This week we learned that even though it looks like the Sun is moving across the sky every day, it is actually the Earth that is spinning (rotating) around its axis. In our activity, students became models of the Earth and spun around to understand how this movement is responsible for the Sun rising and setting every day. We also discussed how the speed of the Earth’s rotation affects the length of one full day.

You can support learning at home. The next time you’re travelling by car or bus, you can point out that it doesn’t feel like you’re moving at all – even if you’re travelling at really high speeds. This is the same reason that even though the Earth is spinning incredibly fast, it never feels like we’re moving. Because the Earth is always spinning at a constant speed, we never feel it moving.

Here are a few fun activities you can explore at home:

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

Check out these time-lapse videos of sunrise and sunset. 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?