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5th grade · Science · Unit 9 of 12

Sun, Stars & Shadows

Why the sun looks so bright, and patterns of shadows, day and night, moon phases and stars.

What your child practices

Your child explains why the sun looks bigger and brighter than other stars and finds patterns in shadows, day and night, moon phases and the stars seen in each season.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 5.10; 5.11 · why the sun looks bigger and brighter than other stars, and daily and seasonal patterns in the sky

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The sun looks brighter than other stars because it is much closer to Earth.
  2. The sun seems to rise in the east and set in the west because Earth spins.
  3. A constellation is a pattern of stars.
  4. We see some constellations only in certain seasons, because Earth moves around the sun.

Example: Why do we see different constellations in winter and summer? Earth orbits the sun during the year. At night we face different parts of space. Answer: Earth moves around the sun

Sun, Stars & Shadows in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 9 of 12 in 5th grade Science, after Protecting Resources and before Earth's Systems & Water.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The moon's phases repeat about every…

    • hour
    • day
    • month
    • ten years

  2. Question 2

    How long does Earth take to orbit the sun?

    • About one year
    • One week
    • One day
    • One month

  3. Question 3

    Shadows are longest in the…

    • early morning and late afternoon
    • middle of the night
    • never
    • middle of the day

  4. Question 4

    Some stars are much bigger than the sun but look tiny because…

    • they are very far away
    • they are planets
    • they are cold
    • they are small

  5. Question 5

    Why do we see different constellations in winter and summer?

    • Earth moves around the sun
    • Stars move to other places
    • The moon blocks them
    • Stars turn off

  6. Question 6

    Day and night happen because Earth…

    • spins on its axis
    • moves around the moon
    • stops moving
    • gets closer to the sun

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