A 3-page 5th grade science worksheet on finding the North Star. Page 1 gives five numbered steps and a night sky diagram with two dippers. Students label three parts (Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Polaris) from a word bank and draw a line from Merak through Dubhe to reach Polaris. Page 2 asks why Polaris seems to stay still, which direction you face when you look at it and how sailors used it. Page 3 gives the answers.
“Use the pointer stars of the Big Dipper to locate Polaris.”
Page 1 walks students through the line from Merak through Dubhe and asks them to draw it.
“Explain why Polaris appears to stay in one place while other stars appear to move across the sky.”
Question 1 on page 2 asks for the reason, and the key links it to Earth's axis and the North Pole.
A boxed list of five steps: find the Big Dipper, spot the pointer stars Merak and Dubhe, draw a line through them, then follow it about five times the distance between them.
Numbered arrows point to the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper and Polaris. Students write each name from a three-word bank into a box and draw their line from Merak through Dubhe.
Three written questions with answer lines: why Polaris seems to stay in one place all night, which direction you face when you look at it, and how sailors used it in the past.
The three labels, a note on where the drawn line should end, and model answers in full sentences for each question.
Outdoor follow-up
Take the class out on a clear evening with the page on a clipboard. Students find the Big Dipper first, then compare their drawn line with the real sky.
Ruler step
Have students measure the gap between Merak and Dubhe and mark five of those lengths. It turns the five times rule into a small measuring job.
Finding direction
Use question 3 to start a talk about how people found their way before phones. The key mentions the equator, which a few students will want to ask about.
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