TheLearnDen

Year 5 · Science

Earths Rotation: Day And Night

Year 5 learners practise why do we have day and night.

The activities include Explore Night and Day and Why We Have Time Zones, Explore the Effects of the Movement of the Earth, Investigate What Causes Our Seasons, and related practice. The checked support below includes video, interactive, teaching, lesson. Open a resource in its provider's website and choose the format that best helps the learner explain the idea independently.

Understand the key idea

Earth rotates once on its axis in about 24 hours. The side facing the Sun experiences daylight while the side turned away experiences night, making the Sun appear to move across the sky.

Common mix-up

Day and night are not caused by the Sun travelling around Earth each day. They are caused by Earth rotating.

Try this first

  1. Use a lamp as the Sun and a ball as Earth.
  2. Rotate the ball and observe which half is lit.
  3. Explain how the same rotation produces different local times around the world.

Ask: Why can it be daytime in one country while another country is in darkness?

Activities covered

  • Explore Night and Day and Why We Have Time Zones
  • Explore the Effects of the Movement of the Earth
  • Investigate What Causes Our Seasons
  • Understand How Day Turns into Night
  • Understand How Our Seasons are Related to the Movement of the Earth
  • Understand How the Movement of the Earth Causes Night and Day

Checked learning resources

  • Why We Have Day And Night

    Oak National Academy · Video · Opens on the provider website

    Year 5 science lesson. You can explain why we have day and night. The axis is an imaginary straight line which goes through the centre of the Earth from the North to the South Pole Day and night are due to the Earth rota

  • Why We Have Day And Night worksheet and quizzes

    Oak National Academy · Interactive · Opens on the provider website

    Year 5 science lesson. You can explain why we have day and night. The axis is an imaginary straight line which goes through the centre of the Earth from the North to the South Pole Day and night are due to the Earth rota

  • Why We Have Day And Night lesson slides

    Oak National Academy · Teaching · Opens on the provider website

    Year 5 science lesson. You can explain why we have day and night. The axis is an imaginary straight line which goes through the centre of the Earth from the North to the South Pole Day and night are due to the Earth rota

  • Science: Earth and Space: Night Follows Day Year 5 Lesson 3

    Twinkl · Lesson · Account may be required

    Year 5 lesson presentation and activities explain how Earth rotates once every 24 hours to cause day and night, the apparent movement of the Sun and differences between places and time zones.

  • BBC Bitesize: Earth and Space KS2

    BBC Bitesize · Teaching · Opens on the provider website

    KS2 teaching articles, animations and activities about the Earth, Sun, Moon, planets, rotation, orbits, seasons and day and night.

  • Science: Earth and Space: The Four Seasons Year 5 Lesson 4

    Twinkl · Lesson · Account may be required

    Year 5 lesson plan, presentation and activities explain how Earth’s axial tilt and orbit around the Sun cause the seasons and include interpretation of day-length graphs.

  • Earth, Sun and Moon

    Oak National Academy · Lesson · Opens on the provider website

    Year 5 Science resource matched to why do we have day and night.

  • How the Movement of the Earth and Sun Cause Days, Seasons and Years

    YouTube — Virtual Elementary School · Video · Opens on the provider website

    Primary science lesson connects Earth’s 24-hour rotation, apparent movement of the Sun and changing shadows with its tilted 365-day orbit and the seasons.