AC9S6U02 Year 6 Science

This Content Descriptor from Year 6 Science provides the specific knowledge and skills students should learn. Use it to plan lessons, create learning sequences, and design assessments that align with the Australian Curriculum v9.

describe the movement of Earth and other planets relative to the sun and model how Earth’s tilt, rotation on its axis and revolution around the sun relate to cyclic observable phenomena, including variable day and night length

Elaborations

• 1 exploring simulations of the solar system such as a pocket solar system to appreciate the distances and relationships between the sun and planets
• 2 recognising the role of gravity in keeping the planets in orbit around the sun
• 3 using 3-dimensional models or role-play to model how Earth’s rotation on its axis causes day and night
• 4 using virtual simulations or real-time views of Earth from space to explore why different regions on Earth, such as the South Pole, experience long periods of sunlight or darkness over the cycle of one revolution of Earth around the sun
• 5 using 3-dimensional models to explore how the tilt of Earth points one hemisphere towards the sun and the other away at different times of the year, and predicting how this affects the amount of sunlight on the surface of different regions on Earth
• 6 researching First Nations Australians’ understandings of the night sky and its use for timekeeping purposes as evidenced in oral cultural records, rock paintings, paintings and stone arrangements

Related Achievement Standards