ACARA v9 CONTENT DESCRIPTION “describe daily and seasonal changes in the environment and explore how these changes affect everyday life”
Builds on what young children already notice: the sun comes up and goes down, some days are hot and some are cold, and the world looks different at different times. Here those everyday observations are named and sorted into patterns of day, night and the seasons.
Watching the day change
Every day the sun seems to move across the sky. It is low in the morning, high in the middle of the day, and low again in the evening before it sets. When the sun is up it is day and the sky is bright. When it goes down it is night and the sky is dark, and we see the moon and the stars instead.
The sun moves across the sky
Tap to move the sun. In the morning it is low, at midday it is high, and in the evening it goes low again.
It is morning. The sun is low in the sky and the day is just starting.
Bright day, dark night
Day and night take turns. The sun gives us light and warmth in the day, and at night it is darker and cooler. Children can watch a shadow to feel the day change too: when the sun is low the shadow is long, and when the sun is high the shadow is short.
Day and night
When the sun is up it is day and the sky is bright. When the sun is down it is night and the sky is dark.
The sun is up, so it is day. The sky is light and we can see without a torch.
A shadow grows and shrinks
A shadow is made when the pole blocks the sun. It is long when the sun is low and short when the sun is high.
When the sun is low in the sky, the shadow stretches out long on the far side of the pole.
The seasons of the year
Across a whole year the weather changes in a pattern we call the seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Trees, flowers and animals change with them. The seasons come round in the same order every year, so we can guess what is coming next.
The season wheel
Turn the wheel through the four seasons. The weather and the tree change as the year goes round.
It is spring, when the weather is mild and rainy. New buds are growing on the tree.
How the change affects us
These changes affect everyday life. On a hot day we wear light clothes and a sun hat and drink lots of water; on a cold day we put on a warm coat and a hat. We turn lights on at night, plan picnics for sunny days, and choose what to do by the weather. Ask children what they wear and do in each season near them.
What we wear and do
The weather changes what we put on and what we do. Flip between a hot day and a cold day.
On a hot day we wear light clothes and a sun hat, drink lots of water, and play in the shade.
Why this matters
Noticing day, night and the seasons is the first step in looking at the sky and the world like a scientist. Spotting these patterns helps children make sense of the world around them and get ready for whatever the day or the season brings.