LI: We are learning about the Sun, Earth and Moon.

SC: I can name and describe the shape of the Sun, Earth and Moon.

SC: I can sort the Sun, Earth and Moon by size.

SC: I understand that the Earth and the Moon rotate/spin.

SC: I can describe the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

SC: I can describe the Moon’s orbit around the Earth.

Primary 1b decided to explore Space this term after watching Tim Peake in the news before the Christmas holidays. Last week we used a 3D mind map to share and discuss what we already know and think about space. Then we decided what we would like to find out this term.

Here are some examples:

“Planets go around the sun.” Daniel

“The moon spins around.” Brandon

“There’s a planet called Mars. It’s red and goes around the sun and I think it’s got volcanoes.” Isla MacKinnon

“Astronauts go up in space. Tim Peake is staying until summer and that’s a really long time.” Aimee

“How big is the sun?” Finlay

“How big is the Earth?” Lucas

“Why does the moon change shape?” Rory

“I want to learn about the moon spinning.” Kaitlyn

On Monday we decided to learn about the size, position and movement of the Sun, Earth and Moon. First we explored an interactive game to compare the shape and size of them. Lots of us had never heard of a ‘sphere’ before, so we agreed that we would like to learn more about 3D shapes soon too. After learning about the orbit of the Earth and Moon, we worked in groups of 3 using balloons to recreate the position of the Sun and the rotation and orbits of the Earth and Moon.

It was quite tricky at first. We had to talk to each other lots to plan our movements and concentrate to make sure that we didn’t bump into each other. Here is a video of Finlay, Oscar and Rory, showing everyone how it’s done: