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Why do the stars come out at night?
Moon & Stars Unit | Lesson 2 of 3

Why do the stars come out at night?

Moon & Stars Unit | Lesson 2 of 3
Lesson narration:
Scroll for prep

Stars in the country vs city

Why`do`you`think
stars`come`out`at
night?`Why`can’t
you`see`them`during
the`day?

Search for Big Dipper

Big Dipper revealed

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Anchor Connection In the past lesson, you learned why we only see stars at night. Discuss. Why can’t we see stars during the day?
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The stars aren’t bright enough to see them during the day. If they were much brighter, we would be able to see them.
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We know that we can see the Moon during the day. But why? Discuss. Why do you think we can see the Moon during the day?
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We can see the Moon during the day because it is so bright. The Sun doesn't outshine it.
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Discuss. Which of these can you see only at night?
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Discuss. Which of these can you see only during the day?
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Discuss. Which of these can you see during the day and the night?
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The Moon is very bright. That is why we can see it in the sky during both the day and the night.
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Many people think that you can only see the Moon at night. Layla thought this, too. She never noticed that the Moon is so bright that you can see it during the day. That is why one of these pictures surprised her.
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Step
01/03
Get your See-Think-Wonder Chart. Can you add any new ideas about why you think we can see the Moon during the day?
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Step
02/03
Look at the Wonder column. Can you answer any of your old questions? Do you have any new questions?
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Step
03/03
Save your See-Think-Wonder Chart. You will review it at the end of this unit!
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day


1 of 11

the time when the Sun is in the sky
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night


2 of 11

the time when the Sun is not in the sky
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Moon


3 of 11

a large, round object that you can usually see in the night sky
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star


4 of 11

a bright light that can be seen in the night sky
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astronomy


5 of 11

the study of outer space
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constellation


6 of 11

a group of stars that form a pattern
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observe


7 of 11

to pay close attention to something
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telescope


8 of 11

a tool used to make very distant objects look closer, often used to look at outer space
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model


9 of 11

a pretend version of something that scientists use when the real thing is too big, small, or complicated to work with

sunrise


10 of 11

when the Sun appears in the morning

sunset


11 of 11

when the Sun disappears in the evening
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Lesson narration:

Grade 1

Night Patterns

Stars & Daily Patterns

1-ESS1-1

8202 reviews

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students use a model to investigate why the stars are visible at night but disappear when the Sun comes out during the day. In the activity, Star Projector, students use paper cups to project stars onto a sky picture, and observe what happens to these stars when a flashlight acts as a model of the Sun.
Preview activity

Exploration

11 mins

Grade 1

Night Patterns

Stars & Daily Patterns

1-ESS1-1

8202 reviews
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Moon Stars Lesson 2: Why do the stars come out at night?

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