This 3-page 5th grade science worksheet looks at how the stars seem to move across one night. Page 1 shows three small sky views, at 8:00 pm, 11:00 pm and 2:00 am, each with Polaris and the Big Dipper, and asks students to describe what changes. Page 2 has three questions on the direction of the turn, its cause and whether the Dipper's shape changes. The answer key gives about 45 degrees of turn every three hours. It ties to NGSS 5-ESS1-2.
5-ESS1-2
“Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.”
Students read three drawings of the night sky and describe the pattern of change in questions 1 and 2, then give its cause in question 3.
Three side-by-side sky views labeled 8:00 pm, 11:00 pm and 2:00 am, each with Polaris and the Big Dipper. A boxed question asks students to describe what happens to the position of Polaris and of the Big Dipper as the night goes on. There are five ruled lines for the answer.
Three boxed questions with four lines each. In which direction did the Big Dipper turn from 8:00 pm to 2:00 am, what causes it to appear to move that way, and would its shape change during the night.
Polaris stays in the same spot while the Dipper circles it, about 45 degrees every three hours. The Dipper turns counterclockwise because Earth spins on its axis, and its shape stays the same.
Spin to see it
Have a student turn slowly on the spot while staring at a fixed mark on the wall. The mark seems to move even though it does not, which is the same effect as the stars.
Predict first
Before you hand out page 2, ask students to sketch where the Dipper will be at 5:00 am on a scrap of paper. Compare the sketches against the turn they described on page 1.
The shape question
Question 4 separates a pattern that turns from one that changes. Have students cut out a paper Dipper and turn it on the desk, then say what stays the same.
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