The Sun, Moon, and stars are bright objects we can see in the sky. The Sun lights the daytime sky and helps warm Earth. At night, the Moon and stars are easier to see because the sky is dark.
Learning about them helps students notice patterns in nature, such as day and night.
Key Facts
- The Sun is a star that is closest to Earth.
- The Sun gives Earth light and heat during the day.
- The Moon does not make its own light, it reflects sunlight.
- Stars are faraway suns that look small because they are very distant.
- Day happens when your part of Earth faces the Sun.
- Night happens when your part of Earth faces away from the Sun.
Vocabulary
- Sun
- The Sun is the star closest to Earth and gives us light and heat.
- Moon
- The Moon is a natural object that travels around Earth and reflects sunlight.
- Star
- A star is a huge glowing ball of hot gas far away in space.
- Day
- Day is the time when the Sun lights the sky where you are.
- Night
- Night is the time when the sky is dark because your place on Earth faces away from the Sun.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Saying the Moon makes its own light is wrong because the Moon shines by reflecting light from the Sun.
- Thinking stars disappear during the day is wrong because stars are still in the sky, but sunlight makes the sky too bright to see most of them.
- Drawing the Sun and Moon as the same kind of object is wrong because the Sun is a star and the Moon is a rocky object that orbits Earth.
- Believing day and night happen because the Sun turns on and off is wrong because day and night happen as Earth spins.
Practice Questions
- 1 You see the Sun in the sky for 8 hours before sunset. If sunset happens at 6:00 p.m., what time did you first start counting the Sun hours?
- 2 A student draws 1 Sun, 1 Moon, and 12 stars. How many sky objects did the student draw in all?
- 3 Explain why we can usually see more stars at night than during the day.