Brainstorm: How could you test out these two ideas to see if they both can explain what you see in the sky?

Sun moving Earth spinning

Check it out:

Even though you've now seen the Earth spinning from space, when you're watching a sunrise or sunset from the ground it can still be hard to imagine that the Earth is moving.

To really help you visualize it, go to the next slide and check out this one final video we made!

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# Extensions

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End of Mystery Assessment and Answer Key
Reading: "First Person on the Moon"
Activity: Earth in the Sun — On a sunny day, use a globe to show students exactly how sunlight illuminates the Earth.
Activity: On the Move — Track the movement of the sun with a small mirror.
Activity: Make a Sky Dome to model the Sun's daily path.
Video: Observe time-lapse videos of sunrise and sunset.

# Activity: Earth in the Sun

Position a globe so that light from the sun shines on it in just the same way that sunlight shines on the Earth. As the Earth spins, the boundaries between ‘day’ and ‘night’ will move steadily across both your globe and the Earth. (Follow these instructions to position your globe.)

Over the course of the day, compare the light on your globe to the light shown on this interactive map.

A more detailed version of this activity can be found at Earth Learning Ideas.

# Activity: On the Move

To track the sun's movement, you need a windowsill in the sun, a small mirror, and sticky notes. Place the mirror on the windowsill so that it reflects sunlight onto a wall. Write the time on a sticky note and place it in the spot of light.

Have students predict where the spot of light will be in 15 minutes and mark that spot with a sticky note. While you wait to see if the prediction is right, have students discuss why they chose the spot they did.

As the Earth turns, the angle of the sunlight on the mirror changes and the spot of light moves.

# Video: Sunrise and Sunset

Use these time-lapse videos of sunrise and sunset to review what students know. Here are some discussion questions:

Why does it look like the Sun is moving?
Which way would you face to look in the direction of the Sun in the morning? In the middle of the day? In the afternoon?
Do any other objects in the sky seem to move in the same way as the Sun? Explain.
Does the Sun really move this fast? Why do you think it looks like it's moving fast in the video?

Video trouble?

Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration

boarding train by John Phelan , used under CC BY-SA / cropped

grass field by Jsayre64 , used under CC BY-SA / heavily modified

shoes by C & J Clark archive , used under CC BY-SA / heavily modified

sitting on train by m01229 / heavily modified

boy looking out train window by Robert Huffstutter , used under CC BY / heavily modified

train footage by Isma Monfort Vialcanet , used under CC BY / heavily modified

planetarium by Stellarium

book by Honou / heavily modified

sunset by Johann Mynhardt , used under CC BY / cropped and flipped

columns by unkown / heavily modified

men by Albert Kretschmer / heavily modified

earth by Celestia / part of a diagram

sun by cheifyc / part of diagrams

Galileo by Félix Parra / cropped, adjusted contrast

Nicolaus Copernicus by Marcello Bacciarelli / significant mods

drawing 1 by vincemmuseum , used under CC BY-SA / merged together with other images

drawing 2 by Christiaan Huygens / merged together with other images

drawing 3 by Christopher Wren / merged together with other images

feather by S. Seyfert , used under CC BY-SA / cropped

wood by KeithMisnerPhotography

rocket by U.S. Air Force/Carleton Bailie / heavily modified

triangle by Spigget , used under CC BY-SA / heavily modified

lift off footage by NASA

Galileo spacecraft by Don Davis / cropped

Earth rotating by plodicus , used under CC BY / added border

screen by Mike Gonzalez , used under CC BY-SA / heavily modified

Moon crossing Earth by NASA / added border

Hoag's object by NASA / heavily modified

sunset close-up by oldstuff4all , used under CC BY / sped up

Activity

globe by Christian Fischer , used under CC BY-SA / heavily modified

hand by Johnny Magnusson / heavily modified

girl by Dirk , used under CC BY / cropped

paperclips by Jan Ainali , used under CC BY-SA / heavily modified

Other

solstice sky by Danilo Pivato / cropped

Credits

“My students loved the interactive activity! I loved the how in sync the videos were with the lessons! My students were able to make direct connections to what they saw on the video to what they were doing in the activity. Thank you!”

“The students getting to move around and physically seeing the differences between the two ideas helped them understand the how and the why, not just the fact. Joe the Lego man was a great way to end the lesson!”

“I love this~ the learners spent three 40 minute classes to a) watch the video b) discuss the lesson(s) c) the activity was fun and demonstrated well, the reasons why this question was posed, unanswered in science until Copernicus. Five stars on this one. ”

“Students were engaged in the activity. I enjoy teaching like this. Thank you so much for making it teacher friendly. I will be using more soon and I am sure when I say "Today is Mystery Science" I will hear a big "HOORAY!!"”

“The students got a lot more out of it than I thought! Some of their responses at the end went much deeper than I thought! (I love that the directions are really spelled out!). This really helps me to become more hands on in Science!”

“We are homeschoolers. I can't say how much we love Mystery Science. I love when the kids see they get to learn from "Mystery Doug!" They can't say "Mystery Doug" without the exclamation. :) The interactivity and depth of each lesson is wonderful. Superb work Mystery Science Team!”

“It took longer than expected to complete the project because the students had a difficult time with cutting, folding, and the paper clips. They enjoyed the lesson though and had thoughtful responses to the discussion questions.”

“The students were very engaged in the lesson and enjoyed creating the viewers. I actually stretched the lesson into a longer piece over 4 days with smaller time frame due to the low level learners I have that need more support. All in all, it went well and I even took pictures of them doing the experiment to post on Seesaw for parents to enjoy. ”

“My students in my SPED Functional Academics class of 4-6th graders were able to complete all tasks. Then when I had them complete the assessment portion I allowed them to work together to answer the questions. It was wonderful to watch them working so diligently together. ”

“My students love the Mystery Doug videos in general. And please consider that they are all English learners, since I teach at a bilingual school in Brazil. Even though the English level might be a little too advanced for them some times, they love it! And I feel that Mystery Science has motivated them to ask more questions about the world around them. This was the first time I used one of your lessons with my group. We worked on a quick model following the suggestions in the lesson, and it was great! Thank you for your fantastic work. Keep it up!”

“As usual, I love how you guys are very step by step when it comes to doing the experiment part. Students get confused very easily and/or rush, so literally doing it one step at a time and with a very clear visual makes a big difference. The kids also loved the videos and explanations because they are engaging and easy to understand. ”

“The students were so engaged... I especially loved the step-by-step video for making the viewer. The students were able to follow along and I didn't have one student that did it incorrectly. I made extra copies but didn't need them. ”

“For us West Coasters... I altered the sky viewer to have the ocean on the west & mountains on the east. It really confuses the kids in Kona, Hawaii! I also think the 10 seconds to find a partner should be changed to "Now your teacher will talk to you about finding a partner and sitting next to them." Thanks, though! All in all a great activity about an important concept. :)”

“The best part was the students struggling to make the shadow move, and then their excitement when it did. They couldn't figure out how to shorten the shadows until I asked the question: is the sun always in the same place in the sky--then the light bulb went off and they held the flashlights up high.”

“The kids loved the analogy of the person on the train watching a train go by. They made the connection right away to a the earth and the sun. We also loved the Lego and globe model. We are thinking we want to recreate that model. I am using this with 6th graders.”

“I like the demonstration and then explanation of why one version of how the sun rises and sets makes more sense than the other version of how it could rise and set. These simple examples are ingenius for helping understand these science concepts. So glad I found this site.”

“My kids (4th and 1st grades) did this together with no help from me. I stood nearby to talk with them about what they were learning while CLEANING THE KITCHEN! They were completely into it, and can't wait to do another one. Thank you so much for this!”

“They loved physically representing the earth and sun as they trialled the two ideas on why the sun appears to move. It was great drawing attention to science, such as the use of models, evidence etc”

“I really loved the detailed videos of how to put together the sky viewer. I also liked the video of what it looked like while they were doing it. I was able to play it while they were doing the assessment to remind them of what they did :)”

“Ms. Mitchell's Class enjoyed making the sky viewer. They also liked investigating that the sun doesn't move, the Earth rotates. It was fun turning around in a circle---22 dizzy students. They love your lesson!!”

“The activity was the best part. The students learn when the get a chance to live in the science, so to speak. The activity is also practically free and that saves these students from textbook teach science.”

“The topic - does the sun rise or set - is a question most of my students could answer. However, not a single one could give a reasoning as to why they know other than they were told that is was true. This gave all of my students concrete understanding of how the Earth moves and an understanding of how its movements cause night and day.”

“I let my students help me decide how to rate this lesson. 100% of my students felt that this lesson helped them REALLY understand how we know the Earth moves, and not the Sun. We all understood why people thought it was the Sun moving long ago as well. ”

“The best part was hearing the students discussion about the 2 ideas. After 2 days of teaching this lesson I feel that my students better understand this concept than in previous years. The videos and activities were wonderful! ”

“It was easy to use, I didn't have to do any research prior to teaching so that I could understand. The kids loved the short videos, and because they aren't animated, they are simply slides, they paid attention to the audio and not necessarily the video. It was full of information, lots of extra activities to help cement the ideas and a great, simple and easy assessment at the end. ”

“The kids enjoyed getting up and moving and seemed to follow along well. I appreciated being able to walk around and help students rather than be in the front trying to direct the next steps and I really liked that the instructions kept playing for those students who needed a reminder on what to do next. ”

“I taught this Mystery with 3 5th grade classes, and they loved it. We were able to identify and correct a few misunderstandings about how the Earth and Sun move through space, the kids had great discussions throughout.”

Why does the Sun rise and set?

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6 mins

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Why does the Sun rise and set?

Assessments

Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.

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Activity Prep

Step 1: Get supplies and print worksheets.

Step 2: Cut out paper Suns.

14 mins

25 mins

6 mins

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