Chapter Graphic : Daytime — Night-Time
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  Level: Year 8
Approach: One to one
Focus: Understanding the relationship between the rotation of the earth relative to the sun and the time of day or night for different locations on the earth.
840k
Resources: globe, torch, recording book

Questions / instructions:
Here is a globe of the earth and here is a torch.

Give students the globe and point to New Zealand.

 
% responses
   
Y8
1. Imagine that it is 4 o'clock in the afternoon in New Zealand.
     Where might the sun be?
    Hold the torch and shine it from where you think the sun might be.
shining on NZ from the west
38
Record student response.
2. It is daylight in New Zealand at the moment. Using the globe and the torch show me what happens from 4 o'clock in the afternoon until midnight.
globe rotated so sun moves further west
42
rotated quarter to half a turn
30
Put torch aside. Point to New Zealand.
Imagine that it is the middle of the day in New Zealand.
Point to, and say FRANCE.
a
 a
3. Will it be daytime or night-time here?
night time
aa
Record student response.
90
Point to, and say AUSTRALIA   a
4. Will it be daytime or night-time here?
day time
aa
Record student response.
50
Point to, and say JAPAN.   a
5. Will it be daytime or night-time here?
day time
a
Record student response.
38
Commentary:
Year 8 students demonstrated quite limited understanding of how the rotation of the earth relative to the sun leads to patterns of night and day in different locations on the earth.
 
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