The Sun, the Moon and the stars
Stars are extremely distant, hot bodies that give off their own light; since ancient times people grouped them into constellations (the Great Bear, the Little Bear). The Sun is the star nearest to the Earth and stands at the centre of the Solar System; its diameter is about 109 times the Earth’s and its mass about 330 thousand times the Earth’s. Eight planets orbit the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; they give no light of their own but reflect sunlight. The Moon is the Earth’s natural satellite; it also reflects light and goes around the Earth about once a month, so its appearance (new Moon, full Moon) keeps changing. When the Moon, Earth and Sun line up, an eclipse happens; a lunar eclipse is seen at full Moon. The Pole Star always stands in the north; you can find it by measuring five times the distance between the two stars at the edge of the Great Bear’s “dipper”. If you face north, east is on your right, west on your left and south behind you.
“Planet walk”: in an open space (the school yard, with the teacher) a big ball stands for the Sun and 8 students with planet cards line up in order of distance from it. Never look straight at the Sun.