Sun, Moon and Stars A Brite Star Science Copyright © 2023 by The Brite Star Foundation, Inc., a 501 (c)3 All rights reserved. Published by The Brite Star Foundation, Inc. 11411 Southern Highlands Parkway Suite 338 Las Vegas, Nevada 89141 Vincent W. Goett, Publisher ISBN Paperback
979-8-89750-103-8
Digital
979-8-89750-104-5
No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
Monday at Brite Star School wasCynthia’s favorite day of the week. That wasthe day Professor Stanley, her science teacher, began a new unit. Science was Cynthia’s favorite subject. She loved seeing things in nature and understanding things in the world.
Professor Stanley began class by asking, “What things do you see in the sky?” “The sun,” Cynthia said. “Atnight there’s also the moon and stars.” Professor Stanley told the class they would be learning about the sun, moon, and stars, and the patterns they makein the sky. Cynthia wasexcited to learn about these things!
“We’re going outside, Professor Stanley said, “bring your science notebooks.” When they got outside Professor Stanley told the class to draw what they sawin the sky. “Then, choose a partner and trace the shadow he or she makeson the ground when they stand facing the school,” he said. “We will come outside to trace shadows three more times today.” Cynthia thought that wassilly. Why would they trace the same thing three times?
When they went back inside, they had more lessons and the morning went by quickly. Soon it waslunchtime and Professor Stanley led the class outside to trace the shadows and draw the sky again. Cynthia wassurprised when she drew the sky because the sun wasin a different place! She didn’t know the sun moved. When she traced her friend’s shadow it had moved, too! Cynthia wascurious about these changes.
The class wentback inside for more lessons but Cynthia couldn’t wait to go outside again to see if there were more changes in the sky. When the school day wasalmost over Professor Stanley took them back outside. The sun had moved again! The students quickly drew the changes in their science notebooks.
The kids outside after school. Looking up at the sun and it is in a different position.
“Now,” said Professor Stanley, it’s time to trace the shadows.” Cynthia was amazed that the shadows had moved, too! They even changed shapes. “Science is cool!” Cynthia said. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents what she had learned. She wassure they had never noticed that the sun moved.
The kids looking at shadows and they are a different size. Probably elongated since the sun is setting.
The first thing Professor Stanley said the next day was, “Students, did you know that the sun actually never moved?” “No way!We sawit move,” said Miles. “The sun stays in once place,” Professor Stanley said. “It wasactually the earth that wasmoving. Everything in our solar system is constantly moving. The earth is the third planet from the sun and it takes 24 hours to rotate. This is what makesour day and night. As the earth rotates, it also travels around the sun.”
The teacher is drawing on the blackboard. The Sun is in the center and the earth is moving around it. Show the earth and draw a dotted line to show it is moving around the Sun.
“It doesn’t feel like the earth is moving,” Cynthia said. “We can’t feel the earth moving because weare all moving together. The earth’s oceans and atmosphere are spinning along withthe earth at the same speed,” Professor Stanley said. That made sense to Cynthia.
Cynthia question the teacher. She is perplexed. the teacher is explaining to Margaret.
Then Professor Stanley did an activity so the students could understand how the earth, sun, and moon move. He pointed a flashlight at a globe. “The earth rotates while it is revolving around the sun,” he said. He had a student hold the earth and spin it very slowly. “See that while the earth is spinning the sun shines on different parts of it. That’s how it becomes night and day for us,” Professor Stanley said. “It’s night time when weare not facing the sun.” “Where’s the moon?” Cynthia asked. Professor Stanley gave a gray ball to another student and asked him to move the ball around the earth.
Teacher with flashlight pointed at earth.
A kids is holding a globe (earth) and spinning it slowly. He has a small gray ball in his hand (moon) and is moving that around the earth.
“It takes the earth an entire year to go all the wayaround the sun,” Professor Stanley said. “The moon takes about 27 days to revolve around the earth.” Cynthia thought that wasa long time. “Does the moon wesee at night change?” she asked. “Your homework every night for the next month will be to learn about that,” Professor Stanley said. Youwill need your science notebooks at home.” Cynthia was excited because she could show her notebook to her parents.
teacher explaining to class. Cynthia is at herdesk with her science notebook open
“Look at the moon every night and draw what it looks like,” Professor Stanley said. “Draw anything else that you see in the night sky, too.” Over the nextmonth the class learned that the moon only rotates one time asit moves around the earth. “That means weonly ever see one side of the moon,” Professor Stanley said. He also told the class that the stars they see at night are just like the sun. However, they are muchfurther away fromearth.
Cynthia at home at night looking at the moon. Maybe it is a half moon. She has her science notebook open drawing in it.
The students learned about the different seasons on earth and whyin some places the temperature changes from hot to cold. “It depends on how muchtime the sun has to warmthose parts of earth,” Professor Stanley taught. Cynthia learned that when it is winter on one side of the earth it is summer on the other side.
Cynthia with a coat on standing in a winter scene. There is a thought bubble showing another kid in a summer scene— maybe at the beach.
The class learned that a year is divided into four seasons. Summer is the warmest because the daytime is longer. Fall is in between summer and winter and it begins to get cooler because the days are a little shorter. Winter is the coldest because the sun shines for less time. Spring is when days start to get longer and there is more time withthesun.
page divided into 4 squares. Illustrate each season in oneof the squares.
At the end of the month everyone brought in their science notebook drawings. The class talked about what they hadseen. They learned that at the beginning of the month there is a “new moon.” That’s when the moon is high overhead in the middle of the day because it is between the sun and earth. Professor Stanley put up a poster to show the different names for each stage of the moon.
Cynthia loved learning about the sun, moon, stars and seasons. She still had a lot of questions about space. Professor Stanley told the class that they would keep on learning about space every year in school. “Wow!” thought Cynthia, “There mustbe a lot of things to learn about space!”
Think About It 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
What is Cynthia’s favorite subject in school? Does the sun move in the sky? How long does it take the earth to go around the sun? Why does earth have night and day? How many seasons are in ayear?
Let’s work together! Make ascience notebook. Tracea friend’s shadow at different times of the day to see howit changes.
I will . . . • Pay attention to howthings change in the world around me. • Draw the night sky to see howthe moon and stars move. • Keep a record of howthe daylight is longer or shorter as the seasons change. The earth is an amazing place. You can study the things that happen in the sky. You can learn how the moon controls the oceans and how sunlight helps thingsgrow. You will never run out of things to learn!