Spinning Earth Teacher's Notes

Teacher explanation for this activity:

Ask one student to stand in the centre of an open space. Provide the student with a label, ‘Sun’. 

Ask another student to spin anti-clockwise on his/her axis (when viewed from above) while slowly moving in orbit around the Sun. Provide this student with a label, ‘Earth’. 

Ask questions, such as:

• How is spinning different from orbiting? (Orbiting means to travel around another object.)

• How long will it take for the Earth to spin once on its axis? (One day.)

Introduce the enlarged copy of ‘The Spinning Earth’. Use the work sample resource sheet 2 to aid in your explanation.

Discuss with students, asking the following questions:

• Which is the Sun and which is the Earth? Why do you think that? (The Sun is larger than the Earth.) Label the Sun and Earth.

• Are the Sun and Earth that close together? Why is it represented this way?

• How do light rays travel from the Sun to the Earth? (In straight lines). Model how to draw the Sunʼs rays.

• How can we show that the Earth spins? (Draw curved arrows.) Which way does the Earth spin? (Anti-clockwise.) Model how to draw arrows to show the Earth spinning in an anti-clockwise direction.

• Which part of the Earth is having day-time? (The side facing the Sun.)

• Which part of the Earth is having night-time? (The side facing away from the Sun, which is in shadow.) Model how to shade the other side of the Earth to represent the shadow side.

• Where are we if we are having day-time? (On the side facing the Sun.) Model how to draw a cross on that side.

Explain to students that they will complete their own copy of ‘The spinning Earth’ including the second part showing where they are at night-time.