Year 4 Space

Lesson 1: Solar Scale

The solar system consists of the Sun and all objects that orbit it, including the eight planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), their moons, dwarf planets like Pluto, asteroids, and comets.

Can you remember the planets in order?

Try this mnemonic: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles.

During our lesson, we will find your number. The number of shoe lengths end-to-end it takes to walk from the edge of the Sun to planet Neptune.

What is your number?

Terrestrial planets have solid, rocky surfaces, while gas giants are massive, primarily composed of gases like hydrogen and helium, with no solid surface.

Terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Gas Giants: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Scale

Our project will need two scales, one for the planets and one for the distances between the planets. This is required to make the model fit our classroom.

Distance scale: 1 sheet of toilet paper equals 30,000,000 (30 million) km

The problem is that the planets are way too small to see or draw! So we will make them 100 times larger, yet they are still small!

Learn More Here

planetscale.MOV

Planetary Scale Model

Solar Poster project

Your task is to create an interactive poster about how the Moon, Earth, and the Sun interact.

Your poster must include:

Pictures
Text
Interactive elements

You will have four lessons to complete this task.

Assembling your poster

Parts

A. Background poster

B. Sun, Earth & Moon

C. Two connectors

D. 3X Split pins

Poster

Download HERE

Answers HERE

Lesson 2: Day & Night

Day vs. Night

Creation Day 4: God made the Sun and Moon. Genesis 1:16

Read the story of Creation in Genesis 1.

Discussion Questions:

What is daytime?
What is night?
What makes day and night different from each other?
How long does day last? How long does night last?
Why does the Sun seem to move across the sky during the day?
What causes day and night to happen on Earth?
Do people all over the world have day and night at the same time? Why or why not?
Why do the lengths of day and night change during the year?
What evidence could we use to show that the Earth spins on its axis?
How might day and night be different for astronauts in space compared to people on Earth?

Day and night are caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis, which is an imaginary line running through the planet's poles. As the Earth spins, different parts of the planet face the Sun, experiencing daylight, while the opposite side faces away, experiencing night. This rotation takes about 24 hours to complete, which is why a full day and night cycle lasts approximately 24 hours.

Solar Orbits

How the planets in our solar system orbit the sun?

Screen Recording 2025-11-02 at 1.32.46 pm.mov

Sun Earth Moon

The movement causes day/night, seasons, tides and moon phases!

Hands-on Lesson: Moon Craters

Lesson 3: Seasons

Tilt: Seasons

The main cause of seasons is the Earth's axial tilt, which is about 23.5 degrees. This tilt causes different parts of the Earth to receive more direct sunlight at different times of the year as the planet orbits the Sun. When a hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, it receives more direct sunlight, has longer days, and experiences summer. Conversely, when it's tilted away, it receives less direct sunlight, experiences shorter days, and has winter.

Equinox

An equinox is a special day when the sun is directly above the Earth's equator, making day and night about the same length, or 12 hours each. This happens twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, and it marks the change of seasons. Think of it like a perfectly balanced seesaw, with the Earth receiving equal sunlight.

The Moons Surface.

What can you see?

What made these holes?

Lesson 4: Moon Phases

The moon phases are the different ways the moon appears to change shape over a cycle of about 29.5 days. This happens because the moon reflects sunlight, and as it orbits Earth, our view of the sunlit portion changes.

Remember:

Waxing = Bigger

Waning = Smaller

Hands-on Lesson: OREO Moon Phase Handout: Link HERE

Tides: Neap & Spring

Spring and neap tides are caused by the sun and moon's gravity pulling on Earth's oceans. Spring tides are the highest and lowest tides, happening when the sun, moon, and Earth are in a straight line, creating a stronger pull. Neap tides are moderate tides with less difference between high and low water, occurring when the sun and moon are at right angles to each other, partially cancelling out their pulling forces.

Ocean Tides

How does the Moon and and Sun cause our tides?

Lesson 5: Eclipses Lunar & Solar

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth, while a lunar eclipse occurs when Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on the Moon.

Video Link HERE

How to remember the difference. HERE

Aboriginal culture echoes around the globe

Artwork and stories about Sky Country from the Wajarri Yamaji community of Western Australia feature in a new international art exhibition Cosmic Echoes, including interpretations of the advanced telescopes at our WA observatory.

Learn more HERE

The Moon From Australian Indigenous Astronomy

In most Aboriginal cultures, the Sun is a woman and the Moon is a man. Some Aboriginal communities describe the Sun woman pursuing the Moon man across the sky from day to day, occasionally meeting during an eclipse.

Learn more HERE

Research

Moon Phases

Seasons

Tides

Rotation is when an object spins on its own axis, while revolution is when an object orbits around another object.

Scale: Sun - Earth - Moon

Approximately 3.66 moons could fit across the diameter of the Earth, and about 1.3 million Earths could fit inside the Sun. This is based on the Sun's diameter being about 109 times Earth's, and Earth's diameter being about 3.66 times the Moon's.

Moon in Earth: About 3.66 moons fit across the diameter of the Earth.
Earth in Sun: About 1.3 million Earths can fit inside the Sun.
Diameter comparison: The Sun's diameter is about 109 times greater than Earth's diameter.

Assessment & Reflection

Page updated

Report abuse