Earth and the Sky: a full term of science

Ten ready-to-teach lessons for Year 2 Earth and space. Print this pack and the term is prepared: every lesson comes with a step-by-step plan, the questions to ask, student worksheets, cut-out cards, an assessment kit and every answer.

Start here: five minutes to Monday

1. Skim the term at a glance on the next page.
2. Print the lesson you need. Each lesson is three A4 sheets: plan, worksheet, cards or tickets.
3. Gather the few everyday items under “You need” on the plan. Nothing needs a science cupboard.
4. Open the free interactive unit on your board or projector. Every plan tells you which picture to show and when.
5. Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No science background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each plan explains the sky idea in plain words, lists the wrong ideas children often carry, and gives model answers, so you can walk in and teach it even if space was never your subject.

Two ways to run each lesson

Every lesson works as one 60-minute block, or as two 30-minute sessions. The split point is marked in every plan. Ten lessons fill a weekly science slot for a whole term, or up to twenty shorter sessions if your timetable runs small blocks.

The term at a glance

One lesson a week for a term. Each lesson stands on the ones before it, so run them in order where you can.

How the sequence builds

Lesson 1 names what is in the sky. Lessons 2 to 5 watch each sky object in turn: the sun by day, the day-and-night pattern, the moon over a month, and the stars at night. Lessons 6 to 8 pull back to the big picture: Earth is a planet, the three sky lights compared, and how repeating patterns let us predict. Lesson 9 connects the sky to people’s jobs, and Lesson 10 is the making task and final check.

Curriculum links (Australian Curriculum V9)

The whole term teaches the Science Understanding descriptor AC9S2U01 quoted on the cover. The lessons also work these Science Inquiry and Human Endeavour descriptors:

Assessment in this pack

• Every plan ends with “Answers and look-fors”: what meeting the idea sounds like in a Year 2 voice.
• The assessment sheet near the front has a class observation checklist and a three-level rubric.
• Lesson 10 is the summative pair: a making task plus the “Show what we know” check sheet.

Materials for the whole term

One gathering session covers all ten lessons. Everything on this page is an everyday item; nothing needs a science cupboard.

The one-trip list

• From the classroom: paper, black paper, chalk, crayons, sticky notes, a stapler, a hole punch, a wall calendar.
• From the shops: a torch, star stickers, a few balls of different sizes, a hoop.
• From home donations: an orange or a spare ball, and a small globe if anyone has one.

Safety in one look

• Never look straight at the sun, not even for a moment. We watch shadows and the sky, never the sun itself.
• Torches point at the ball or the floor, never into anyone’s eyes.
• Walk, do not run, when we act out the moving sky.
• An adult stays with the class for any outdoor part.
• Wash hands after outdoor lessons.

Assessment without extra work

The term assesses itself. Every lesson plan ends with answers and look-fors, and Lesson 10 is the summative pair: the making task plus the check sheet. This sheet is the place to jot down what you notice along the way.

The three levels

Class observation checklist

A tick a lesson is plenty; the Lesson 10 check sheet fills the gaps.

Word wall cards

Cut out the cards and build the wall as the words arrive. Lesson 1 starts the wall with sky, sun, moon and star; add planet, Earth and the pattern words as the lessons land.

Dear families

This term in science, Year 2 becomes a class of sky watchers. We watch the sun cross the sky by day, the moon change shape from night to night, and the stars come out in the dark, and we look closely at the patterns in what we see.

Every lesson points to one big idea: the sky changes in patterns that repeat. Because the patterns repeat, we can predict what comes next, such as the sun rising again tomorrow. Your child will practise spotting these patterns and saying them in their own words.

Try this at home

• Watch the moon on a few nights this week and draw its shape. Ask: is it growing or shrinking?
• At breakfast, notice which side of the house the sun comes up. It is always the east.
• On a clear night, find three stars that make a shape, and look for the same shape another night.
• Talk about how the sky looks now compared with this morning.

What to ask your scientist

• What did you see in the sky today?
• Is the moon growing or shrinking?
• What pattern did you find?

A small safety note: we never look straight at the sun, at school or at home. An adult stays with children for any sky watching after dark.

Warm regards,

The Year 2 team

Printed from the free seegongsik Earth and the Sky teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/y2/earth-and-space/AC9S2U01/pack

Sky watchers

Children learn what we can see in the sky by day and by night, and sort sky pictures into two groups. This lesson lays the ground for the term: before we can watch the sky change, the class needs to know what is up there to watch.

We are learning to

• name things we see in the sky: the sun, clouds, the moon, the stars,
• say which things we see by day and which we see at night,
• sort sky pictures into a day-sky group and a night-sky group.

Success criteria

• I can name things in the day sky and the night sky.
• I can sort sky pictures into day and night.

You need

• the sky picture cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
• two sorting mats or hoops labelled Day sky and Night sky (a sheet of paper each is fine),
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child,
• a big sheet of paper to start the class sky chart that grows all term.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Sort it out. Start Session B by naming two day-sky and two night-sky things from memory, then go on to My two skies.

Watch for these ideas

• “The moon only comes at night.” The moon is often up in the daytime too, just pale and easy to miss. Add it to both mats and enjoy the surprise.
• “Stars go away in the day.” The stars are always there; the bright day sky just hides them. We prove this in Lesson 5.
• Mixing sky lights with weather or birds. A cloud and a bird are in the sky, but they are not sky lights. Park them to one side and name the difference.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: sort just the clear cards first (the sun, a star), then add the tricky ones one at a time.
• Bigger: find a sky thing that is not on a card, such as a plane or a rainbow, and decide which mat it goes on and why.

Answers and look-fors

• Day sky: the sun, clouds, blue sky, and sometimes a pale moon. Night sky: the moon, stars, the dark sky, and sometimes clouds. Look for the child naming the sky thing, not just a colour.
• Tricky cards: clouds belong on both mats; the pale daytime moon can visit the day sky. Celebrate children who notice a card fits both.
• Keep the sky chart on the wall. It grows all term as each lesson adds a new pattern to it.

My two skies

Be a sky watcher. Draw the day sky and the things you see in it, then draw the night sky and the things you see in it.

Day sky or night sky?

Cut out the cards. Sort them onto your Day sky and Night sky mats. Some cards fit both, so let them sit on the line.

Teacher note: clouds, the pale daytime moon and grey rain clouds are the both cards. The bird and the rainbow are in the sky but are not sky lights; talk about that difference.

The sun’s journey

Children track where the sun sits in the sky through the day, and learn that it always rises in the east and sets in the west. This builds on Lesson 1: now that we know what is up there, we watch the first sky object move. It looks like the sun travels across the sky; really it is the Earth turning, but at this age we simply watch what we see. One rule holds all lesson: we never look straight at the sun. We watch its light and the shadows it makes.

We are learning to

• describe where the sun is in the morning, at midday and in the afternoon,
• use the words sunrise, midday and sunset,
• know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Success criteria

• I can say where the sun is at morning, midday and afternoon.
• I know the sun comes up in the east.

You need

• a sunny window, or a sunny spot outside in the playground,
• chalk to draw around a shadow,
• a few sticky notes to mark where the sun is,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child,
• the sun-path cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
• and, said out loud, the one safety rule: we never look straight at the sun, only its shadows.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Shadow clock. Start Session B by recalling sunrise, midday and sunset from the sun walk, then go on to The sun’s day.

Watch for these ideas

• “The sun climbs higher and higher and stays up there.” It does not. The sun is highest at midday, then it comes back down and sets. The sun walk shows the whole arc, up and then down.
• “Sunset is the sun switching off.” The sun does not turn off. It dips below the ground, out of our sight, and keeps shining somewhere else while we have night.
• Muddling east and west. The sun comes up in the east every morning and goes down in the west. Fix east in the room first, and west sorts itself out.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: leave midday out for now and sort the sun into just two times, morning and afternoon.
• Bigger: mark the same shadow every hour across one real day, then stand back and see how far it has swung.

Answers and look-fors

• On the worksheet the sun sits low near the east at sunrise, highest in the sky at midday, and low near the west at sunset. Accept any drawing that shows low, then high, then low.
• Shadows are long in the early morning and late afternoon, when the sun is low, and shortest around midday, when the sun is high overhead.
• Sentence blanks: the sun comes up in the east; at midday the sun is high (or highest, or right overhead). Look for a child who names east as the place where the sun rises.

The sun’s day

Draw the sun where it sits in the sky at three times of the day. Watch how it climbs up high, then comes back down.

Put the sun’s day in order

Cut out the six cards and mix them up. Then lay them in the order the sun really moves, from sunrise all the way to night.

Teacher note: shuffle the cards, then have children lay them out in the right order: sunrise, morning, midday, afternoon, sunset, night. That order matches the sun’s path in the on-screen picture, so children can check themselves against the board.

Day and night

Children see that day and night take turns in a steady, repeating pattern, and they use the pattern to predict what comes next. It follows on from Lesson 2, when the class watched the sun cross the sky: once the sun has set, night comes, and then day comes again. Because the pattern always repeats, we can be sure the sun will rise tomorrow.

We are learning to

• know that day and night take turns,
• see that this is a pattern that repeats,
• predict what comes after day and after night.

Success criteria

• I can say what comes after day and what comes after night.
• I can say why we are sure the sun will rise tomorrow.

You need

• a torch,
• a small ball, such as a tennis ball or an orange,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child,
• the pattern cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Build the pattern. Start Session B by re-reading the pattern together, day, night, day, night, then go on to colour it.

Watch for these ideas

• “Night is when clouds cover the sun.” No, a cloudy day is still day. Night is when the sun has gone down below the horizon, not when a cloud drifts past.
• “The sun switches off at night.” The sun never switches off. While it is night for us, the sun is busy shining on the other side of the world.
• “Day and night come at random.” They do not. They take strict turns, day, night, day, night, and that is exactly why we can predict them.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: just ask what comes after day. One step of the pattern is plenty.
• Bigger: while it is night here, is it day somewhere else? Turn the ball so the far side faces the torch and talk about it.

Answers and look-fors

• The pattern is day, night, day, night, and on it goes. After day comes night, and after night comes day.
• We are sure the sun will rise tomorrow because the pattern always repeats. Look for the child giving the pattern as the reason, not just saying yes.

Day and night pattern

Colour the boxes to show the pattern. Colour a day box yellow and a night box dark. The first two are done for you. Keep the pattern going, then write day or night under each box.

Pattern cards

Cut out the cards. Lay them in a row to build the pattern: day, night, day, night. Read it aloud, then say what comes next.

Teacher note: shuffle the cards, then rebuild the pattern, day, night, day, night. Ask a child to say what comes next. Because the pattern always repeats, the next card is always the opposite of the last one.

The changing moon

Children name the moon shapes and learn that the shape changes follow a slow pattern they can put in order. It builds on the day and night pattern from earlier lessons: the sun gives us a pattern each day, and the moon has a slower pattern of its own that takes about a month to go round and come back.

We are learning to

• name the moon shapes: new, crescent, half and full,
• know the shape changes follow a pattern over about a month,
• put the moon shapes in order.

Success criteria

• I can name the moon shapes.
• I can put them in order and say the pattern takes about a month.

You need

• the moon-shape cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
• black paper and white chalk or a white crayon, to draw each moon shape on a dark sky,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Order the moon. Start Session B by naming the four moon shapes from memory, then go on to the Moon diary.

Watch for these ideas

• “Clouds cover part of the moon to change its shape.” No, we see different amounts of the moon’s lit side. Clouds can hide the moon, but they do not change its shape.
• “The moon disappears or dies at new moon.” It is still there; we just cannot see it, because its lit side is turned away from us.
• “The moon changes to something new every night.” It is one slow, steady pattern that takes about a month to go round and come back.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: sort just two piles, thin moons (crescent) and round moons (full), before trying the full order.
• Bigger: start a real moon diary at home for two weeks, draw the moon each night, and bring it back to compare.

Answers and look-fors

• Order the moon: new, crescent, half, full, and then back down half, crescent, new. A whole cycle is about a month.
• A half moon that is growing is followed by an almost-full moon, then a full moon.
• On the worksheet the moon grows from almost nothing on Night 1 to a bright circle on Night 15 (new to full is about a fortnight). The sentence blanks are month and almost-full.

My moon diary

Be a moon watcher. Draw the moon as it looks on four nights while it grows from new to full, and watch how its shape changes.

Put the moon in order

Cut out the cards. Shuffle them, then lay them in the order the moon really changes, from new to full and back to new.

Teacher note: shuffle the cards, then have children lay them in the order the moon really changes, matching the picture on screen. The order runs new, crescent, half, almost full, full, and then back down through almost full, half and crescent to a new moon.

Stars at night

Children learn that stars are always in the sky, even by day, and that the bright daytime sky hides them. At night the stars come out, and over the night the whole group slides slowly across the sky while keeping its pattern. This lesson builds on the moon: another night-sky object that moves with its own pattern.

We are learning to

• know that stars are always there but hidden by the bright day,
• see that the stars come out at night,
• know that the whole group moves together, keeping the same pattern.

Success criteria

• I can say why we cannot see stars in the day.
• I can make a star pattern and show that it keeps its shape when it moves.

You need

• black paper, one sheet per child,
• white chalk or white star stickers to mark the stars,
• an optional hole punch and torch to make a star box, punching holes in black paper and shining the torch through,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child,
• the star pattern cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Make a star pattern. Start Session B by re-drawing your star pattern from memory, then go on to My star pattern.

Watch for these ideas

• “Stars switch off in the day.” They are still there; the day sky is just too bright to see them. The white star lost on white paper shows how.
• “Each star flies around on its own.” The whole group moves together and keeps its pattern, like a picture sliding across a window.
• “Stars are tiny.” They are huge, like our own sun, and only look tiny because they are so far away.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: give the child a three-star shape to copy onto the black paper, then join the dots.
• Bigger: find a real star pattern, such as the Southern Cross, with family at home and draw it.

Answers and look-fors

• Stars are hidden by the bright day sky, not switched off. At night the group slides across the sky but keeps its shape. Look for a child saying the pattern keeps the same shape when it moves.
• A star is a faraway sun: huge and hot, and only small-looking because it is so far away.
• Any joined shape of 3 to 5 stars is a good pattern, and there is no single right answer. Praise a clear shape with a name.

My star pattern

Draw your own star pattern in the night sky. Then draw the same pattern again later in the night, when the whole group has moved across but kept its shape.

Star pattern challenge cards

Cut out the cards. Take one at the star table and do what it says with your black paper and your chalk or stickers.

Teacher note: these are do-it cards for the star pattern station. Keep the shape the same when you slide a pattern across, just like the real stars in the sky.

Earth is a planet

Children learn that the Earth we stand on is a planet going around the sun, that the sun is a star, and that the whole family of planets is called the solar system. It builds the big picture behind our sky work: all term we have watched the sky from the ground, and now we learn we are looking out from one of the planets.

We are learning to

• know that Earth is a planet that goes around the sun,
• know that the sun is a star and the planets travel around it,
• name the family of planets (the solar system) and a few of the planets.

Success criteria

• I can say that Earth is a planet that goes around the sun.
• I can name at least two other planets.

You need

• balls of a few sizes, one big ball for the sun and small ones for the planets,
• a hoop or some chalk circles for the orbits, and a clear space in the hall or outside,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child,
• the planet cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Walk the orbits. Start Session B by recalling that the sun is a star in the middle and the planets go around it, then go on to the worksheet.

Watch for these ideas

• “The sun goes around the Earth.” It can look that way, but no: the sun is the star that sits in the middle, and the planets, including Earth, go around it.
• “Earth is the only planet,” or the biggest one. Earth is just one of several planets going around the sun, with others both smaller and larger.
• “Stars and planets are the same.” A star, like the sun, makes its own light. A planet does not make its own light.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: use just two balls, the sun and Earth, and show Earth going around the sun. That one idea is plenty.
• Bigger: put the four planets in order out from the sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth then Mars, and say which one we live on.

Answers and look-fors

• Earth is a planet; the sun is a star; the planets, including Earth, go around the sun.
• The sun and its family of planets are together called the solar system. The order out from the sun is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars.
• Look for a child who can say Earth is a planet and name at least two others, not just point at a picture.

Our solar system

Draw the sun in the middle of the box and draw Earth on its path around the sun. Then label the sun and Earth.

Meet the planets

Cut out the cards. Put the four planets in order out from the Sun, then tell a friend which card is a star and which cards are planets.

Teacher note: put the four planets in order out from the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth then Mars. The Sun is a star; the other four are planets. This matches the on-screen picture.

Sun, moon and stars

Children pull the whole term together by comparing the three sky lights: the sun, the moon and the stars. For each one they say what it is, when we see it, and how it changes. This is a deepening lesson near the end of the unit, so its work is to sort and order the facts the class has gathered into three clear groups.

We are learning to

• compare the sun, the moon and the stars,
• say when we see each one and how each one changes,
• sort facts about the sky into the right group.

Success criteria

• I can say one way the sun, the moon and the stars are different.
• I can sort a fact to the sun, the moon or the stars.

You need

• the class sky chart you have grown all term, kept where everyone can see it,
• a sorting mat, or a clear table space, set out in three columns labelled Sun, Moon and Stars,
• the fact cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers, plus the picture cards from earlier lessons if you kept them,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Sort the facts. Start Session B by recalling one fact about each sky light from memory, then go on to Compare the sky.

Watch for these ideas

• “The moon makes its own light.” It does not. We see the sun’s light shining on the moon, the way a torch lights up a ball in a dark room.
• “The sun is not a star.” The sun is a star, our closest one. It only looks bigger and brighter than the others because it is so much nearer to us.
• “Stars only exist at night.” The stars are always there. The bright day sky simply hides them until it goes dark.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: sort just the Sun and the Moon first, then bring in the Stars once those two are clear.
• Bigger: add the fact “gives us warmth” and decide which sky light warms us, and why the others do not.

Answers and look-fors

• Sun: a star, seen by day, gives light and warmth, moves across the sky. Moon: seen mostly at night, changes shape over about a month, makes no light of its own. Stars: seen at night, are faraway suns, move together in patterns.
• The sun and the stars are both stars; the moon is the odd one out. Look for one clear difference stated in the child’s own words.
• The sky light that warms us is the sun. That warmth is one reason the sun matters so much to us.

Compare the sky

Fill in the table. For the sun, the moon and the stars, write when we see it, what it is, and how it changes. The word bank under the table has words to help you.

Word bank: day, night, a star, a faraway sun, no light of its own, moves across the sky, changes shape over a month, moves in a pattern.

Sun, moon or stars?

Cut out the fact cards. Sort each one onto the Sun, Moon or Stars column. Some facts fit more than one sky light, so talk about where they belong.

Teacher note: children sort each fact onto Sun, Moon or Stars. Some will notice that the sun and the stars share facts, because both are stars. That is exactly the idea to celebrate.

Patterns we can predict

Children use the sky patterns they have found all term to make predictions and then check them. The big idea is that a pattern which repeats is exactly what lets us predict what comes next: the sun will rise tomorrow, next week the moon will be fuller or thinner, the same stars will come back. This is a deepening lesson that draws the term together and shows how scientists use patterns to say what will happen (Human Endeavour: using patterns to predict).

We are learning to

• use a sky pattern to predict what comes next,
• know that a repeating pattern is what lets us predict,
• make a prediction and give the pattern as the reason.

Success criteria

• I can predict the next thing in a sky pattern.
• I can say the pattern is the reason I am sure.

You need

• the pattern strips from earlier lessons if you kept them, or the prediction cards on the third sheet,
• a wall calendar the whole class can see and point to,
• a few sticky notes to cover the end of a pattern,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child,
• the prediction cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Prediction stations. Start Session B by recalling one prediction the class made and its reason, then go on to the Sky fortune teller worksheet.

Watch for these ideas

• “Predicting is just guessing.” A guess has nothing behind it, but a prediction leans on a pattern. Keep asking which pattern their prediction is standing on.
• “The pattern might suddenly stop.” These sky patterns are very steady and have repeated for a very long time, so we can lean on them with confidence.
• “We can predict anything.” We can only predict what follows a pattern. We can be sure the sun will rise, but not exactly which cloud will drift past or the minute it will rain.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: stay with a simple two-step pattern, day, night, day, night, and predict just the next one.
• Bigger: start from one moon shape and predict what it will look like two weeks later, halfway around the monthly pattern.

Answers and look-fors

• The sun will rise tomorrow because day and night always take turns; that pattern has never once missed.
• Next week the moon will look fuller or thinner, following its monthly pattern of growing and then shrinking.
• The reason is always the same: the pattern repeats. Look for the child giving the pattern as the reason, not just naming the next thing.

Sky fortune teller

Look at each pattern. Predict what comes next by drawing or writing it in the empty box, then finish the because line to give your reason.

Prediction cards

Cut out the cards and share them around the table. For each card, read the pattern and predict what comes next.

Teacher note: read the pattern, say what comes next, and give the pattern as your reason. The answers run night, fuller, sunset, thinner, day, and rise; accept any close word as long as the child names the pattern as the reason.

People who watch the sky

After a term of watching the sky change, children meet the people who put those patterns to work. The sky is not only pretty to look at, it is a clock, a calendar and a map. Day and night tell us when to sleep and set our clocks, the sun marks the time of day and the seasons, the moon marks the months, and the stars have long helped people find their way. Farmers, sailors and pilots all read the sky, and for thousands of years people used nothing but their own eyes. This is the Human Endeavour thread of the curriculum: people use science in their daily lives and work.

We are learning to

• know that people use the sky in daily life and at work,
• match a job to the way it uses the sky,
• give an example, such as telling the time, counting months, following the seasons or finding the way.

Success criteria

• I can name a way people use the sky.
• I can match a job to how it uses the sky.

You need

• the job and sky-use cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
• optional pictures of a farmer, a sailor and a pilot to hold up as you talk,
• the class sky chart from the wall, the one that has grown all term,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Match the job and collect the cards. Start Session B by recalling one way people use the sky, then go on to the worksheet.

Watch for these ideas

• “Only scientists use the sky.” Everyone does, every day: we wake with the light, follow a calendar and dress for the season, all without a lab.
• “You need machines to use the sky.” People read the sky with nothing but their eyes for thousands of years, long before clocks and screens.
• “The sky is only pretty, not useful.” It is pretty, and it is also a clock, a calendar and a map that people have always used.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: match just two jobs, the farmer and the sailor, before trying all four.
• Bigger: think of a way people have used the stars to find their way, and share it respectfully with the class.

Answers and look-fors

• Worksheet matches: the farmer to watching the seasons and day length, the sailor to using the stars to find the way, the calendar maker to using the moon for months, and all of us to waking and sleeping with day and night.
• A fuller answer adds more: a calendar maker also uses the sun to count the days, and a sailor or navigator reads the stars at night. Any sensible job-to-sky match meets the goal.
• Look for the child linking a job back to a pattern the class has watched all term, such as “the farmer plants when the days grow longer.”

Sky jobs

Grown-ups and children use the sky every day. Draw a line to match each job to how it uses the sky.

Job and sky-use cards

Cut out the cards, one set for each table. Read them together, then match each job to the sky-use that fits it.

Teacher note: these are matching pairs. Lay a job card next to the sky-use card that fits it: Farmer with the seasons, Sailor with the stars, Calendar maker with the moon, and All of us with day and night.

Show what we know

The summative lesson, run as a celebration. Children make a small sky book that shows at least two of the term’s sky patterns, visit each other’s books in a gallery walk, then sit the final check sheet quietly and alone. The term closes with the on-screen quiz played as a class game. Every book on the table tells the story the term has been telling all along: the sky changes in patterns we can watch and predict.

We are learning to

• make a sky book that shows at least two of our sky patterns,
• name the patterns we drew: the sun’s path, the moon’s shapes, the stars, day and night, Earth as a planet,
• show what we know on our own on the final check.

Success criteria

• I can make a sky book showing at least two patterns and name them.
• I can say that the sky changes in patterns we can predict.

You need

• paper folded or stapled into a small book, and crayons, one set per child,
• the term’s drawings and the class sky chart on show for ideas,
• the making-plan worksheet (next sheet) and the final check sheet (third sheet), one each per child,
• the interactive unit open on the board for the closing quiz.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after Making time and keep the books safe on a shelf. Start Session B with the gallery walk, then the final check and the class quiz.

Watch for these ideas

• “New stuff” answers under check-sheet pressure, even after a good term. Quietly say: picture the moon last month. Did it change in a pattern? Then step back and let the child answer alone.
• Books that are all decoration and no pattern. Sparkles are lovely, but ask: “Which of our sky patterns does this page show?”
• Some children freeze at “make a book”. Offer a start: draw the sun low in the east on page one, high in the middle on page two. The plan sheet fills itself from there.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: swap the book for a single poster of one pattern, such as day and night, drawn in order.
• Bigger: show three or more patterns and add a sentence under each saying what comes next.

Answers and look-fors

• Final check marking guide: 1 any sky object (sun, moon, star or planet). 2 in the east. 3 a month. 4 no. 5 and 6 a sensible day sky (sun, clouds) and night sky (moon, stars). 7 a planet. 8 day. 9 the sky repeats, or has a pattern, in any words.
• A score of 7 or more out of 9, together with a sky book showing at least two patterns the child can name, meets the descriptor. The rubric sheet near the front of the pack turns this into a three-level judgement.
• Meeting the idea at the gallery sounds like “this page is the moon getting bigger, and next it will be full”. Naming the pattern matters more than how pretty the book is.

My sky book plan

Today you are the sky-book maker. Make a book with a page for at least two of our sky patterns, and be ready to name them.

Show what we know

Show what you know about the sky. Read each one, then write, circle or draw. Take your time.

Teacher note: read the items aloud one at a time. The marking guide is on this lesson’s plan page; the rubric sheet near the front of the pack turns the score into a level.