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Lesson · Grade 4 · Science

Day and Night: Earth Spins on Its Axis

  • Grade 4
  • Science
  • 1 min 14 s
  • British Columbia
  • BC4-SC-10

Earth turns on its axis while the Sun lights the half that faces it, and a home turns away from the Sun into night and back into the sunlight for morning, one full spin in about 24 hours. As the home turns, a diurnal butterfly is active in the day and a nocturnal owl wakes at night, ending on the recap that Earth's spin gives us day and night.

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In one sentence

The question this lesson answers

Why do we have day and night?

Earth spins around an imaginary line through its middle, called its axis.

Transcript

What the lesson says

Why do we have day and night?

Earth spins around an imaginary line through its middle, called its axis.

Earth is always spinning, like a top.

The Sun shines on Earth from far away.

The half of Earth facing the Sun is lit up, so it has day.

The half facing away from the Sun is dark, so it has night.

Now watch this home as Earth spins.

The home turns away from the Sun, and night begins.

It keeps turning, back into the sunlight, and morning comes.

One full spin takes about 24 hours, and that is one day.

The Sun only seems to move across our sky, because Earth spins.

Animals that are active in the day, like this butterfly, are called diurnal.

Animals that are active at night, like this owl, are called nocturnal.

Earth spins on its axis, and that gives us day and night.

Curriculum

Where this fits

British Columbia, Grade 4

Science, Earth science: local changes caused by Earth's axis, rotation, and orbitBC4-SC-10

Next: Why We Have Seasons: Earth's Tilt and Orbit

The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.

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