observations and experiments.

7La, 7Lb, 7Ld

2a Exploring how the creative application of scientific ideas can bring about technological developments and consequent changes inthe way people think and behave.

7La

2b Examining the ethical and moral implications of using and applying science.

7Le

3a Recognising that modern science hasits roots in many different societies andcultures, and draws on a variety of validapproaches to scientific practice.

7La, 7Lb, 7Ld,7Le

4a Sharing developments and common understanding across disciplines and boundaries.

7Lb, 7Ld, 7Le

Topic Links7Lc Geography 6d – effect of seasons on weather.

Statement Topic1a Use a range of scientific methods and

techniques to develop and test ideas and explanations.

7Lb, 7Lc, 7Ld

1b Assess risk and work safely in the laboratory, field and workplace.

7Lb

1c Plan and carry out practical and investigative activities, both individually and in groups.

7Lc, 7Ld

2a Obtain, record and analyse data froma wide range of primary and secondarysources, including ICT sources, and use theirfindings to provide evidence for scientific

7Lb, 7Lc, 7Ld

2b Evaluate scientific evidence and working methods.

7Lc

3a Use appropriate methods, including ICT,to communicate scientific information andcontribute to presentations and discussions

7Lb, 7Lc, 7Ld,7Le

7I Sun as a light source. 9J Gravity and space.8K Sun as a light

source, reflection of light.


Framework statements covered by Unit 7L1 How Science Works1.1 Explanations, arguments and decisions

1.2 Practical and enquiry skills

5 Environment, Earth and the universe


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Code Framework threads Year 7 Topic1.2a Using investigative approaches: planning an

approachDescribe an appropriate approach to answer a scientific question using a limited range of information and making relevant observations or measurements.

7Ld

1.2b Using investigative approaches: selecting and managing variables

Recognise the range of variables involved in an investigation and decide which to control.

7Ld

1.2c Using investigative approaches: assessing risk and working safely

Explain how action has been taken to control obvious risk and how methods are adequate for the task.

7Ld

1.2d Using investigative approaches: obtaining and presenting primary evidence

Describe and record observations and evidence systematically.

7Lb, 7Lc, 7Ld

Recognise that the presentation of experimental results through the routine use of tables, bar charts and simple graphs makes it easier to see patterns and trends.

7Lc, 7Ld

1.2e Working critically with primary evidence Describe patterns and trends in results and link this evidence to any prediction made.

7Lc, 7Ld

Describe and suggest how planning and implementation could be improved

7Ld

1.2f Working critically with secondary evidence Describe patterns and trends in secondary evidence and link these to the prediction or conclusion drawn.

7Lb, 7Lc, 7Ld

Code Framework threads Year 7 Topic1.1a1 Scientific thinking: developing explanations using

ideas and modelsUse an existing model or analogy to explain a phenomenon

7La, 7Lb, 7Lc7Le

Recognise and explain the values of using models and analogies to clarify explanations.

7La, 7Lb, 7Lc7Le

1.1a2 Scientific thinking: challenge and collaboration in the development of explanations

Recognise that scientists of all disciplines and nationalities often work together to develop explanations.

7La, 7Ld, 7Le

Recognise that science cannot yet explain everything.

7Ld, 7Le1.1a3 Scientific thinking: developing argument Identify a range of scientific data and other

evidence to back an argument and the counterclaim in less complex and/or familiar contexts, e.g. establishing a wind farm.

7Ld

1.1b Applications, implications and cultural understanding

Describe some benefits and drawbacks of scientific developments with which they are familiar.

7La, 7Lb, 7Lc7Le

Recognise that decisions about the use and application of science and technology are

influenced by society andindividuals.

7La, 7Le

1.1c Communication for audience and with purpose Use key scientific vocabulary and terminology in discussions and written work.

7Ld

Identify and use the conventions of various genres for different audiences and purposes in scientific writing.

7Ld, 7Le

Code Framework sub-strands Year 7 Topic5.3 Earth, Space and beyond Describe the apparent movement of the Sun

across the sky and the pattern in the changing appearance of the Moon.

7La, 7Lb, 7Lc7Le

7L Routes through the unitThis page suggests routes through the unit at three different levels but many other teaching sequences are possible. We recommend between 9 and 10.5 hours of teaching time for this unit.

The Solar System and

beyond7L2

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Topic Level Learning objectives Key words Tasks7La Must All pupils must: recall that we live on a planet called Earth which gets heat and light

from the Sun; describe some of the evidence for the Earth being spherical; explain that a day is the time taken for the Earth to spin once on its axis; explain that a year is the time needed for the Earthto orbit the Sun once, and why we have leap years; recall that the Moon orbits the Earth once every 28 days.

astronomer, axis, day, Earth, leap year, lunar month, Moon, orbit, satellite, sphere, Sun, year

Starter 1, Exploring 2, Explaining 2, Explaining 3, Explaining 4, Explaining 5, Plenary 1, Plenary 4, Homework 1

Should Most pupils should: recall the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west; appreciate why some people are fascinated by astronomy; explain why the time is different in different parts of the world; describe how the circumference of the Earth can be measured using shadows.

ellipse Starter 1, Starter 2, Exploring 1, Explaining 2, Explaining 4, Explaining 6, Plenary 1, Plenary 3, Homework 2

Could Some pupils could: define latitude and longitude; explain how position was determined before radio navigation aids.

Starter 1, Starter 2, Exploring 1, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Explaining 4, Explaining 6, Plenary 1, Plenary 3, Homework 37Lb Must All pupils must: describe how the shape of the Moon appears to change; explain what

solar and lunar eclipses are; describe the conditions on the Moon.eclipse, lunar eclipse, solar eclipse

Starter 1, Starter 2, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Explaining 4, Explaining 5, Plenary 1, Plenary 3, Homework 1Should Most pupils should: explain that the Moon is seen because it reflects sunlight

back to Earth; recall the sequence of phases of the Moon, and explain why we see these different phases; describe the differences between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse.

full moon, new moon, partial eclipse, phases of the Moon, total eclipse.

Starter 2, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Explaining 3, Explaining 4, Explaining 5, Explaining 6, Plenary 1, Plenary 2, Homework 2

Could Some pupils could: analyse data about tides and the phases of the Moon; describe some evidence that explains how and when some features on the Moon were formed.

Starter 1, Starter 2, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Explaining 3, Explaining 4, Explaining 5, Explaining 6, Plenary 1, Plenary 2, Homework 2, Homework 3

7Lc Must All pupils must: recall that the Earth’s axis is tilted and that this is the reason why we have seasons; describe how the day length and the angle of the Sun change with the seasons.

Starter 2, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Exploring 2, Plenary 2, Plenary 3, Plenary 4, Homework 1

Should Most pupils should: explain why the day length and angle of the Sun change with the seasons; explain why the weather is warmer in the summer; explain why the seasons are opposite in the northern and southern hemispheres.

Equator, hemisphere, northern hemisphere.

Starter 1, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Explaining 3, Exploring 3, Plenary 2, Plenary 3, Homework 2

Could Some pupils could: explain why countries close to the poles have 24 hour daylight in summer;

Starter 1, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Explaining 3, Exploring 3, Plenary 2, Plenary 3, Homework 2, Homework 37Ld Must All pupils must: recall that the other planets are spheres orbiting the Sun; recall that

the Sun is a star and it is enormous compared to the planets; explain that we see the other planets because they reflect light from the Sun.

planet, Solar System Starter 2, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Exploring 2, Plenary 2, Starter 1, Exploring 5, Explaining 3, Plenary 4, Homework 2

Should Most pupils should: obtain and recall information about the planets in the Solar System, plus asteroids and comets; explain that the temperature of a planet and length of its year dependon its distance from the Sun; describe some ways in which ideas about the Solar System have changed over time; describe conditions on other planets or moons, and

asteroid, comet, inner planet, outer planet.

Starter 2, Explaining 1, Explaining3, Explaining 4, Explaining 5, Plenary 2, Homework 1, Starter 1, Exploring 5, Exploring 6, Plenary 1, Homework 3

Could Some pupils could: explain why some scientists think there may be life on Europa. Starter 2, Explaining 1, Explaining 3, Explaining 4, Explaining 5, Plenary 2, Homework 1, Starter 1, Exploring 6, Plenary 1, Homework 4

7Le Must All pupils must: explain that stars produce their own heat and light; recall that the Sun is a star;

star, constellation Starter 1, Starter 2, Explaining 1, Exploring 1, Exploring 2, Plenary 1, Plenary 6, Homework 1

Should Most pupils should: explain why stars appear to move across the sky; recall that distances in space are measured in light years; explain that all galaxies in space make up the Universe;suggest some reasons for or against space research funding; describe how modern astronomers use the constellations; describe how and why astronomers in different

galaxy, light year, MilkyWay, Universe.

Starter 1, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Explaining 3, Exploring 2, Plenary 2, Plenary 3, Homework 2

Could Some pupils could: recall information about the shapes of galaxies and the Milky Way. Starter 1, Explaining 1, Explaining 2, Explaining 3, Exploring 2, Plenary 2, Plenary 3, Homework 2, Homework 3


7L Background information7La – Observing the sky/A place near the SunThe Earth spins in an anticlockwise direction (as seen from above the North Pole), making the Sun appear to rise in the east and set in the west.

There are various definitions of a lunar month. The Pupil’s Bookgives 29.5 days, which is the length of time from one new moon to the next (technically known as a synodic month). A sidereal monthis 27.3 days long and is the time it takes for one orbit Further readingDava Sobel, Longitude, 4th Estate, ISBN 1-85702-502-4.

Leap years occur every four years, except that the century years arenot leap years unless they are divisible by 400; so 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was. 7Lb – Moonshine

The formal names for the different phases of the Moon are, in order: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent, and then new moon again.The same face of the Moon is always towards the Earth. No onesaw the ‘back’ of the Moon until a Russian spacecraft called Lunik 3 sent back pictures in October 1959. The first samples of Moon rock were brought to Earth by the Apollo

Latitude and longitudeThe Earth is divided up by a series of grid lines that allow locations to be identified by a set of coordinates. Lines of latitude runaround the Earth, parallel to the Equator. Lines of longitude run from the North Pole to the South Pole.longitude

20°Wlatitude

60°N

EclipsesA solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, and the eclipse is only visible from small areas ofthe Earth. There is a total eclipse (where the Sun is completely obscured) somewhere in the world every two or three years. Partial eclipses occur when the Moon does not completely cover the Sun.At present, the relative sizes and distances of the Moon and Sun are such that the Moon’s disc is almost exactly the same apparent sizeas that of the Sun. This has not always been the case – in the past the Moon was much closer to the Earth, and total eclipses would then have been visible over a wider area. The Moon is gradually moving away from the Earth, so eventually there will be no total eclipses at all because the

20° 60°

Greenwich Meridian –0° longitude

Equator

Before the advent of electronic navigation aids, a ship’s positionat sea had to be determined by reference to the stars, and by using a very accurate clock (called a chronometer). Latitude was determined by using a sextant to measure the angle above the horizon of a known star – calculations and reference to datatables could convert this measurement to a latitude. To determine longitude, a navigator would note the time of local noon (i.e. when the Sun was at its highest point) using a clock set to Greenwichtime – hence the need for an accurate clock. For every hour’s difference, the ship was 15º east or west of Greenwich. The first chronometers accurate enough to be used for this purpose were built by John Harrison in the second half of the 18th century – a story told in Dava

A lunar eclipse (when the Moon moves into the shadow of theEarth) occurs at full moon. The Moon is usually still visible during a lunar eclipse, although as a dark disc (often with a red colour). Thisis because the long wavelength red light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and some of this reaches the Moon Eclipses do not happen every month because the plane of theMoon’s orbit around the Earth is tilted slightly compared with the plane of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.Time zones

Local time depends on longitude. All time zones are referenced to the Greenwich Meridian – hence Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT. GMT has now been superseded by Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is still referenced to the Greenwich Meridian and is based on time from atomic clocks rather than being directly related to the Earth’s rotation. The abbreviation came about becauseEnglish-speaking countries wanted the abbreviation CUT, but the French phrase for Coordinated Universal Time is

TidesThe gravitational pull of the Moon causes tides (Worksheet 7Lb/5), but the difference between high and low tide varies through the month. When the Sun, Moon and Earth are in line (at new moon and full moon) the effect of the Sun’s gravity is added to that ofthe Moon, and the tidal range (difference in height between high and low tide) is high; these tides are called spring tides and there are two each month. When the Earth, Sun and Moon are in an L- shape (at first quarter and last quarter) the Sun’s gravity partially counteracts the effects of the

Each time zone is approximately 15º wide. A place 30º east ofGreenwich would, in theory, be 2 hours ahead of UTC. However this simple geographic rule is complicated by international agreementson common time. For instance, Spain, parts of which are west of the UK, is one hour ahead because it sticks to central Europeantime. Nepal is 5 hours and 45 minutes ahead of UTC, just to make their time different to Indian time which is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of UTC. In some places the lines defining the time zones bend around islands or follow national boundaries, to keep all of a country inside one time zone. At a longitude of 180º is the international date line – again this line bends to keep all of a country on the

The surface of the MoonThe dark areas visible on the Moon were once thought to be seas, hence the name ‘mare’ (pronounced mar-ay), from the Latin forsea (plural ‘maria’ (mar-ee)). After further investigation, including the return of rock samples by the Apollo missions, these areasare now known to be lava flows. Similarly, at one time the craters on the Moon were thought to be volcanic in origin, but it is now known that they are impact craters caused


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The Solar System and beyond7L

The relative ages of different parts of the Moon’s surface canbe worked out from the principle of superposition – if featureA appears to be on top of feature B, feature A must have been formed after feature B. In the case of the Moon, any crater whose ejecta spread across surrounding features must have formedafter those surrounding features. Any lava flow that appears to fill

Pluto is not always further from the Sun than Neptune. Pluto’sorbit crosses that of Neptune, and from 1979 until 1999 Pluto was actually closer to the Sun than Neptune – this will not happenComets are large balls of (mainly) ice in highly elliptical orbitsaround the Sun. As comets approach the Sun, a stream of gas and dust particles formed by evaporation streams out forming the ‘tail’.A collision with a comet (or part of a comet) is thought to have caused a violent explosion at Tunguska in Siberia in 1908, when more than a million square kilometres of forest were flattened.There is often some confusion about the terms meteor andmeteorite. A meteor is the trail of light seen as small dust-likegrains burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. Meteorites are fragments of solid material that reach the Earth’s surface –

A more quantitative estimate of the age of the lunar surface canbe made by counting the number of craters. The older the surface, the more impact craters you would expect to see. However it is not quite as simple as this! The early Solar System was full of lumps of rock that could cause impacts. As time progressed, and many of these rocks had actually hit planets or moons, the rate of impacts slowed. Estimates of the changing rates can be made by studyingthe surfaces of various bodies in the Solar System, which can help in estimating the ages of surfaces.You would expect that the Earth would have been subjected to a similar number of impacts as the Moon, as it is in roughly the same place in the Solar System. The reasons why there are so few craters apparent on the surface of the Earth include:

Our Sun is an average sized star. It only appears bright because weare so close to it. If we could move to Pluto, the Sun would appear almost as distant as any other star in the night sky. The biggest starsIt is a common misconception that there is no gravity in space,fostered by pictures of astronauts floating around their spacecraft. This is obviously untrue since it is the Earth’s gravity that keeps the Moon orbiting the Earth. There is a point between the Earth and Moon (closer to the Moon than the Earth) where the gravitational fields cancel each other out, but even this point is still subject tothe gravitational field from the Sun and, to a far lesser extent, other bodies in the Solar System.Satellites remain in orbit because the combination of their speed and the gravitational attraction of the Earth gives them a curvedpath that ‘falls’ around the planet. Most GCSE physics texts

• the Earth’s atmosphere destroys many smaller bodies through

heating• a body falling in the ocean is not likely to leave a crater• weathering of the Earth’s surface removes signs of smaller craters• plate tectonics changes the surface of the Earth, and so

7Lc – A plan for all seasonsIt is a common misconception that summers are hotter because the Earth is closer to the Sun in the summer. The Earth is in fact slightly further away from the Sun in the northern hemisphere summer– which is why a northern hemisphere summer would be slightly cooler than summer at the equivalent latitude in the southern hemisphere.

Our normal sensation of weight is due to the fact that the groundor floor is stopping us falling down towards the centre of the Earth. In orbit, the astronauts inside a spacecraft are attracted towardsthe Earth with exactly the same force as the spacecraft itself, and so feel no sensation of weight. This state is often referred to as‘weightlessness’, although this is not meant to imply that

The tilt of the Earth’s axis is approximately 23.4° at present – thisangle varies between about 21.8° and 24.4° over a 40 000 The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line around the Earth 23.4° fromthe North Pole (measured from the centre of the Earth) – the significance of this is that for anywhere north of the Arctic Circle there is at least one day in each year when the Sun does not riseabove the horizon, and at least one day when the Sun does not set. The Tropic of Cancer is 23.4° north of the Equator, and this is the furthest north that the Sun is directly overhead on at least one day each year. The Antarctic

Objects in orbit do not need any force to keep them moving –outside the atmosphere there are almost negligible forces of friction to slow them down (even ‘empty’ space contains a few particles of matter). Gravity keeps the moving objects in a curved path around

7Ld – The Solar System/Focus on: Exploring MarsThe average surface temperatures of the planets decrease with increasing distance from the Sun. The exception to this rule isVenus, which is hotter than Mercury. This is because its atmosphere traps heat (it has a very strong ‘greenhouse

Further readingTom Standage, The Neptune File, Allen Lane, ISBN 0-71-399472-X.

7Le – Starry, starry nights/Studying spaceIt is a common misconception that a light year is a measure of time. A light year is the distance light travels in one year, and is a commonly used unit for measuring the distances

All four of the ‘gas giant’ planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus andNeptune) have rings, although Saturn’s rings are by far the most spectacular. The rings consist of millions of small particles of ice (‘dirty snowballs’) orbiting in one plane.An account of the discoveries of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto is given in Tom Standage’s The Neptune File.In 2006 Pluto was ‘demoted’ from a planet to ‘dwarf planet’ by the International Astronomical Union. Two other objects were also designated as dwarf planets, and more may be added to this category as further observations are made of the outer Solar System. Theother two dwarf planets (at the time of writing) are Eris, which

Light travels at a speed of 300 000 000 m/s (3 × 108

m/s) in avacuum. One light year is 1016 m.Other commonly used units are the astronomical unit (AU)which is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun(1.50 × 10 m) and the parsec, where 1 parsec = 206 265 AU (the parsec is defined as the distance at which a

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Pupil’s materials

ObjectivesAll pupils must:

(1) recall that we live on a planet called Earth which gets heat and light from the Sun

(2) describe some of the evidence for the Earth being spherical(3) explain that a day is the time taken for the Earth to

spin once on its axis(4) explain that a year is the time needed for the Earth

to orbit the Sun once, and why we have leap years(5) recall that the Moon orbits the Earth once every 29.5 days.

Correctly use the words astronomer, axis, day, Earth, leap year, lunar month, Moon, orbit, satellite, sphere, Sun, year.

Most pupils should:(6) recall that the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west(7) appreciate why some people are fascinated by astronomy(8) explain why the time is different in different parts

of the world(9) describe, in simple terms, how the circumference of

the Earth can be measured using shadows.Correctly use the word ellipse.

Some pupils could:

Exemplar topic plans

* This table is repeated in 7Lb.

Topic notes• Targets for the topic can be accessed via the ActiveBook or

ActiveTeach from the link next to the initiator question.• Pupils should have studied the Earth, Sun and Moon at

KS2, and the reasons for day and night and the apparent movement ofthe Sun.Be prepared: 7LaA globe.

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SHOULDPB pages163–165

Starter 1Starter 2Exploring 1Explaining 2Explaining 4Explaining 6Plenary 1Plenary 3Homework 2

SHOULD 2 Yr KS3*PB pages163–167

7La Starter 27La Explaining 27La Explaining 47La Plenary 37Lb Starter 27Lb Explaining 17Lb Explaining 27Lb Explaining 57Lb Plenary 17Lb Plenary 27La Homework 27Lb Homework 2

MUSTPB pages163–165

Starter 1Exploring 2Explaining 2Explaining 3Explaining 4Explaining 5Plenary 1Plenary 4Homework 1

COULDPB pages163–165

Starter 1Starter 2Exploring 1Explaining 1Explaining 2Explaining 4Explaining 6Plenary 1Plenary 3Homework 3

Number and title Level Location Type TasksObserving the sky Must/Should PB p163 Classwork Exploring 1A place near the Sun Must PB p164–165 Classwork Explaining 27L Quick Quiz Must/Should ASP Classwork Starter 37L Quick Quiz Answer Sheet Must/Should ASP Classwork Starter 37La Quick Check Must/Should ASP Classwork Plenary 27La Word Sheet Must ASP Homework7La(1) A place near the Sun Must CHAP Access Explaining 27La(2) Observations – true or false? Must/Should CHAP Classwork Exploring 27La(3) The shape of the Earth Must CHAP Classwork Explaining 37La(4) Time zones Should/Could CHAP Classwork Explaining 67La(5) Know your planet Must CHAP Homework Homework 17La(6) Measuring the Earth Should CHAP Homework Homework 27La(7) Latitude and longitude Could CHAP Homework Homework 3SS1–2 Thinking Skills Should/Could CHAP Skills Sheet Plenary 3

7La Observing the sky

Observing the sky

Topic task plannerUse these tasks to adapt the exemplar topic plans to your own needs. Many tasks can be adapted to become different types (e.g. ‘starter’rather than ‘exploring’). AT or AB/AT at the top of a task means that the task depends on using the ActiveBook and/or ActiveTeach;

Starters

Exploring tasks

1: Earth, Sun and Moon brainstorm (AT)

1: Pupil’s Book page 163 (AB/AT)This discusses why people have always been interested in theobjects they see in the sky. Question 2 is designed to help pupils to recall some of what they learnt in KS2. As the theme of the first few topics of this unit is using a model (i.e. our current model of theSolar System) to explain observations, it is worth making sure that pupils understand the difference between an observation and the explanation for it.• Must: the AT document link on page 163 opens Observations – a document with more detailed questions about the movements of the Sun and Moon, which can be used in place of question 2

Afl Ask pupils to write down what they know about the

Earth,Sun and Moon. This could be a general class brainstorming session.Alternatively, ask each pupil to write down five facts on a piece of paper, then go round the class asking each pupil to read out one fact that has not already been given.The first AT video link on page 165 opens Sun and Moon – this shows four short clips (of the Sun rising, the Sun moving higher in the sky during the day, the Sun setting

2: Ideas about the Earth ATA

fl The first AT presentation link on page 163 opens Ideas aboutthe Earth – this shows children giving various ideas about the Earthand the Moon, some of which demonstrate misconceptions. Show each statement in turn, and ask pupils to comment on it. If they disagree with the statement, ask them to explain why. Answers are also available on the presentation, but you may wish to keep these for later as this presentation can be revisited at the end of the topicas a plenary activity (Plenary 1). In this case, pupils should

2: Observations – true or false?Worksheet 7La(2) provides a set of observations about the Earth,Sun and Moon for pupils to sort into true and false. This worksheet could be used in place of question 2 on page 163 of the Pupil’s Book, or as a way of helping pupils to answer that question. Note that some of the statements look ahead to work on the phases of the Moon and the

Explaining tasks3: Quick

Quiz 1: Astronomers AT• The first AT video link on page 163 opens Amateur astronomers

– a clip showing Owen talking about why he became an amateur astronomer and some of the things he has observed.

• The second AT video link on page 163 opens Becoming an astronomer – a clip showing Owen briefly outlining what it takes to become a professional astronomer, and

Afl Use the 7L Quick Quiz for baseline assessment for

this unit.Pupils could record their answers on the 7L Quick Quiz Answer



Task Level NC Type Objectives Skills 1 KC 2 KP 3 RC 4 COStarter 1 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1–6 PLTS (Ep) 1a 4bStarter 2 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1–6 PLTS (Ep) 4bStarter 3 M/S 4–5 Classwork All topics PLTS (Rl) 4bExploring 1 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1–6 1a, 3a 4bExploring 2 M/S 4 Classwork Topics 7La, 7Lb,

7Lc1a, 1b 4b

Explaining 1 M/S 4 Classwork 8 4b eExplaining 2 M/S/C 4–5 Classwork 1–5 1a 4bExplaining 3 M 4–5 Classwork 2 1a, 1b, 3a 4bExplaining 4 M 4–5 Classwork 1–3 1a 4bExplaining 5 M 4–5 Classwork 1–3 1a 4bExplaining 6 S/C 5–6 Classwork 8 Lit (EC, RR) 2a 4b c, dPlenary 1 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1–5 PLTS (Ep) 4bPlenary 2 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1–5 PLTS (Ct) 4bPlenary 3 S/C 4–6 Classwork 1–5 PLTS (Ct) 4bPlenary 4 M 4–5 Classwork 1–5 Lit (WF) 4bHomework 1 M 4–5 Homework 1–4 4bHomework 2 S 6 Homework 9 Lit (EC) 3a 4b hHomework 3 C 6 Homework 10, 11 Lit (EC, RR) 3a 4b d, c, h

7La Observing the sky

2: Pupil’s Book pages 164–165 (AT)This explains why we have days, nights and years. Most pupils should have covered this material in KS2. Worksheet 7La(1) is the Access Sheet.

Worksheet 7La(4) provides a comprehension exercise on timezones. Pupils will need access to the internet or reference books to answer the last question.

ResourcesLibrary/internet access.

• Must: read through the pages with pupils, and help them to

answer the questions.• Should: read out the questions to pupils, and carry out

a red/ amber/green exercise. Pupils hold up a green card if they know the answer to the question, a red one if they do not know anda yellow card if they are not sure. If there are many yellow or red cards, pupils can read through the pages and answer the questions in their books.

• Could: show pupils the AT presentation Lunar months.• The fourth AT presentation link on page 165 opens Lunar months

Plenaries

1: Ideas about the Earth revisited ATA

flThe first AT presentation link on page 163 opens

Ideas aboutthe Earth – this shows children giving various ideas about theEarth and the Moon, some of which demonstrate misconceptions.If this presentation was used as Starter 2 at the beginning of the topic, ask pupils to look at the comments they made then and to revise any they now think were incorrect. If

3: The shape of the EarthAsk pupils to point out the UK on a globe, and ask which way is‘down’. Then point out different countries they may know about, including Australia and New Zealand, and ask which direction is down in those countries. Elicit the answer that ‘down’ is always towards the centre of the Earth.Ask pupils how they know the Earth is spherical (you may needto make the distinction between ‘round’ as in a plate, and ‘round’ as in a football). Some pieces of evidence that could be discussed include the fact that ships can sail around the world without falling off; if you fly high enough the horizon looks curved; when ships sail away

2: Quick CheckA

fl The Quick Check sheet provides a set of answers. Ask pupilsto write questions that would generate the answers on the sheet.In most cases there is more than one possible question that would produce the given answer, and pupils should be 3: Thinking about the Earth (AT)• PMI: the same side of the Earth should always face the Sun.(Possible answers: P – solar power could be used all the time inthat part of the world; M – it might be difficult to sleep if it is always daylight; some people would be in the dark all the time;

I – how would this affect the weather?)• PMI: the Earth should have more than one moon.

(Possible answers: P – it would not get as dark at night, because there would be two moons to provide light; M – if it were brighter at night we would not be able to see as many stars; I – do other planets have more than one moon?)

• PMI: the Earth should spin faster on its axis. (Possible answers:

P – days would be shorter, so we would not have to go to school for as long each day; M – there would be more days in a month/ year, so we would have to go to school more often; I – would we be able to go to sleep at the right times?)OOO: Sun, Earth, Moon. (Possible answers: the Sun is the only one that makes its own heat and light; the Earth is the only one we can live on; the Earth is the only one that

Worksheet 7La(3) can be used to reinforce the ideasdiscussed.

ResourcesGlobe.

4: Practical: Day and night demonstrationUse a globe to demonstrate day and night. A purpose-made globeis best. A strong light source such as a slide projector or overhead projector works best, in a darkened room. A blob of Plasticine® or similar stuck on top of the UK may help pupils remember whichpart of the globe they live on. Remember to spin the Earth in an anticlockwise direction so that the Sun appears to be rising in the east.

Keep all walkways clear of obstructions in darkened

ResourcesGlobe; slide projector or overhead projector; Plasticine®.

4: I can ... cloze exercise AB/AT5: Moving shadows AB/AT

• The AT document link on page 164 opens Moving shadows – a document with a series of drawings of an object and its shadow for pupils to order, and to explain what is happening to the shadow. This will help to remind pupils of the work they did on the changing lengths and directions of shadows in KS2.

• The second AT video link on page 165 opens The Earth in Space– an animation explaining the idea of hemispheres

Afl The AT document link on page 165 opens a cloze

exercisesummarising the content of pages 164–165. There is

Homework tasks

1: Worksheet 7La(5) provides questions based on the work in this

topic.2: Worksheet 7La(6) looks at how Eratosthenes worked

out the size of the Earth more than 2000 years ago.3: Worksheet 7La(7) looks at latitude and longitude,

and how sailors worked out their positions before modern electronic navigation aids were available.

6: Time zonesAny pupils who have been abroad on holiday may be familiar with the idea of time zones; as will those who have stayed uplate to watch live football from another part of the world. Discuss time zones and the international date line (see Background information).292 Exploring

Scienceedition


Pupil’s materials


(1) describe how the shape of the Moon appears to change(2) explain what solar and lunar eclipses are(3) describe the conditions on the Moon.

Correctly use the word eclipse, lunar eclipse, solar eclipse.

Most pupils should:(4) explain that the Moon is seen because it reflects

sunlight back to Earth(5) recall the sequence of phases of the Moon, and

explain why we see these different phases(6) describe the differences between a solar eclipse and

a lunar eclipse.Correctly use the words full moon, new moon, partial eclipse, phases of the Moon, total eclipse.

Some pupils could:(7) analyse data about tides and the phases of the Moon


Topic notesTargets for the topic can be accessed via the ActiveBook orActiveTeach from the link next to the initiator

* This table is repeated in 7La.




Starter 1Starter 2Explaining 1Explaining 2Explaining 4Explaining 5Plenary 1Plenary 3Homework 1


Starter 1Starter 2Explaining 1Explaining 2Explaining 3Explaining 4Explaining 5Explaining 6Plenary 1Plenary 2Homework 2


Starter 1Starter 2Explaining 1Explaining 2Explaining 3Explaining 4Explaining 5Explaining 6Plenary 1Plenary 2Homework 2Homework 3


7La Starter 27La Explaining 27La Explaining 47La Plenary 37Lb Starter 27Lb Explaining 17Lb Explaining 27Lb Explaining 57Lb Plenary 17Lb Plenary 27La Homework 27Lb Homework 2

Number and title Level Location Type TasksMoonshine Must/Should PB p166–167 Classwork Explaining 57Lb Quick Check Must/Should ASP Classwork Starter

1, Plenary 7Lb Word Sheet Must/Should ASP Homework

7Lb(1) Moonshine Must CHAP Access Explaining 57Lb(2) Phases of the Moon Should CHAP Classwork Explaining 27Lb(3) Eclipses 1 Must CHAP Classwork Explaining 57Lb(4) Moon base Must/Should CHAP Classwork Exploring 27Lb(5) The tides and the Moon Could CHAP Classwork Exploring 37Lb(6) All about the Moon Must CHAP Homework Homework 17Lb(7) Eclipses 2 Should CHAP Homework Homework 27Lb(8) The surface of the Moon Could CHAP Homework Homework 3SS40 Group research Must/Should CHAP Classwork Exploring 27Lb Moonshine

7Lb

Topic task plannerUse these tasks to adapt the exemplar topic plans to your own needs. Many tasks can be adapted to become different types (e.g. ‘starter’rather than ‘exploring’). AT or AB/AT at the top of a task means that the task depends on using the ActiveBook and/or ActiveTeach;where these symbols appear in brackets it indicates that the task can be carried out with or

2: Moon baseMost pupils will know that there is no air on the Moon. Pupilscan explore the consequences of this by designing a Moon base. Worksheet 7Lb(4) provides some background information and things for them to think about. Skills sheet 40 may help pupils to organise their work in a

Starters

1: Quick CheckA

flThe 7Lb Quick Check sheet provides a set of

statements forpupils to rank as true or false, and to correct any false statements.The questions are partly revision of the aspects of Topic 7La that deal with the Moon, but also cover material that pupils will learnabout in this topic and so will act as formative assessment material. Give pupils five minutes to answer the questions, and then ask fora show of hands for each question. If you have red/amber/green cards available, these can be used to collect answers (where green stands for true, red for false and amber for don’t know or not sure). Pupils should be asked to fill in their answers in pencil so that they can

3: Tides and the Moon (AB/AT)Worksheet 7Lb(5) is a data handling exercise on tides and the phases of the Moon – no detailed description of the causes of the tides is attempted, but pupils can explore the link between Moon phase and tidal range. They are not expected to be able to explain the link at this stage.The AT spreadsheet link on page 166 opens Tides and the Moon– a spreadsheet containing the data from Worksheet 7Lb(5), so that pupils can use a spreadsheet program for the graph plotting asked

2: Shapes of the MoonA

flAsk pupils to draw the Moon on a piece of scrap paper.

Encourage them to draw the different shapes that the Moon canappear to be, and to put their drawings in order. Ask for ideas about why the Moon appears to be different shapes.

Explaining tasks

1: Practical: Phases of the MoonDemonstrate the phases of the Moon using a torch or other light source to illuminate a sphere (a blown-up balloon will do). Theroom will need to be darkened. Group the pupils together, with the light source at one side of the room, and walk around them withthe sphere, showing that the part of the Moon they can see is not always fully illuminated. Higher-attaining pupils can then be asked to draw the shapes they see when the ‘Moon’ is illuminated from different angles – many pupils find this difficult, particularly if the room cannot be made dark enough.

Exploring tasks

1: Phases of the MoonAsk pupils to record the shape of the Moon over a period of time. Exercise care when giving explanations and instructions to children about how to accomplish these observations. Pupils should betold not to go outside at night without the permission of a parent/responsible adult; possibly even accompanied by the adult. Most,if not all, of these obserations can be accomplished by looking through the windows from inside the house/flat. It Resources

Torch or other light source; globe (balloon, football etc.).


edition


Task Level NC Type Objectives Skills 1 KC 2 KP 3 RC 4 COStarter 1 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1, 2, 4–6 PLTS (Rl) 4bStarter 2 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1, 5 1a 4bExploring 1 M/S 4 Practical 1, 5 1b, 2a 4bExploring 2 M/S 4–5 Classwork 3 PLTS (CT, Tw) 1a, 3a 4b bExploring 3 C 6 Classwork 7 Num (C, B), ICT

(SS)2a, 3a 4b

Explaining 1 M/S 4–6 Practical 1, 4, 5 1a 4bExplaining 2 M/S 4–6 Classwork 1, 4, 5 1a 4bExplaining 3 S/C 4–6 Classwork 1, 4, 5 1a 4bExplaining 4 M/S 5 Practical 2, 6 1a 4bExplaining 5 M/S 4–6 Classwork 1–6 4bExplaining 6 M/S 4 Classwork 3 4b ePlenary 1 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1, 2, 4–6 4bPlenary 2 M/S 4–6 Classwork 1-6 4bPlenary 3 M 4–5 Classwork 1, 2, 4–6 Lit (WF) 4bHomework 1 M 4 Homework 1, 2, 4, 5 Lit (WF) 4bHomework 2 S 4–6 Homework 2, 6 4bHomework 3 C 5–7 Homework 8 Lit (EC) 1a, 1b,

3a, 4a4b

Moonshine

2: Apparent shape of the Moon (AT)Many pupils have great difficulty relating the apparent shape of theMoon to the part of the lit side that they can see. For most pupils itis only necessary that they grasp the basic idea that the

Plenaries

1: Quick check revisitedA

flRevisit the true/false activity on the Quick Check

sheet carriedout at the beginning of the topic. Ask pupils if any of their ideashave changed. They could now complete the worksheet in pen,

The AT animation link on page 166 opens Phases of the Moon – ananimation explaining why we see phases of the Moon.• Must: show pupils the AT animation.• Should: in addition to the animation ask pupils to use Worksheet

2: Key facts about the MoonAsk pupils to work in pairs to note down three key facts about the Moon. Give them a few minutes to do this, then share ideas and compile a class list of five key facts.3: Moon rotation AB/AT

• The third AT presentation link on page 166 opens The Moon’s rotation – a presentation to help pupils to understand that the Moon spins once on its axis in the same time as it orbits the Earth once, which is why we always see the same face of the Moon.

• The AT document link on page 166 opens Phases of the Earth – a document that presents pupils with a photograph of the Earthtaken by the Apollo 8 astronauts, and provides questions

3: I can ... cloze exercise AB/ATA

flThe AT document link on page 167 opens a cloze

exercisesummarising the content of pages 166–167. There is also an AT

Homework tasks

4: Practical: EclipsesDemonstrate what happens during an eclipse using a globe to represent the Earth and a smaller ball to represent the Moon. A strong, focused light source such as a slide projector or overhead projector works best.

1: Worksheet 7Lb(6) provides a set of simple questions on the

work in this topic.2: Worksheet 7Lb(7) provides a set of questions about eclipses.3: Worksheet 7Lb(8) looks at how astronomers can work Follow this up by discussing why an eclipse does not

happen everymonth – this is because the plane of the Moon’s orbit is at a slight angle to the plane of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. The diagramat the top of page 167 may help to explain this. The Moon is not often in a direct line between the Earth and the Sun at the correct point in its orbit. Even when it is, the shadow the Moon casts onthe Earth is small compared to the size of the Earth, and so total eclipses are only seen from small areas of the Earth.

ResourcesGlobe; slide projector or overhead projector; ball to representMoon.

5: Pupil’s Book pages 166–167 (AT)This summarises the information about Moon phases and eclipses, and can be used to consolidate the demonstrations in Explaining 1 and Explaining 4. Worksheet 7Lb(1) is the Access Sheet.Worksheet 7Lb(3) provides a card sort activity enabling pupils tocompile diagrams of a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse. Some pupils could use this instead of attempting to draw their own diagram in response to The AT animation link on page 167 opens Eclipses – this explainshow both solar and lunar eclipses occur.6: Observing the Moon AT• The AT video link on page 166 opens Observing the

Moon – a video showing Owen talking about what amateur astronomers can see on the Moon.

• The AT video link on page 167 opens Watching eclipses – a

video showing Owen talking about what it is like to watch a solar eclipse, and why it is often necessary to travel to remote parts of the world to see one.



Pupil’s materials


(1) recall that the Earth’s axis is tilted and that this is the reason why we have seasons

(2) describe how the day length and the angle of the Sun change with the seasons.

Most pupils should:(3) explain why the day length and angle of the Sun

change with the seasons(4) explain why the weather is warmer in the summer(5) explain why the seasons are opposite in the

northern and southern hemispheres.Correctly use the words Equator, hemisphere, northern hemisphere.

Some pupils could:(6) explain why countries close to the poles have

24 hour daylight in summer(7) explain the significance of the Arctic and Antarctic

Circles and the Tropics.



Be prepared: 7LcExploring 3: light sensor and datalogging equipment. * This table is repeated in 7Ld. It is envisaged that you may

wantto spend twice the amount of time for these pupils – there are two topic plans, to be used consecutively.


edition



Starter 1Explaining 1Explaining 2Explaining 3Exploring 3Plenary 2Plenary 3Homework 2


7Lc Starter 17Lc Explaining 17Lc Explaining 27Lc Explaining 37Ld Explaining 17Ld Explaining 37Ld Explaining 47Ld Plenary 17Lc Homework 27Ld Starter 17Ld Exploring 57Ld Exploring 67Ld Plenary 17Ld Homework 2


Starter 2Explaining 1Explaining 2Exploring 2Plenary 2Plenary 3Plenary 4Homework 1


Starter 1Explaining 1Explaining 2Explaining 3Exploring 3Plenary 2Plenary 3Homework 2Homework 3

Number and title Level Location Type TasksA plan for all seasons Must/Should PB p168–169 Classwork Explaining 17Lc Quick Check Must/Should ASP Classwork Plenary 27Lc Word Sheet Must/Should ASP Homework7Lc(1) A plan for all seasons Must CHAP Access Explaining 17Lc(2) Hours of daylight 1 Must CHAP Classwork Exploring 27Lc(3) Hours of daylight 2 Should/Could CHAP Classwork Exploring 37Lc(4) Light levels Should CHAP Classwork Exploring 47Lc(5) Seasons 1 Must CHAP Homework Homework 17Lc(6) Seasons 2 Should CHAP Homework Homework 27Lc(7) Land of the midnight Sun Could CHAP Homework Homework 3

7Lc A plan for all seasons

A plan for all seasons


2: Hours of daylight

(AB/AT)Starter

s Worksheet 7Lc(2) provides sunrise and sunset times for Stanleyin the Falkland Islands. The times have been adapted to makethe subtraction easier. Pupils are asked to work out the daylight hours each month and draw a bar chart, and to

1: Differences between summer and winterCarry out a free-writing exercise, asking pupils to jot down all the differences they can think of between summer and winter. Give pupils two minutes to write down their ideas, then gather ideas from the whole class and make a list on the board. With someclasses, further prompts may be necessary to elicit differences such as the height of the Sun in the sky.Pupils can then be asked to spend another few minutes writingdown or discussing why they think these differences occur. You may wish to collect these ideas on the board (or ask pupils to keep

The first AT spreadsheet link on page 168 opens Hours of daylight– this spreadsheet provides the same information and questions, with guidance to help pupils to use a spreadsheet package 3: Investigating hours of daylight (AB/AT)Worksheet 7Lc(3) asks pupils to investigate whether everywhere in the world has more hours of daylight in their summer months thanin their winter months, and how the latitude affects 2: Ideas about the seasons AT

The second AT presentation link on page 168 opens Ideas about seasons – this shows children giving various ideas about the seasons. Show each statement in turn, and ask pupils to comment on it. If they disagree with the statement, ask them to explainwhy. Pupils can jot down their responses on scrap paper and keep them until the end of the topic. Answers are also available on the presentation, although these should not be shown now if this presentation is to be revisited at the

The second AT spreadsheet link on page 168 opens Sunrise andsunset times – a spreadsheet that provides some data that can be used for this investigation if time or facilities are not available for pupils to find the data themselves 4: Light levels during a day (AB/AT)Worksheet 7Lc(4) provides information on the amount of light at different times during a day in June. Pupils are asked to Exploring

tasksThe AT spreadsheet link on page 169 opens Light levels – aspreadsheet with the same data as the worksheet, so that pupils can use a spreadsheet for plotting the graph.

1: Day length and temperature AB/ATThe third AT spreadsheet link on page 168 opens Day lengthand temperature – a spreadsheet that provides data on average day lengths and temperatures for each month. The spreadsheet includes questions on the data and guidance to help pupils toproduce a graph of the data. If this is used after the tasks explaining the reasons that we have seasons (Explaining 1



Task Level NC Type Objectives Skills 1 KC 2 KP 3 RC 4 COStarter 1 M/S 5–6 Classwork 1–5 PLTS (Ep) 4b cStarter 2 M/S 5–6 Classwork 1–5 PLTS (Rl) 4b cExploring 1 M/S 5–6 Classwork 2, 3 Num (L), ICT (SS) 3a 4b cExploring 2 M 5 Classwork 2 Num (B), ICT (SS) 3a 4b c, dExploring 3 S/C 5–6 Classwork 2, 3, 5 Num (L), ICT (SS) 1a, 1c,

2a,4b c, d

Exploring 4 S 5–6 Classwork 2, 3 Num (L), ICT (SS) 2a, 3a 4b cExplaining 1 M/S 5–7 Classwork 1–6 4b cExplaining 2 M/S 5–6 Practical 1–3, 5 1a 4b cExplaining 3 S/C 5–6 Practical 1–3, 5 1a 4b cExplaining 4 S/C 5–7 Practical 4 1a 4b cExplaining 5 M/S 5 Classwork 2 4b cPlenary 1 S/C 5–7 Classwork 1, 3, 4 PLTS (Ct) 1a 4b cPlenary 2 M/S 5–7 Classwork previous topics, 1–

5PLTS (Ct) 4b c

Plenary 3 M/S 5–6 Classwork 1–5 PLTS (Rl) 4b cPlenary 4 M 5–6 Classwork 1–6 Lit (WF) 4bHomework 1 M 5–6 Homework 1, 2 4bHomework 2 S 5–6 Homework 2–4 4bHomework 3 C 5–6 Homework 6, 7 Lit (EC) 4b

7Lc A plan for all seasonsExplaining tasks

Plenaries

1: Pupil’s Book pages 168–169 (AT)This explains the reasons for seasonal changes. Worksheet 7Lc(1) is the Access Sheet for this topic.

1: What if? questionsAsk pupils to suggest what would be

different if:Afl

• the Earth was further away from the Sun (year length longer,

weather cooler)• the Earth spins at a different rate (shorter days if it spins faster)• the Earth’s tilt was less (less difference between

The AT animation link on page 169 opens Explaining day lengths– this explains why the length of a day varies with the seasons, and also varies with the distance north or south of 2: Practical: Seasons demonstration 1Use a globe to demonstrate the seasons. A purpose-made globeis best as such globes are usually mounted at the correct angle to demonstrate the tilt of the Earth’s axis. A strong light source suchas a slide projector or overhead projector works best, in a darkened room. A blob of Plasticine® or similar stuck on top of the UK may help pupils remember which part of the globe they live on. Remember to spin the Earth in an anticlockwise direction so that the Sun appears to be rising in the east, and to maintain the tilt of the ‘Earth’ as you move it around its ‘orbit’ so that it is always

Answers to these questions will allow you to judge how well pupilshave understood the explanation of the seasons. Pupils can be asked to describe these differences in writing.2: Quick CheckA

flThe Quick Check sheet provides a set of statements to

be usedas a ‘connectives’ exercise. The statements cover the content of thisand previous topics. Connectives are a set of sentences for pupils to complete in their own words, including one of the followingconnecting words: and, because, but, however, such as, therefore, which, to. The worksheet can be handed out to pupils, or it can be copied onto an OHP slide or the list can be written on the board. Pupils can be given 5 or 10 minutes to complete their sentences, and then they can share their ideas with the class. The obviousanswers to most questions involve using ‘because’ as a connective, but higher-attaining pupils should be encouraged to use the other connectives if they can, and to

ResourcesGlobe; slide projector or overhead projector; Plasticine®.

3: Practical: Seasons demonstration 2As a follow up to Explaining 2 (demonstrating the seasons using a globe and strong light source), use a light sensor and datalogging equipment to record the length of the ‘day’ as you slowly turn the globe. Move the globe so its axis is tilted in a different direction relative to the light source, and repeat the measurement. Help pupils to relate the orientation of the axis to the ‘Sun’ with the lengths of the days measured. It is important to keep the speedof rotation of the globe the same for all measurements if a fair comparison is to be made. It may be worth discussing this aspect of the demonstration with pupils. Alternatively, if two light sensors are available, it should be possible to record data for (say) the UK and southern Australia at the same time, thus avoiding this difficulty.• Could: ask pupils to predict the variation in day

length in equatorial regions, and then test their

3: Ideas about the seasons revisited ATThe second AT presentation link on page 168 opens Ideas about seasons – this shows children giving various ideas about the seasons. If this was used at the beginning of the topic (Starter 2),ask pupils to look at the comments they noted down and make any necessary amendments. Pupils can then compare their comments with the comments provided on the If it has not already been used, show each statement in turn andask pupils to comment on it. If they disagree with the statement, ask them to explain why.4: I can ... cloze exercise AB/ATA

flResourcesGlobe; slide projector or overhead projector; light sensor and datalogging equipment.

The AT document link on page 169 opens a cloze exercisesummarising the content of pages 168–169. There is also an AT

4: Practical: Concentrated raysDemonstrate the validity of the ‘concentrated rays’ explanation for the difference in temperatures between summer and winter by using three trays of sand inclined at different angles to the samesource of light/heat. Temperature differences between the trays can be recorded using normal thermometers, or datalogging equipment with heat sensors. The latter method is easier and can produce

Homework tasks

1: Worksheet 7Lc(5) provides a set of simple questions about the

seasons.2: Worksheet 7Lc(6) provides a set of more complex

questions about the seasons.3: Worksheet 7Lc(7) looks at day lengths in the Arctic and

Antarctic regions.Resources3 trays of sand; blocks of wood or other means of tiltingthe trays; lamp; 3 thermometers. Optional: 3 heat sensors;

5: When to observe ATThe AT video link on page 168 opens When to observe – a video showing Owen talking about why observations are easier in the winter, and the fact that different stars can be seen in the summer and the winter.


edition


Pupil’s materials


(1) recall that the other planets are spheres orbiting the Sun(2) recall that the Sun is a star and it is enormous

compared to the planets(3) explain that we see the other planets because they

reflect light from the Sun.Correctly use the words planet, Solar System.

Most pupils should:(4) obtain and recall information about the planets in the Solar

System, plus asteroids and comets(5) explain that the temperature of a planet and

length of its year depend on its distance from the Sun

(6) describe some ways in which ideas about the Solar System have changed over time

(7) describe some of the conditions on other planets or moons, and how this information has been found.Correctly use the words asteroid, comet, inner planet,outer planet.

Exemplar topic plans*

Topic notes• Targets for the topic can be accessed via the ActiveBook or

ActiveTeach from the link next to the initiator question.

• Pluto was ‘demoted’ from a planet to a ‘dwarf planet’ in 2006. See the Background information for more * It is envisaged that you may want to spend twice the

amount oftime on this topic for all pupils – there are two topic plans, to be used consecutively.** This table is repeated in 7Lc



Number and title Level Location Type TasksThe Solar System Must/Should PB p170–171 Classwork Explaining 1Focus on: Exploring Mars Could PB p172–173 Classwork Explaining 57Ld Quick Check Must/Should ASP Classwork Plenary 17Ld Word Sheet Must/Should ASP Homework7Ld(1) The Solar System Must CHAP Access Explaining 17Ld(2) Exploring Mars Should CHAP Access Explaining 57Ld(3) Discovering the Solar System Must/Should CHAP Classwork Explaining 37Ld(4) Space exploration Must/Should CHAP Classwork Exploring 47Ld(5) How long is a year? Must CHAP Classwork Exploring 57Ld(6) Moon orbits Should CHAP Classwork Exploring 67Ld(7) Planetary questions Must CHAP Homework Homework 27Ld(8) Circles in the sky Should CHAP Homework Homework 37Ld(9) Life on Europa? Could CHAP Homework Homework 47Ld(10) Solar System map All CHAP Classwork Starter 1SS1–2 Thinking Skills Should/Could CHAP Skills Sheet Plenary 3SS29 Line graphs Should/Could CHAP Practical Exploring 6SS30 Understanding graphs Should/Could CHAP Practical Exploring 6SS40 Group research Must/Should CHAP Classwork Exploring 4

SHOULD*PB pages170–173

Starter 2Explaining 1Explaining3Explaining 4Explaining 5Plenary 2Homework 1Starter 1Exploring 5Exploring 6Plenary 1Homework 3

MUST*PB pages170–171

Starter 2Explaining 1Explaining 2Exploring 2Plenary 2Starter 1Exploring 5Explaining 3Plenary 4Homework 2

COULD*PB pages170–173

Starter 2Explaining 1Explaining 3Explaining 4Explaining 5Plenary 2Homework 1Starter 1Exploring 6Plenary 1Homework 4

SHOULD 2 Yr KS3**PB pages168–173

7Lc Starter 17Lc Explaining 17Lc Explaining 27Lc Explaining 37Ld Explaining 17Ld Explaining 37Ld Explaining 47Ld Plenary 17Lc Homework 27Ld Starter 17Ld Exploring 57Ld Exploring 67Ld Plenary 17Ld Homework 2

7Ld The Solar System

7Ld The Solar System

Topic task plannerUse these tasks to adapt the exemplar topic plans to your own needs. Many tasks can be adapted to become different types (e.g. ‘starter’rather than ‘exploring’). AT or AB/AT at the top of a task means that the task depends on using the ActiveBook and/or ActiveTeach;where these symbols appear in brackets it indicates that the task can be carried out with or without their use. Also

Starters

Exploring tasks

1: The Solar System

1: Solar System data AB/ATThe AT spreadsheet link on page 170 opens Solar System data – a spreadsheet with facts about the planets. Pupils can be asked tofind patterns in the data, or can use this in Exploring 2 where they produce a poster of the Solar System.

Afl Worksheet 7Ld(10) provides a drawing of the Solar

Systemwith deliberate errors on it, and a corrected version of the diagram.Copy the diagrams onto an overhead transparency or use theCD-ROM version of the worksheet and a computer projector and show the first one to pupils. Ask them to identify the errors. This activity will act as a formative assessment tool, allowing you to find out how much pupils already know about the Solar System. Once

2: Solar System poster AB/ATThe first AT spreadsheet link on page 171 opens Solar System poster – this provides some directions for making a poster of the Solar System to scale (one scale for the sizes of the planets, and a different scale for the distances between them). The spreadsheet also includes a table set up to help pupils to select the correct measurement for their drawings of planets and the distancesbetween them, depending on the size of paper they have

2: Ideas about the Solar System ATA

flThe third AT presentation link on page 170 opens

Ideas aboutthe Solar System – this shows children giving various ideas aboutthe Solar System, some of which demonstrate misconceptions. Show each statement in turn and ask pupils to comment on it. If they disagree with the statement, ask them to explain why. Pupils can jot down their responses on scrap paper and keep them untilthe end of the topic. Answers are also available on the

The best results will be obtained if a whole wall can be devoted tothe display. One group of pupils could be asked to put black sugar paper up and mark out the distance each planet should be fromthe Sun. A second group could be put in charge of working outwhat the relative size each planet should be, and other groups could be asked to find photos on the internet and print them off at the correct sizes, or to make drawings and/or fact sheets about each planet. Be aware that The AT spreadsheet link on page 170 opens Solar System data – aspreadsheet with facts about the planets, which pupils could refer


edition


Task Level NC Type Objectives Skills 1 KC 2 KP 3 RC 4 COStarter 1 M/S 4 Classwork 1, 4 4bStarter 2 M/S 4–6 Classwork 1–5, 7 PLTS (Rl) 4bExploring 1 M/S 4–5 Classwork 4, 5 ICT (SS) 4bExploring 2 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1, 2, 4 Num (C), ICT (SS) 3a 4bExploring 3 M/S 4–5 Classwork 7 Lit (EW), PLTS (Ct) 4bExploring 4 S/C 4–5 Classwork 7 Lit (RR), ICT (IR,

WP, PS)3a 4b

Exploring 5 M/S 6 Classwork 5 Num (L), ICT (SS) 1a, 1c,2a, 3a

4b

Exploring 6 M/S/C 6–7 Classwork 5 PLTS (Ie), Num(L, C), ICT (SS)

1a, 1c,2a, 3a

4b a, b

Explaining 1 M/S 4–6 Classwork 1–5 4bExplaining 2 M/S 4 Classwork 1, 4, 5 1a 4bExplaining 3 M/S 4–5 Classwork 6 Lit (RR) 3a 3a 4b hExplaining 4 M/S 4–5 Classwork 7 3a 4b hExplaining 5 S/C 4–5 Classwork 7 Lit (RR), ICT (IR) 3a, 4a 4b hPlenary 1 M/S 4–7 Classwork 1–7, previous

topics4b

Plenary 2 M/S 4–6 Classwork 1–5, 7 PLTS (Rl) 4bPlenary 3 S/C 4–6 Classwork 5, 7 PLTS (Ct) 4bPlenary 4 M 4–5 Classwork 1–5 Lit (WF) 4bHomework 1 S/C 4–5 Homework 4 4bHomework 2 M 4–5 Homework 1, 2, 4, 5 4bHomework 3 S 4–5 Homework 6 Lit (EC) 3a 4b hHomework 4 C 6 Homework 8 Lit (EC) 1b 4b c

The Solar System

Explaining tasksResources

Black sugar paper; plain paper; coloured pencils; scissors; glue; rulers; compasses; measuring tape; drawing pins/Blu-Tack®. Optional: access to the internet and a colour printer.

1: Pupil’s Book pages 170–171 (AT)This provides information about the Solar System. Worksheet7Ld(1) is the Access Sheet.• The second AT presentation link on page 170 opens The Solar

System – a presentation summarising some of the key facts about the planets in the Solar System. It also explains what asteroidsand comets are in a little more depth than is mentioned in

3: Holiday emailAsk pupils to imagine that they are going on holiday to a hotel on Ganymede (a moon of Jupiter) or Rhea (one of Saturn’s moons). Pupils write an email to a friend describing their holiday. Ask them to draw a picture that could be sent with their email, or to finda suitable picture on the internet (there are a number of artists’ impressions of what the view might be like from the moon of a gas giant) and to describe what they did. Some things they could be asked to mention are what they had to wear if they went outside, what the gravity was like and how this affected how they ate, drank, moved around and

You could also discuss with the class the reasons why we thinkthat Earth is almost certainly the only body in the Solar System that supports life. This is mainly because the temperature is themost suitable, but also because Earth’s gravity is strong enough to retain a reasonably dense atmosphere, and we

4: Exploring the Solar SystemAsk pupils to find out how scientists know what they do about the other planets in our Solar System. Be aware that images downloaded from the internet may be under copyright. Worksheet7Ld(4) provides some guidelines and suggestions for research. Pupils could present their findings as a report, a presentation or a poster. Skills Sheet 40 may help pupils to organise their work in a team.

2: Scale representation of the planetsGet pupils to act out the planets. Place Mercury and the Sun 1 m away from each other on a scale. Ask pupils to work out how far all the other planets will be away from the Sun and then standat these distances on a football pitch or in the school hall. Pupils could take scale representations of the various planets and the Sun with them, e.g. a beach ball for the 3: Discovering the Solar SystemWorksheet 7Ld(3) looks at how ideas about the Solar System have changed. It provides a set of key points in the development of our current knowledge about the Solar System and asks pupils to find out more about each one, and then to order the events to form a timeline.

5: Length of a year (AB/AT)Worksheet 7Ld(5) provides information about the year length of each planet and asks pupils to plot the data and work out if thereis a relationship between the distance of a planet from the Sun and the length of its year. Pupils’ conclusions are only expected to be of the form ‘the further a planet is from the Sun, the longer it takes to

4: Exploring the Solar System AT• The fifth AT presentation link on page 170 opens

Exploring the Solar System – a presentation summarising some of the key events in the exploration of the Solar System by unmanned spacecraft.

• The AT video link on page 170 opens Observing the Solar System

– this shows Owen explaining what comets are, how amateur astronomers have spotted many comets before professional astronomers and some of the reasons for this. At one point Owen mentions the rings of Saturn being seen ‘closed-up’ or ‘open’. The view we have of the rings depends on the orientation of Saturnand its rings. ‘Closed-up” refers to seeing the rings edge-on, when they just appear as a thin line in a sufficiently powerful telescope. We see ‘open’ rings when we are viewing Saturn from above or below the plane of the

The second AT spreadsheet link on page 171 opens How long is ayear? – this contains the same data as Worksheet 7Ld(5), so pupils can plot their graphs using a spreadsheet 6: Moon orbits (AB/AT)Worksheet 7Ld(6) asks pupils to consider if there might be a general rule relating the distance of an orbiting body to the timetaken for one orbit by looking at the distances and orbital times of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. The data have been The third AT spreadsheet link on page 171 opens Moon orbits – thiscontains the same information as provided on Worksheet 7Ld(6), so that pupils can use a spreadsheet package for processing the information.If pupils are not using ICT, graph scales will be easier if they only plot Metis to Callisto when looking at Jupiter’s moons, and Atlasto Rhea when looking at Saturn. This practical can be used to carry out an AT1 Investigation, although the use of the instructions on Worksheet 7Ld(6) will limit the marks pupils can get for planning. A set of level descriptions is provided

5: Pupil’s Book pages 172–173 (AT)This gives a brief overview of the exploration of Mars, from the early telescope observations that led to the idea that there werecanals on Mars, to the Spirit and Opportunity rovers that were still operating on the surface at the time of writing. Worksheet 7Ld(2) is the Access Sheet.• Must: help pupils to work out the scales for their graphs

and plotthe points.

• Could: if pupils have studied Unit 7K, they can be shown how to work out the speed at which a planet is moving by calculating the circumference of its orbit and dividing by the time taken. They can then investigate if there is a connection between the speed of a planet and its distance from the Sun. If pupils wish to investigate a possible relationship between the mass of a moon and its orbital period, data is available on the internet (they should find

• The AT video link on page 172 opens Finding out about Mars

– the clip shows Owen discussing what the early observers could have seen on Mars with the telescope technology available at the time, and what is known about it today.

You could follow this up by asking pupils to find out more aboutSpirit and Opportunity and write a short report on whatdiscoveries were made using the two rovers. They could

Skills Sheets 29 and 30 may be useful.



7Ld The Solar SystemPlenaries

1: Quick CheckAsk pupils to draw a concept map to summarise what they know about the Solar System. This is a good opportunity to also revise material about the Earth, the Moon and the seasons. The Quick Check sheet provides a list of words that pupils should try to include, and a possible way of starting theirconcept maps.

2: Ideas about the Solar System revisited ATA

flThe third AT presentation link on page 170 opens

Ideas aboutthe Solar System – this shows children giving various ideas aboutthe Solar System. If this was used at the beginning of the topic (Starter 2), ask pupils to look at the comments they noted down and make any necessary amendments. Pupils can then compare their comments with the comments provided on the presentation.

3: Thinking about the solar system (AT)• PMI: the planets in our Solar System should be much

closer together. (Possible answers: P – it would be much easier to travel between the planets; M – the Earth might have to be closer to the Sun, so the Earth might be too hot; I – would it affect the tides?)

• OOO: Mercury, Jupiter, Venus. (Possible answers: Jupiter is the only one with moons; Jupiter is the only outer planet; Mercury is the only one that is not shrouded in The fourth AT presentation link on page 170 opens

Thinking aboutthe Solar System – a PowerPoint presentation version of 4: I can ... cloze exercise AB/ATA



Homework tasks

1: Ask pupils to make up mnemonics to help them to remember

the order of the planets. Here are a few suggestions to get them started:Mad Voles Eat Moles; Just Shrews Use NewsMaybe Veggies Eat Meat Just Secretly Underneath NoodlesMy Very Evil Mother Just Sent Us NothingMaking Very Easy Mnemonics Just Seems Uncannily Natural

2: Worksheet 7Ld(7) provides questions on the Solar System.3: Worksheet 7Ld(8) looks at how ideas about the Solar

System have changed from the early Sun-centred


edition


Pupil’s materials


(1) explain that stars produce their own heat and light(2) recall that the Sun is a star(3) recall that a pattern of stars is called a constellation.

Correctly use the words star, constellation.Most pupils should:

(4) explain that the stars appear to move across the sky because of the Earth’s rotation

(5) recall that distances in space are measured in light years(6) explain that all galaxies in space make up the Universe(7) suggest some reasons for or against spending

money on space research(8) describe how modern astronomers use the constellations(9) describe how and why astronomers in different

countries work together.Correctly use the words galaxy, light year, Milky Way,Universe.






Starter 1Starter 2Explaining 1Exploring 1Exploring 2Plenary 1Plenary 6Plenary 9Homework 1COULD

PB pages174–176

Starter 1Explaining 1Explaining 2Explaining 3Exploring 2Plenary 2Plenary 3Homework 2Homework 3


Starter 1Explaining 1Explaining 2Explaining 3Exploring 2Plenary 2Plenary 3Plenary 9Homework 2SHOULD 2 Yr KS3

PB pages174–176

7Le Starter 17Le Explaining 17Le Explaining 27Le Explaining 37Le Exploring 27Le Plenary 27Le Plenary 37Le Plenary 97Le Homework 2

Number and title Level Location Type TasksStarry, starry nights All PB p174–175 Classwork Explaining 1Studying space All PB p176 Classwork Exploring 27L Quick Quiz Must/Should ASP Classwork Plenary 57L Quick Quiz Answer Sheet Must/Should ASP Classwork Plenary 57L End of Unit Test Must/Should ASP Classwork Plenary 87L Level Ladder Must/Should ASP Classwork Plenary 97Le Quick Check Must/Should ASP Classwork Plenary 17Le Word Sheet Must/Should ASP Homework7Le(1) Starry, starry nights Must CHAP Access Explaining 17Le(2) How big is the Universe? Must/Should CHAP Classwork Starter 27Le(3) International astronomy Should CHAP Classwork Explaining 37Le(4) Spending: for or against? Should CHAP Classwork Exploring 27Le(5) Space revision Must CHAP Homework Homework 17Le(6) Constellations and star names Should CHAP Homework Homework 27Le(7) The Milky Way Could CHAP Homework Homework 3SS41 Debates and speaking Must/Should CHAP Classwork Exploring 2

7Le Starry, starry nights

7Le Starry, starry nights


• Could: ask pupils to work through Worksheet 7Le(6), and then

to produce posters showing the constellation boundaries and the brightest stars in each constellation. If they search for theconstellation name in Wikipedia, the entry usually

Starters

1: Ideas about the stars ATThe second AT presentation link on page 174 opens Ideas aboutthe stars – this shows children giving various ideas about the stars, some of which demonstrate misconceptions. Show each statementin turn and ask pupils to comment on it. If they disagree with the statement, ask them to explain why. Answers are also available on the presentation, but you may wish to

Resources (per group)Black paper; white paper; aluminium foil (or silver stars);scissors; glue; chalk; ruler; coloured pencils; worksheet from theActiveBook.

2: Pupil’s Book page 176 (AT)Ask pupils to consider whether we should be spending money on finding out more about the Solar System and the stars when there are more pressing matters here on Earth, such as reducing poverty and hunger. The Pupil’s Book gives a few facts about thecosts of the Hubble Space Telescope and the ESA budget (for 2005)compared to the cost of building new hospitals.Pupils could suggest the benefits of space research, or suggest things that they think should have higher priorities for public spending. Worksheet 7Le(4) provides some more opinions. Skills Sheet 41 may be useful.

2: How big is the Universe?Worksheet 7Le(2) provides pictures of objects at different scales. Ask pupils to cut out the pictures and sort them into order of size. Pupils can then be asked to label each picture – this will allow you to find out how many of the class know what a galaxy is. They canalso be prompted for the name of our galaxy.

Exploring tasks

1: Constellations posters AB/ATThe AT document link on page 174 opens Constellations posters– a document with suggestions for making posters to showdifferent constellations, and drawings of some constellations to get them started. You may wish to give each group a particular set of constellations.

The AT video link on page 176 opens Spending on space – thisshows Owen explaining why he thinks it is worth spending money

Explaining tasks

• Must: pupils use the drawings provided, enlarged to A4 size on a

photocopier, and make posters showing the constellations.

• Should: pupils use the internet to find out what the names of the constellations mean and find out about any legends associatedwith them. This information can be added to the posters.

1: Pupil’s Book pages 174–175This looks at stars, constellations and galaxies. Worksheet 7Le(1)is the Access Sheet. It is worth emphasising that a light year is a measure of distance, not of time.


edition


Task Level NC Type Objectives Skills 1 KC 2 KP 3 RC 4 COStarter 1 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1–6 PLTS (Rl) 4bStarter 2 M/S 4–5 Classwork 5–6 4bExploring 1 M/S/C 4–5 Classwork 3, 9 PLTS (Tw), Lit (RR) 3a 4bExploring 2 M/S 4–6 Classwork 7 Lit (DS) 2b 4b jExplaining 1 M/S/C 4–5 Classwork 1–6 Num (C) 4bExplaining 2 M/S 4 Classwork 3 3a 4bExplaining 3 S/C 4–5 Classwork 9 Lit (EC) 4a 4b dPlenary 1 M/S 4–7 Classwork whole unit 4bPlenary 2 M/S 4–5 Classwork 1–6 PLTS (Rl) 4bPlenary 3 S/C 4–7 Classwork whole unit PLTS (Rl) 4bPlenary 4 M/S 4–7 Classwork 1–6, 8 4bPlenary 5 M/S 4–6 Classwork whole unit PLTS (Rl) 4bPlenary 6 M/S 4–7 Classwork whole unit PLTS (Ep) 4bPlenary 7 M 4–5 Classwork 1–6 Lit (WF) 4bPlenary 8 M/S 4–7 Classwork whole unitPlenary 9 M/S 4–7 Classwork whole unit PLTS (Rl, Sm)Homework 1 M 5–7 Homework whole unit 4bHomework 2 S 5 Homework 8 Lit (EC) 3a 4bHomework 3 C 6 Homework 10 Lit (EC) 4b

Starry, starry nights

• Could: ask pupils to calculate the time taken for light to get

from the Sun to Earth. The answer should be 500 seconds, or8.3 minutes. (Earth to Sun distance is given on page

4: Concept mapA

fl If pupils carried out Plenary 1 in Topic 7Ld (making a conceptmap to summarise their knowledge of the Earth and the SolarSystem), they could extend their concept maps to include 2: Observing the stars AT

• The first AT video link on page 174 opens Observing the stars

– this shows Owen talking about the stars and other objects that can be observed with telescopes.

• The second AT video link on page 174 opens Constellations – which explains what constellations are and how different cultures have seen different patterns in the sky.

5: Quick Quiz revisitedA

fl Revisit the 7L Quick Quiz to test pupils’ knowledge of thecontent of this unit. If you have the ASP on CD-ROM use Quick Quiz2 which provides the same activity but with the answers arrangedin a different order. Pupils could fill in their answers on the 7L Quick

3: International astronomyWorksheet 7Le(3) looks at how astronomers collaborate in terms of using observatories on opposite sides of the world, contributing both funding and expertise to international projects, and also at theprocess of peer review.

6: Astronomy club displayA

flAsk pupils to compile a display to introduce

newcomers tothe local astronomy club. The display will use photos and diagramsfrom the Pupil’s Book (see suggested list below), and pupils need to write captions to explain what the pictures show. The selection of photos and their captions should explain what we know aboutthe Earth and its seasons, the Moon and the planets, and stars. This activity can be done as an assessed task. A sheet of level descriptions is provided on page 310 of the ASP. If used for this purpose, you may wish to ask pupils to expand verbally on anycaptions that are short on detail. If time permits, pupils could also choose photos from the internet and compile a

Plenaries

1: Quick CheckA

fl The Quick Check sheet provides a set of questions andanswers that can be cut out and made into cards. These cards can• give pupils just the shaded question cards and ask them to write

down the answers• use the cards as a question loop activity (in this case

each card should contain a question and the answer printed next to it)

• use the cards to play dominoes (again, each card should consist of a question and an answer)

• use the cards to play snap, where a ‘matching pair’ is a question and its correct answer (each card should be just one question or one answer)

• give pupils or groups of pupils the cards and ask them to match the questions and the answers, or have a competition to see which group can match all the cards in the shortest time (each card should be just one question or one answer)

• play a card matching game (pairs or pelmanism) where all the cards are laid out face down, and pupils take turns to turn over two cards. If the two cards are a matching question and answer,the pupil keeps the cards. If they are not, the cards are turned face down again and the next pupil takes their

• diagram D on page 165, which shows the orbits of the Earth and

Moon• photograph E on page 165, which shows the Moon in the sky• photograph D on page 167, which shows a solar eclipse• photograph A on page 168, which shows summer and

winter scenes• diagram A on page 170, which shows the Solar System• photograph D on page 175, which shows the Andromeda

7: I can ... cloze exercise AB/ATA



8: End of Unit Test

2: Ideas about the stars revisited AT A

flAfl

Use the 7L End of Unit Test. A mark scheme is given in the ASP. Encourage pupils to identify areas that are still weak and toformulate plans to strengthen those areas.

The second AT presentation link on page 174 opens Ideasabout the stars – this shows children giving various ideas about thestars. If this was used at the beginning of the topic (Starter 1), ask pupils to look at the comments they noted down and to make any necessary amendments. Pupils can then

9: Level ladderA

fl Pupils should tick the boxes on the Level Ladder to recordthose statements that they feel they know. Alternatively they canuse a traffic light system or the CRI index (see Introduction, page17) to record degrees of certainty. Ideally pupils should be certain of all statements at a level to be sure they are

If it has not been used already, show each statement in turn andask pupils to comment on it. If they disagree with the statement ask them to explain why.3: Test questions and mark schemeA

flAsk pupils to make up a set of test questions on the

contentof this topic or the content of the unit as a whole. Each group couldwrite a question worth 4 marks, and also write a mark scheme for it. The questions could be given to other groups and thenthe answers compared with the mark schemes as part of

Homework tasks

1: Worksheet 7Le(5) provides a revision activity.2: Worksheet 7Le(6) provides a comprehension activity

on how some stars are named for the constellation they are in.

3: Worksheet 7Le(7) provides a comprehension exercise on the shapes of galaxies.



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